I was at a farm stand the other day and they had a bunch of containers full of freshly picked concord grapes. The whole barn smelled delicious. The grapes were plump and tart. I bought 2 quarts of them. I stopped at my sister's house for lunch and we snacked on some of the grapes and then we decided that we had to do something with them other than eat all two quarts. What is the best thing to do with concord grapes, other than make Welch's juice? Jelly. Lots of delicious jelly.
After some googling, all of the jelly recipes I came across were loaded with sugar and lemon juice. I couldn't have it that way. Why mask the delicious tart flavor of the grapes with all that sweetness? I cut my sugar back considerably and only added enough lemon juice that my grapes wouldn't stick to my pan.
The jelly is delicious. I've eaten nearly half a jar of it. Smeared on toast, as half of peanut butter and jelly, sometimes just off the spoon. Delicious.
Concord Grape Jelly
1 1/2 pounds concord grapes\
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
Pull the grapes off the stems and put them in a pot with the lemon juice. Cover and boil until they burst and are mostly soft. At this point, I put them through a food mill using the smallest circles to crush the skins and get rid of the seeds. If you don't have a food mill, you can use a hand blender and then strain using cheese cloth.
Return the juice/goo back to the pot and add the sugar. Bring to a rigorous boil until the mixture hits 220 degrees.
Then can or put in a Tupperware in your fridge and enjoy!
