White Concord Grape Jam Recipe

Author: Jaime Johnson

Recipe type: Jams and Jellies

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour 45 mins

Serves: 4 pints

Had a bumper crop of white concord grapes this year and so I tried an old recipe I usually use with dark red or purple grapes. This isn't the prettiest jam I have ever made but it tastes awesome. Would be best with the purple concord grapes but I use what I have on hand. It works for me. Please note that it seems to take forever to separate the seeds from the pulp so one might be wise to use seedless grapes but then again you would miss that awesome concord grape flavor.

Ingredients

4 pounds Concord grapes (Remove Stems) Should end up with about 8 cups
5 cups sugar
5 tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbs. grated zest of an orange
2 tbs. fresh orange juice
a pinch of Sea Salt

Instructions

Separate the pulp from the skins of the grapes using your fingers to squeeze the flesh from each grape, being careful to catch all the grape pulp and juices in a pan. This is a very tedious job but it has to be done. Set the skins aside in another bowl. I put the skins in a food processor and chop them finely.
Bring the grape pulp and juices to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Press through a sieve or food mill. Discard the seeds or save to try and grow your own grapes (That’ll be another blog topic on saving seeds).
Add the sieved grape pulp, sugar, lemon juice, orange zest, and orange juice and the grape skins to a large non-reactive pot (I use Stainless Steel). Bring to a boil over high heat.
Continue to cook the jam, stirring very frequently. If the jam starts sticking, lower the heat slightly. When the jam is done, it will set up on an ice cold spoon usually after 45 to 60 minutes. To avoid overcooking the jam, test it for doneness after 30 minutes of cooking. To test, remove the jam from the heat and carefully transfer a small amount to a cold spoon and set in freezer for 2-3 mins. Tilt the spoon to see how quickly the jam runs. If the jam has thickened to a spreadable consistency, it is done. Continue cooking until you are satisfied with the consistency.
When the jam is ready, skim any white foam from its surface. Pour the jam into sterilized jars and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (I process pints for 15 mins.)

Notes

I usually make homemade vinegar from these grapes each year and since I harvested so many grapes this year I decided to try making the jam. The color of the jam is brown, quite unlike the lovely purple we are so use to. I actually thought it would turn out more clear or more yellow but no, it came out a very dark brown. It does however taste great so it worked out fine.