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Grape Jelly: A Photo Essay
by
Kimberly
Calificación: 4.0
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.%20It%20only%20started%20to%20feel%20like%20real%20old-fashioned%20canning,%20though,%20when%20we%20began%20The%20Concord%20Grape%20Jelly%20Project.%20Click%20on%20any%20picture%20here%20for%20a%20larger%20version.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThere's%20a%20house%20down%20the%20street%20from%20us,%20for%20sale,%20and%20as%20far%20as%20we%20can%20tell%20no%20one's%20living%20there.%20On%20a%20recent%20walk,%20we%20noticed%20a%20long%20fence%20on%20the%20property%20that%20was%20completely%20covered%20with%20perfectly%20ripe%20Concord%20grapes.%20These%20little%20grapes%20are%20famous%20for%20the%20jelly%20and%20juice%20you%20get%20at%20the%20store;%20people%20tend%20not%20to%20purchase%20these%20grapes%20whole,%20as%20they%20have%20tough%20little%20skins%20and%20large,%20crunchy,%20acidic%20seeds.%20I%20like%20to%20eat%20them%20myself,%20but%20not%20many%20people%20do.%20Their%20flavor%20is%20excellent%20for%20processing%20though.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESo%20Keith%20devoted%20a%20couple%20of%20days%20to%20harvesting%20and%20came%20up%20with%20several%20baskets%20full%20of%20lovely%20little%20grapes.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWe%20put%20on%20%22Firefly%22%20and%20kicked%20back%20to%20pick%20and%20sort%20all%20those%20grapes.%20The%20little%20shrivelly%20ones,%20the%20overripe%20and%20underripe,%20went%20into%20one%20bowl%20for%20the%20chickens%20(who%20love%20them),%20the%20vines%20went%20into%20a%20bag%20for%20the%20compost%20heap,%20and%20the%20good%20grapes%20went%20into%20many%20large%20bowls%20(and%20my%20tummy).%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ENext%20I%20had%20to%20take%20a%20potato%20masher%20and%20squish%20all%20the%20grapes%20up.%20Would've%20been%20fun%20to%20pile%20them%20up%20in%20a%20tub%20and%20stomp%20them%20like%20Italian%20wine%20grapes,%20but%20I%20didn't%20want%20to%20mess%20up%20my%20pedicure.%20About%20halfway%20through%20mashing%20them,%20I%20added%20about%20half%20a%20cup%20of%20water.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20mashed%20grapes%20then%20need%20to%20come%20to%20a%20boil,%20and%20simmer%20for%2010%20minutes.%20This%20looks%20kind%20of%20nasty,%20but%20it%20makes%20the%20most%20delicious%20smell%20-%20I%20can't%20even%20describe%20it.%20It's%20a%20sweet,%20earthy,%20kind%20of%20childish%20smell.%20I%20think%20it%20comes%20from%20the%20yeast%20bloom%20on%20the%20grape%20skins.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAfter%20this%20I%20had%20to%20strain%20the%20hot%20squished%20grapes%20thoroughly%20through%20clean%20pantyhose.%20I%20didn't%20get%20any%20pictures%20of%20this%20part,%20but%20let%20me%20tell%20you%20it%20is%20damned%20messy.%20I%20did%20some,%20Keith%20did%20some,%20and%20for%20a%20couple%20of%20days%20we%20both%20had%20purple%20hands.%20The%20countertops%20were%20stained%20and%20had%20to%20be%20bleached,%20and%20thank%20goodness%20I%20had%20on%20a%20black%20shirt.%20The%20dried%20solids%20went%20into%20the%20compost%20heap,%20and%20the%20strained%20juice%20went%20into%20many%20jars.%20It%20didn't%20come%20out%20looking%20like%20grape%20juice%20at%20all;%20it%20was%20a%20bright%20pink%20color.%20And%20it%20didn't%20taste%20like%20the%20grape%20juice%20you%20want%20to%20drink.%20It%20was%20very%20acidic,%20tart%20in%20the%20way%20that's%20unappealing%20to%20a%20gal%20like%20me%20who%20eats%20limes%20by%20themselves,%20and%20not%20at%20all%20sweet.%20The%20juice%20had%20to%20sit%20out%20on%20the%20counter%20overnight.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAt%20this%20point%20more%20solids%20sank%20to%20the%20bottom,%20so%20the%20juice%20had%20to%20be%20strained%20again.%20Then%20I%20poured%20it%20all%20into%20a%20pan%20and%20turned%20on%20the%20heat.%20This%20has%20to%20be%20made%20one%20batch%20at%20a%20time%20or%20it%20won't%20set%20right.%20I%20used%20four%20cups%20of%20juice%20per%20batch%20and%20stirred%20in%20four%20cups%20of%20sugar%20(yeah,%20it%20needs%20to%20be%20that%20much%20to%20jelly%20and%20also%20to%20keep%20it%20from%20spoiling;%20most%20people%20use%20even%20more)%20and%202%20Tbsp%20lemon%20juice%20just%20to%20be%20safe.%20I%20brought%20it%20all%20to%20a%20boil...%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnd%20here's%20the%20cool%20part,%20which%20I%20couldn't%20get%20a%20good%20picture%20of.%20At%20the%20moment%20that%20it%20starts%20to%20boil,%20the%20bright%20fuschia%20color%20instantaneously%20turns%20to%20dark%20purple.%20I%20have%20no%20idea%20how%20or%20why%20this%20works%20but%20this%20is%20what%20happens.%20It's%20amazing,%20it's%20incredible,%20it's%20alchemy!%20This%20is%20why%20I%20love%20canning.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20have%20several%20jars%20put%20away%20already%20and%20still%20more%20to%20do;%20I'm%20going%20to%20try%20and%20finish%20up%20the%20rest%20of%20it%20today.%20The%20grapes%20have%20all%20been%20harvested,%20so%20there's%20no%20more%20to%20do%20once%20I%20finish%20this.%20It's%20been%20a%20fun%20project,%20though%20I'm%20now%20drowning%20in%20more%20grape%20jelly%20than%20I%20can%20ever%20use.%20But%20here's%20the%20reason%20I%20love%20Portland%20-%20there%20will%20be%20a%20preserve%20swap%20at%20the%20end%20of%20the%20month,%20where%20I%20can%20trade%20my%20extra%20jelly%20jars%20for%20lots%20of%20other%20interesting%20things%20that%20other%20people%20have%20made!%20This%20way%20I%20can%20fill%20out%20our%20larder%20without%20eating%20too%20much%20of%20one%20thing%20or%20spending%20any%20money.%20I%20can't%20wait%20to%20see%20what%20I%20can%20trade%20for.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIn%20the%20meantime,%20I'm%20happy%20to%20report%20that%20this%20jelly%20tastes%20excellent%20with%20peanut%20butter.%20Welch's%20really%20just%20can't%20compare.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}