Hoard the Concord

Homemade Grape Jam

Assuming you're not 10 years old and reading this blog, I'm going to guess it's been a few years since you had grape Kool Aid or a purple slushie. But if you're like my mom, perhaps you've more recently consumed a grape soda. Yeah?

So, all these grape flavored things don't taste ANYTHING like a grape. What gives? As most of you know, grape flavor is modeled after the Concord grape, vitis labrusa to be exact. However, Concord grapes don't show up on the fruit stands in the supermarket... well, ever. Why? How did the snappy, watery, seedless grape trump the Concord? Because of the Concord's extreme flavor, large seeds, and gummy inside meat, it wasn't as convenient or appealing for a large market. I suppose the extreme convenience of seedless grapes won the heart of hungry snackers everywhere, because you can only find Concord grapes at farmer's markets.


However, I discovered the Concord grape thanks to the surprisingly subtle bounty of the farmhouse in Doylestown. One day, I had parked my car under some 'trees' in the yard. I stepped out and noticed that they were not trees at all! The most beautiful, dark violet grapes were hanging lavishly from a row of tall gnarled vines. These living relics stood, unassumingly and quiet, offering the jewels of another age. The grape was sweeter and more flavorful than anything I had eaten that year, I swear. Imagine the intensity of a candy Gusher, but with real components, not high fructose corn syrup and food coloring.


Many months later, I wanted to preserve the taste of my summer discovery. I also wanted to share my newfound affection for the Concord. So I made Grape jam. A REAL version of Smucker's.

Is it worth your time? Hell yes.

4ish hours of time = 3 months of cheaper-than-artesian-jam

How cheap?

Artesian jam from farmer's market or wholesome supermarket = $4.50 per 8 oz.

Your jam from scratch = $3.50 per 8 oz (Included stove heating and cost of rubberized lids in this calculation, but did not include jars because you can basically use these over and over again. You have to buy new rubberized lids every time.)

Here's how it goes:

I used:

• 3 quarts of fresh Concord grapes
• 1 packet of low-sugar fruit pectin (low sugar doesn't mean diet, it just means there is more fruit pectin used to bind the jam together, which requires less sugar. For more information on fruit pectin, click here. It's interesting.)
• 4 cups of organic granulated sugar
• Colander
• Food processor/blender or some sort of handheld masher (for mashing, duh)
• Tongs of some sort (to grab the jars out of hot water)
• Two pots, one large, one medium

The procedure for making jam can be broken down into 3 main steps. Sanitize the jars, cook the fruit, seal the jars. There are a bazillion websites that can tell you how to jam, but you're here so read on...

Sanitize the jars:

• Buy jamming jars. You can find them at most hardware store or kitchen supply stores (Ball is the conventional brand)
• Take your jars home and put on some tunes
• Wash the jars and the rings in hot water, then boil in a pot of water for 10 minutes OR sanitize in the dishwasher, leaving the dishwasher on warm so that the jars don't break when you put hot fruit in them later
• Wash the rings in hot soapy water (you can't boil or sanitize or the rubber will get funky)
• Keep the jars warm either in the hot water or dishwasher until you're ready to fill
• Do yourself a favor and keep the water in the pot very hot so that it's easy to bring to a boil again later. Also make sure there's enough water to cover at least 2 inches above your jar.

Cook the fruit:

• Rinse your grapes
• Chop them up in a blender or mash them with a utensil that gets the job done
• Put them in a pot on medium heat


• Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes
• Sieve the cooked grapes by passing through a cheesecloth for clear jelly, or let stand for 20 minutes and decant the liquid off the top for a chunkier jam. (After I decanted the liquid, I dumped the remains into a colander positioned over the pot to strain off any more juice.)
• Mix 1/4 c. of sugar with packet of fruit pectin (to assure good distribution of pectin)
• Return grape juice to the pot, add the fruit pectin, and bring to a hard boil (aka. you cannot stir it away)
• Add the remaining sugar to the pan, and bring to a full boil again
• Boil HARD for 1 full minute

Nice color. Not nice for your clothes. Take heed.

Seal the Jars:

• Fill the jars with jelly up to the fill line. For most jars, this is where the pattern stops near the top.
• Wipe away any spills
• Put on the lids and the rings, tighten
• Put back into the boiling water
• Boil them for about 5 minutes. Longer for higher altitudes ;) This creates your vacuum seal so your fruit will indeed become "preserves"
• Lift them out of the hot water without scalding yourself
• Try not to bump them on anything, place on a surface that doesn't conduct heat well (aka put them on a cutting board) so that heat doesn't escape too rapidly. You want the jam to cool slowly. Listen for a popping sound... it's the sound of victory... a successfully created vacuum
• Check the jars for a seal the next morning (the top shouldn't pop up and down when pressed)
• While storing, you can remove the ring. That way, if bacteria does grow in your jar, the lid will pop off (due to the gasses 'exhaled' by the bacteria), which will let you know it's gone bad.

You can store these for quite a while. I don't know how long, I always eat them before I know it's been too long. The hard work pays off, seriously. I just ate some strawberry jelly in November that I made at the beginning of the summer. It was a little memoir of summer in a jar... sweet. I can't wait to open the last can of grape jelly in February.

Jam on people.