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Beth Heaney on An abundance of grapes Jamie Green on An abundance of grapes Beth Heaney on An abundance of grapes karen anne on An abundance of grapes To comment on any posting, click on the word 'Comments' at the end of the item. |
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« Tales of Garden Objects: Angels | Main | Fall color won't wait » September 10, 2007An abundance of grapesBefore I begin, I have to mention that I no longer think the orange thing in my garden is a pumpkin after all (in my earlier blog entry). It looked like a pumpkin and it smelled like a pumpkin, but all is not what it seems. As I mentioned, there's also a deep green oval shaped pumpkin out there among the weeds, so I suspect they are not on the same vine. When I have some time, I have to find the base(s) of the plants to see what's actually going on there in the garden!
I separated the remainder of the grapes into 1-quart bags and gave them away at my church yesterday. This is the time of year when parishoners, overburdened with tomatoes and squash, share the extra vegetables from their gardens. You never know what you'll come home with. The biggest jar of jam went into an already-loaded gift bag for my dad's 75th birthday yesterday. I don't know what I love more about homemade jam -- a spoonful on a Ritz with cheese -- or the smile it elicits when you hand over a jar to someone who really appreciates it. Posted by Beth Heaney Commentskaren anne | September 10, 2007 5:45 PM link It is a lot of work. With the jelly, you cook the whole grape, make juice, let it sit for a day and then add pectin. Jam needs no pectin added. All you have to do is get the seeds out and get it all ground down real fine, then put in tons of sugar. It's worth it, I swear! I think you know if you're doing preserving too. Why do we do it? I know my husband wonders why, but the final product is so rewarding and sometimes even unique depending upon how creative you feel. It feels good to preserve. That about sums it up! Beth Heaney | September 10, 2007 6:09 PM link Hi, Jamie Green | September 18, 2007 1:42 PM link I live in Exeter, Rhode Island. The only thing I can tell you is that if you live in the woods like I do, you know when you smell them in the air, usually in one of the first cooler days. So in New Hampshire, that's probably earlier than in Rhode Island. I can only guess and say that mid-August would be around your time to pick. Last week, while sitting at the dinner table, a breeze blew in and the scent was overpowering. I looked at the clock and saw I only had about an hour of daylight left, got up and said, "Leave the dishes for now -- I'll be back in about an hour". In that hour, I easily picked 9 pounds. They were just beyond perfect but still good for anything I wanted to do with them. I chose to bring them to work and give them away. One bout of grape jam preserving was enough for this season for me. So I think your grape-picking time has passed, but knowing this you'll be ready for next season. Now's a better time to go with something using apples... Beth Heaney | September 18, 2007 2:09 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. |
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Separating the skins from the pulp? I was thinking with jam, the grapes would be cooked whole? Although then I don't know how you get the seeds out without straining out the pulp that makes it jam and not jelly.
Man, that must be a lot of work. I slave over my Mom's piccalilli recipe each year, and the ratio of work to jars of piccalili is very large. I can't imagine separating the skin from each grape for preserves.