The wild grape vine at the end of our lane was loaded with fruit the week before Labor Day. Finally, I decided to pick them and make jelly. Never mind that I did not inherit the skills of my sister and other relatives which leads to the sugar, fruit, and pectin mixture actually turning from thin liquid into jelly.
Still, I was determined to harvest that fruit and fend off starvation this winter. So I found a recipe on the internet, picked the grapes, and followed the directions to a tee – even purchasing liquid pectin per the recipe instead of the powdered pectin everybody else in the family uses. I took pictures of every step of the process, knowing all of you would want to see exactly how to make your own jelly. I even took little notes to share with readers about how many cups of grapes equal a pound and other good stuff. In the end, I had 4 pints and 5 jelly jars of deep purple, sweet as sugar goodness.
And guess what happened?
That’s right. All that beautiful jelly didn’t jell. BUT, Hiram assures me it is the dandiest wild grape syrup ever. However, before he made the pronouncement, I washed my hands of the jelly syrup experience and threw away all the little notes I was going to share.
I’m still in a bit of a purple funk about the whole experience. So instead of rewriting the recipe, you can check it out at this link. Just cross out the word jelly and replace it with syrup, follow the recipe, and you’ll be set for pancakes all winter. Or, use powdered pectin in place of the liquid stuff and see what happens. If you get jelly instead of syrup, please let me know. If it works for you, maybe I’ll give it another try next year. Or maybe you can just send me a couple jars of yours. Based on past experience, that’s the only way homemade jelly will ever grace the pantry shelves at this house.
