American Grape Jelly
A classic preserve of dark grapes, this crystal clear, fruity jelly makes a beautiful spread for sharp cheese, pancakes or peanut butter sandwiches.
Grape jelly is an all-American preserve, traditionally made from concord grapes. Because this grape variety was inferior for traditional wine-making, concord grapes never really took off in Europe, but in the United States they became known as the ultimate ‘jelly grape’ due to their sweet-sour flavour and pectin quality. You can use any grapes to make this jelly, just make sure they’re as fresh and firm as possible to ensure lots of natural pectin, which will help the jelly set. We will be using a jam sugar for insurance either way. A few bunches of grapes will yield a surprising quantity of juice for this jelly, which is cooked until wrinkling-set. As for its use, grape jelly is sublime as a breakfast table preserve, it pairs very well with tangy goat cheese or blue cheese and of course it makes the real-deal peanut butter & jelly sandwich! Once jarred, allow grape jelly about 10 days to fully set. I promise it’s worth the wait! Let’s go!
