Pruning the grapevine and making wild grape jelly.

  

Fall is literally around the corner.  A walk through the

garden brought my attention to the grape vines that I had let run wild on the garden fence this summer.  Although the vines may be helping to hold up the fence in some places, I decided it was time to prune them back but before that, I picked the grapes and set them aside until I could decide what to do with them.

There were actually more grapes than I thought!  I picked all of them regardless of color since there's not much time left in the season.  This was a personal choice and doesn't really change the taste.  Keep in mind that the greener grapes don't have as much juice in them. 

You can see how they had wound around the fence.  This doesn't necessarily bode well for the structural integrity of the fence!

 

 So many colors in the bowl!

All grapes have to be washed and stripped of any stems.

 

Good enough to eat; albeit a bit sour!

Jars and lids need to be sterilized.  Wash and boil for at least 15 minutes.

After cleaning the grapes, it's time to mash them.  I use an old fashioned potato masher.  Add about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of water to 8 cups of grapes. 

Bring to a medium boil and cook the grapes until they don't resemble grapes anymore.  You may use boxed pectin if you wish (follow the instructions on the box).  I chose to use 2 1/2 quartered apples instead as apples are loaded with natural pectin.  Simply add the apples to the grape mash once it begins to boil.

You can see in this photo that the grapes are lighter in color after boiling.

If you're going to making jelly on a regular basis, it's good to have some cheesecloth on hand.  Strain the grape mash through the cheesecloth.

You will end up with a lovely juice mixture.  The amount you have will depend on how juicy your grapes are.  Add approximately 3/4 cups of sugar to each cup of juice and cook until dissolved.  Pour into sterilized jars and seal. 

Let cool and refrigerate.  I like to turn mine upside down for about an hour when cooling.  This helps to create a seal.  Years ago I used wax to seal my jelly.  You may prefer to do that although it takes a bit longer, requires a pan especially for melting wax and can be a bit messy.

Spread on toast and enjoy or of course there's always the proverbial peanut butter and jelly sandwich!