Right up my alley! I make this pie and grape jam with them.

Grape Pie

I had an overabundance of grapes a couple years back. I had no idea of what to do with them all. I had already made 70 jars of grape jam. I stumbled on this pie in the Best of Amish Cooking by Phyllis Pellman Good and combined it with a recipe I found on www.allrecipes.com that was submitted by Terri. This is what I came up with. It makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

3-4 ½ cups grapes
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 tablespoon tapioca
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 disc pie dough

Topping
½ cup quick oats
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup butter

Stem grapes, wash, drain and squeeze from skins. Chop skins and set aside. Simmer pulp for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately put through a food press or strainer to separate seeds. Discard seeds.

Stir pulp and skins together. Blend in sugar ¼ cup flour, tapioca, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon butter.

Roll out pie dough to fit 9 inch pie pan and place in pan. Spoon grape mixture into pie shell.

Combine topping ingredients until it resembles a coarse crumble. Sprinkle over pie. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce to 350 degrees F and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Sounds great!

Since these are seedless, I assume there would be no need to simmer them...right?

As far as chopping the skins, could I put them in a food processor, and just 'pulse' them lightly so they wouldn't be a pasty mush?

I'm not a tapioca person. What might I substitute?

I'm not much of a cooker (not a lot of experience). Can you tell?

Sue

I guess you're right since they're seedless. I've only made it with my own Concords which have seeds. I always use my food processor & pulse the skins to chop them! The tapioca I believe is just used as a thickener...maybe corn starch as a substitute.

Thanks bunches...will skip the simmering, substitute cornstarch, and 'pulse'.

Once I try it, I'll report on it. I don't do a lot of cooking or baking (by most standards) but do make a pretty good crust from scratch.

Sue

I haven't done it in years but the man next door used to have grapes and always gave me what he didn't want.
I just washed them and cut in half and removed the seeds....but even with seedless I would cut them in half.

Make your crust for a 2 crust 9 inch pie and put the bottom half into the pie plate add
2 1/2 cups of halved grapes tossed with
1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp grated lemon rind
add the grapes put into the crust, cover with the top crust, cut slits in the top crust and bake in a preheated 450 oven for 10 minutes, without opening the door, turn the oven down to 350 and bake another 25 to 40 minutes until the slits are oozing and the top is nicely browned.
This is not a "solid" pie like Boo's recipe....this will be a juicy fruit pie.
Linda C

That one sounds yummy as well...must try them both, while the grapes are available.

I'm so excited...hopefully Thursday will be pie day along with canning the first tomato juice of the season.

Now...next question. Since I will have more grapes than I can use up in pies now and for sharing and eating fresh, do you think I could just freeze them in the correct portions for pie making later in the year?

Sue

I think that would be fine. I freeze them whole (when I'm tired of looking at them) and make jam later on in the year.

I hadn't thought if it in years, but my mom used to make a grape cobbler that I thought was wonderful. Just the usual old fashioned type with like a pie crust on top & bottom, not the cobbler where you mix a batter & pour. I never have mastered the old fashioned cobblers like she had :(

I never have mastered the old fashioned cobblers like she had :(

What haven't you mastered? My guess is the crust.

Sue

Yep, it is the crust. Should be simple. I finally can make a decent pie crust, not great but acceptable. Same with her biscuits, mine are ok, not like hers. Mom's biscuits were good even the next day. I've been told it is because she used lard, from the difference in flour today, etc. Every time I've tried to make the crust for her cobbler, mine is just really dry & tough. I don't think I overwork it, but I have given up & just use the battered type. Maybe if I had it today, it wouldn't be as good as I remember it, she died when I was 10 & tastes change :)

Have you ever had frozen grapes as a treat? Just freeze them whole and then remove a handful when you (or others) need a snack. If I had an abundance of grapes that's what I'd do.... unfortunately the critters get all of ours.