Well, I'll be watching this carefully to see what others say.

I usually just cook the grapes and squish them through a food mill to get the seeds and skins. I am a bit weird about texture, so if a skin gets through, I'll pick it out, I haven't even TRIED to eat it!

Good luck, you're right, though, it would sure be easier to leave the skins on/in. Elderberry, huh? I thought I was the only person in the world that still made Elderberry jelly. This year I'm going to try autumn olive jelly, I found a site that had a recipe and the blasted things are everywhere. I keep pulling them, digging them, trying to get rid of them. If you cut them, they just come back twice as bushy. So, if I'm growing 'em, I'm eating 'em!

Annie

Annie, I got some autumn olives from a co-worker a few years ago and made jam. It is AWESOME! Beautiful color.... nicely sweet/tart, the way I like my jams. No pectin needed. I loved it mixed w/ plain yogurt. lol! That's how I like the elderberry jam -- in yogurt. Don't know why, but I love the seeds in it for that. :O)

I usually make grape jelly the way you describe, but I'm thinking that grape jam might be a lot in texture like the cherry jam my mother used to make, and that sounds good to me right now.

Annie, I'm back to report on my experiment! O M G.... it's worth it! :O)

These aren't your everyday wild grape. They "showed up" on the fence at the back of the clubhouse where I play golf. I'm on very good terms with the owner, so I asked him in JUNE if I could have these grapes when they're ripe. LOL! I've been watching them grow all summer and think they look like a cross between a red grape and a concord grape. I already made a batch of jelly from these: the color is more of a dark red than purple, and I think the taste hints of cranberries, but the color may contribute to that. lol!

I picked about a quart of berries -- just eyeballing. It took me about 45 mins. to split them and pop out their large seeds, and I ended up with 2 1/3 cups halved grapes. I simmered them w/ a little extra water until they were soft -- maybe 20-25 mins, and then added 1 2/3 cups sugar and boiled to the gel point. The skins seem to have pretty much disappeared! I yielded 2 cups of jam, plus just enough extra to put in a tiny jar and bring to the owner of the golf course. :O) He told me he heard the land was previously a farm and that the owner had planted WINE grapes, so that's what these must be. They sure made a fine grape jam!!! One of these days I'd like to try making a wine jelly.

So here are some pics, and as soon as I was done I realized I had gunked up the outside of the jars with fingerprints. :p

And a closeup:

That grape jam looks awesome, party, now I'll have to try it when the Muscats at Amanda's get ripe.

Thanks for the description of the autumn olive jelly, it sounds like I'd like that, so now I'm even more inclined to make it.

Annie

Annie, I think I remember the autumn olive jam I made being seedless.... so either the autumn olives didn't have significant seeds, or I'm forgetting that I strained the pulp. I do remember the final texture being thick/pulpy, so that's why I referred to it as jam. I remember what the berries looked like.... they were a dull red, about the size of large elderberries, and had little yellow speckles on them. I don't remember if they had seeds! do they?!

Heck, I don't know. So far I've cut them down, pulled them up, dug them, burned them. Everything but eat them!

Annie

haha! well, definitely EAT them! they made good jam/jelly and I would definitely take any if they were offered to me! I remember the taste being a little like raspberry/currant. :)

When I was a kid, my Grandmother had decent size arbor of Concord grapes. Around this time of year, me (and any other grandkid around) got sent out to pick the bunches of grapes. We hadda battle the yellow jackets many times. She'd just load all the grapes into sink to wash. We hadda pick them off stems... tho a few strays were acceptable... and into a BIG pot that went on top of stove. She'd simmer till skins came off and "eyeballs" were floating. Then simmered longer till it was ready to run thru old-fashioned Foley foodmill... which I still have.

She'd set aside some of this for the BEST grape juice ever. To the rest, she'd add LOTS of sugar... can't remember her ever using pectin, so guess it was jam as a result. She'd just simmer down til "thick enough and done", then into jars. She'd put melted parafin wax on top to seal.

My other Superwoman friend made me some swamp grape jelly.

The best grape jelly ever!

dcarch

I haven't made anything from grapes except many years ago DH and I made two bottles of wine from the wild grapes growing on our place. Best wine we've ever tasted. Unfortunately, we sold that place and moved to our present location. I sure do miss the wild grapes, huge black raspberries, mulberries and the two seckel pear trees. Down here something went through over 25 years ago and none of the wild grapes produce fruit anymore.

We have tons of autumn olive bushes down here, much to our neighbors displeasure. They are into eradicating invasive plants and I won't try to get rid of the autumn olive. They do have seeds. Every year I keep saying I'm going to make some jam and some wine from them, but haven't yet. I've heard the wine is very, very good. Maybe this year.

Madonna, I love Seckel pears, I'm going to plant some at the farm. The wild grapes here don't seem to do well either, but I have some seedless Concord that I planted and Amanda has the old Muscat vines that Grandpa planted decades ago. The Muskats are doing OK this year, not a Concord on the vine. I don't know why.

I keep trying to eradicate the Autumn Olive too, because it's taking over my hay field. If it would only grow in the woods or the swampy areas, I'd leave it be, but I can't have a row of the blasted thorny things in the middle of the hay.

Annie

Here's a place that will give you more information on the Autumn Olives.

http://foragersharvest.com/autumnberry-autumn-olive/

I've heard the only way to get rid of them is by use of nasty chemicals or kerosene. Don't think I'm interested. Besides, they are so high in cancer fighting properties and other healthful benefits.

Annie, I love the Seckel pears, too. I miss them so much. I've tried planting fruit trees here over the last twenty-five years, but if the deer don't destroy them, the DH or helpful neighbors do. I planted seedless Concords and another type of table grapes a couple of times, but they didn't do anything. Our neighbor who has been down here for about thirty years said whatever it was that went through here and kept the wild grapes from producing did the same thing with the domesticated grapes as well.

I hope everyone finds a way to get rid of their unwanted Autumn Olive and the ones who keep them can take advantage of all the different ways to prepare them and enjoy all the healthful benefits of them.

Madonna

Madonna, I've only had luck by digging and/or pulling them, then burning the bushes. I just can't spray the stuff the extension service tells me is required to kill them, although I've been told that if I cut them, then drill/hammer a couple of holes into the stump and "treat" the stump I can kill them while keeping the poison very contained. I'm stuff not comfortable, so it's the tractor and I just keep pulling, digging, burning. Every single year. Ugh.

Here they grow everywhere, along the roads, along the fencelines, in the National Forest. They are crowding out the native plants, which is worrisome but if I dig and burn all of mine, there are thousands, probably millions, on National Forest land and the county/state right of ways, so unless I run out of time, I won't miss out.

Which reminds me to check the elderberries which grow wild along the swampy end of my woods...

Annie

There are numerous recipes online for Spiced Grape Jelly, mostly using the same ingredients and methods. Delicious, unusual and I have never met anyone who does not fall in love with the flavor.