Showing posts with label preserving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preserving. Show all posts

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Concord Grape Freezer Jam

My neighbor invited me to come over and pick grapes from her vines so JP and I picked a large colander worth. It was the perfect amount for five 8oz jars of grape freezer jelly. (Freezer jelly is so easy and doesn't require the typical canning tools/equipment.)
I used the basic freezer jam recipe found on the fruit pectin package made by the Ball company. I have listed a very similar recipe below which suggests some spice additions to add a unique twist to the jam. I will try adding some ginger next time.

Concord grapes have seeds and very sour skins; these should be removed in order to have a more edible jam. So after washing and stemming the grapes I placed them in a stainless steel pot and mashed them with a potato masher. Once I mashed out as much juice as possible I cooked the mixture until it boiled. Then I strained it through a sieve and ended up with 4 cups of juice. I then followed the steps below.
FREEZER JAM RECIPE:
4 cups crushed berries or Concord grapes (for peaches and apricots, use 3 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1.59-ounce package Ball freezer pectin
Optional: lavender/lemon zest for strawberries, cinnamon/ground ginger for peaches and Concord grapes

For berries or stone fruit, mix with sugar, pectin and optional spices in a bowl until well blended. For grapes, heat crushed fruit to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until skins are tender, 3-5 minutes, then add to pectin/sugar mixture. For all, stir 3 minutes. Ladle into five clean 8-ounce Ball plastic freezer jars to fill line, or any other freezer-safe containers or glass jars if eating within a few weeks. Twist on lids. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate for three weeks or freeze up to a year.