Grape Jelly

We didn't used to like grape jelly. That's because we got it from the store. Grape jelly made from your own grapes is altogether different.

But I found something to make it even better. I tried it two years ago and the jelly was fabulous. Went back to regular method last year, and the flavor of the jelly suffered (although it was still loads better than store jelly). Today I made grape jelly again and got a super-duper product.

Instead of smashing up the grapes and cooking them in water and extracting the juice, I put the grapes through my juicer. I have to send the leftover grape-mush through the juicer again and again, until it's finally dry enough that no more juice is being squeezed out. It makes a humongous mess; seeds flying everywhere and grape-stained hands and table. (I did the work outside.) Jelly made this way has such a good strong grapy flavor because no water is added. I used the pectin's recipe for grape jam instead of grape jelly, because so much of the fruit gets squeezed into the juice.

You'd never win a prize at the fair for this grape jelly: it doesn't have that clear, bejeweled look. And it's not lumpy enough to be proper jam. Nevertheless, the results make this jelly more valuable to me than any blue ribbon.

Twenty-six jars of jelly later, I learned two things. Jelly-making really does make me happy, and helps combat depression. (No wonder we've gotten totally overloaded with jam sometimes in the past.) Second, when you work in a kitchen with counter-space, everything is SO much easier! (I had to use the church kitchen because of the difficulty we're having with plumbing at the parsonage.)