Grape Jam

I recently bought a bushel of Concord Grapes.  I have never even seen Concord Grapes, let alone tried to make something with them :)

To my delight, I found a grape jam recipe online.  There were many different versions.  I tried to choose one that made a large batch and used few ingredients.  Other than normal canning supplies, the recipe I went with simply uses grapes and sugar. 

Unfortunately, because our grapes were seeded, I had to remove all the skins.  So far, I've made two double batches of jam so I've skinned 32 cups of grapes.....YIKES!!  Thankfully, it's not difficult.  You just squeeze and the pulp pops out.  However, it's very time consuming.  Note to self....buy seedless next time :)

After separating, cook the pulp in one pot and skins in another.  I did add a little water to the skins so they didn't burn.  The pulp makes its own juice. 

After cooking for about 18-20 minutes, I ran the pulp through a food mill to remove the seeds.  You can do this right over the top of the skins since you will be cooking the skins and pulp together after removing the seeds.  Add sugar to skin/pulp mixture and cook for approx. 10 more minutes. 

I don't recommend covering the pots at any time.  I made this mistake and had grape skin juice overflow like lava.  It's makes a sticky purple mess! 

After boiling, fill jars leaving 1/4 inch head space.  I used pints, but you could use quarts or jelly jars or whatever size you like.  Then process in a hot water bath as usual.  I personally boil for 20 minutes with rapid bubbles.  When you take the lid off the canner, you should hear constant popping and pinging as the jars seal.  It's like music :) 

Remove jars from canner and let stand on cupboard.  You should know within a few hours if they've all sealed.  Refrigerate any that don't.  You can store sealed jars up to one year. 

The jam is a huge hit here!  Ruben devoured nearly a pint in one day :)  So far, I used about 1/2 bushel of grapes (we ate some) and it made 22 pints of jam.    I may try some juice with the rest of the grapes. 

What's your favorite jam?