How To Make Grape Jam

Homemade Jam Recipes

Ingredients: Grape Jam Recipe

5 lb / 2,300 grams of grapes (red or white, the Concord variety of dark red grape is ideal)
2 lb / 1,000 grams of white granulated sugar
1 large lemon

Method - What To Do

Rinse the grapes and then remove the skins, collecting the flesh. This is most simply done by squeezing the grapes, so that the inner flesh 'pops' out into your saucepan and you are left holding the skin. Don't be concerned if a little of the flesh remains on the skin, as the skins will also be used in this recipe. If you are finding that your grape skins are hard to remove, try soaking them in boiling water for no more than 30 seconds, which will immediately loosen their skins.

Alternatively, rather than going to all of the effort to separate the grape skins in this way, you could try lightly chopping them or blending them very slightly in a food processor. The danger with this method is that you may chop some of the pips, which can make the end product taste a little bitter. Of course, this problem and additional effort can all be avoided if you choose seedless grapes.

Next, puree all of the skins in a food processor and add this paste to the pan. Bring your grapes, skins and any collected juice to a simmer and cook gently for 20 minutes, stirring a little during this cooking time. After your grape jam mixture has cooked, take the pan off the heat and pass the 'sauce' through a fine sieve, scraping well to ensure that all of the valuable pulp and flavour passes through. You will then be left with a sieve full of pips and other stubborn solids, leaving just a smooth mixture.

Return this warm grape mixture to the pan and stir in all of the sugar, stirring well so that it is properly incorporated and quickly dissolves. Bring the grape jam to a strong boil and keep it boiling for 15 minutes, stirring to avoid the mixture catching or even burning at the base. Test your grapes to see if the jam has found its setting point. Do this by spooning some onto a plate (chilled in advance in a freezer). Leave for roughly a minute and then examine closely to see if it is beginning to set, or is remaining runny. Check to see if a skin has formed, which will wrinkle if you drag your finger across the surface. If your jam fails these tests, boil it for another five minutes and repeat this testing as required.

Leave your grape jam to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to sterile jars. Place discs of wax paper on the top, wax side down, to provide an additional seal before the lid is screwed into place.

Grape Jam Recipe - More Jam Recipes.