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This process is surprisingly easy! You will definitely find yourself stocking up on muscadine jelly every single August!
There are so many things I wish I had my Grandma teach me while she was still around and jelly making is definitely one of them.
Anytime I mention muscadine jelly or jam, someone will always ask...what are muscadines? Either that or they ask if I've ever made muscadine wine. While I haven't made wine, I love making jelly! And always try to make enough to last the whole year. But we can never seem to make it stretch.
So what are muscadines anyway?
They are a type of grape! That grow wild actually and are native to the area where I live.
Wild Muscadine grapes tend to be about the size of a Concord grape you would find in the grocery stores. If you pick up a cultivated muscadine vine from a garden store and plant it yourself, they seem to give off much larger fruit.
They are purple in color. Although Scuppernongs, a variety of Muscadine, is more of a golden color.
They have a pretty tough hull, or outer skin. In fact most people just eat the inside of the grape and leave the skin.
Where can you find them?
They grow wild in the southeastern region of the US. They can be found vining over Privet hedges and other shrubs from about Virginia over to Arkansas down through the eastern part of Texas and over to Florida. We are lucky enough to sit right in the middle of their native region in Georgia!
If you live in the areas where they grow wild, you can find them in just about every wooded areas around you! You may likely have a vine growing in your own backyard trying to take over any low growing shrubbery.
You can probably find them in your local grocery store as well, but I don't usually see a ton of them. You might have to do some looking around your produce area. However, I would bet you can find plenty a local farmers market.
When can you find them?
In late June through the middle of July you will start to notice green little berry sized grapes appearing. I start really watching out for them at the start of August. in fact, because I have to have a reminder set for everything I do in my life, I have a yearly reminder set to start planning for muscadines every year on August 1st! But by mid August they begin to ripen and are ready to go! You will know they are ripe when they become a dark purple color and easily pull right off the vine.
One of my favorite things about muscadines is their smell! They have a scent that is similar to spices like nutmeg or allspice. They just seem to let you know fall is coming!
Tips for growing garden store variety (cultivated) muscadine vines.
If you have a backyard with minimal wild shrubs or creeping vines, then planting your own is a great way to ensure you have fruit each year.
They need a very sturdy trellis or structure of some sort to grow as it will get big and pretty heavy. When I first planted mine, I thought a couple of posts with a heavy wire between them would be sufficient. I was wrong. My husband ended up building an arching trellis for it alongside with my blackberry and raspberry vines.
Another thing I noticed is that it took the plant until the third season to really start putting out a crop of grapes large enough to do anything with. So just be patient, she'll get there!
Ok, so now you know a few facts and tips. The summer heat and humidity are at their most unbearable in the south so you know its time to go muscadine grape hunting and picking! Here is how you turn those grapes into jelly.
Jelly Making
You will need enough grapes to fill a large bowl or pitcher. Somewhere around 6 or 7 cups of fruit will be plenty.
Make sure you wash them all off and remove any stems and leaves.
Pour them all into a large stockpot and add just enough water so that all of the grapes are covered.
Boil the grapes for about 10 minutes.
While they are boiling you can sterilize your jars and lids. Do this by washing them really well, even if they are new. Boil the lids and rims in water and heat up the jars in the oven at about 300 for a few minutes. I just set my jars on a baking sheet and carefully slide them in the oven. Then set everything out to cool and dry while you get ready mash some grapes.
Once your grapes have been boiling for 10 minutes or so, use a potato masher and start mashing! The cooked muscadines will start to separate from their thick skins and seeds.
Continue boiling and mashing for another 10 to 15 minutes until you think you have mashed down all the grape pulp you can and your sauce is a very deep purple color.
After you have smashed out all the juice, pour it through a mesh strainer into a large bowl and mash some more to get every drop of juice you can. Then you can discard the left over skins and seeds.
Tips: Use a strainer with a fine mesh, like this one. You are handling hot liquid so a second pair of hands is helpful if you can recruit anyone. You will likely have to do this part in batches. Another tip is to at least give it a second pour through the strainer to be sure you are left with only juice and none of the seeds or skins.
Measure out 5 cups of juice and then pour that back into your large pot. You can use the same one you boiled the grapes in.
Tips: I've never tried to double a batch or figure out the math if you have more than 5 cups of juice. Everything I have read about this highly suggests you don't double the amount of sugar and pectin, but work in batches instead if you have left over juice and want to make more jelly. You can also use the left over juice and make a syrup, if you don't have enough for a full 2nd batch.
Into your pot of juice, add 6 cups of sugar (yes...6 cups), 1 box of pectin or SureJell and a teaspoon of butter. The butter will help prevent bubbles and foaming.
Bring this to a rolling boil for about 5 minutes. Stir very often to make sure you don't burn or scald your jelly mixture and ensure that all of the pectin and sugar dissolves. You will know your jelly mixture is ready to jar if you dip a metal spoon in and the juice kind of coats the spoon when you pull it back out. A little bit like cough syrup.
Here is where you are going to want to call those extra pair of hands back in! Pour the hot jelly mixture into your jars, leaving about a quarter inch headspace. This is also much easier with two people. A canning funnel makes this so much easier as well!
You can use any size jar you prefer. Obvisiouly, the larger the jars, the smaller your batch. I think most people generally use half pint jars.
Wipe the rim of the jar being sure to remove any mixture that escaped. Then add your lids and rims.
Now from here you have a couple of options to seal them. I usually use the inversion method, which I will explain here. However, I've read lots of comments that say it isn't the safest way to seal and store canned goods and insist water bath canning is the safest method. I will leave that up to you! I have had success both ways.
Inversion Method:
For the inversion method, you will screw the lids and rims on tight and flip them over, upside down, while they are still hot (so be careful not to burn your fingers). Let them sit upside down for about 5 minutes or so. Then flip them right-side up again. As they cool you should start to hear them pop and seal off.
Boiling Water Bath Method:
If you are nervous about this or prefer to can using a water bath then here is how you do that. Screw the lids and rims on tight and lower them into a large pot of water. Cover the jars completely in the water and bring to a full rolling boil. Let them boil for 10 minutes. (Check your elevation rules if you live at an altitude over 1001 feet. or additional bathing times)
Once time is up, use a jar lifter to remove your jars from the water bath. Place them on a towel to cool. As they cool you should hear them pop and seal off.
Either way you go, if you find after several hours that any jars have not popped, meaning you can feel the lid give when you press on it, then put that one in the fridge and use it first. It will be fine in the fridge for a while. But this does mean it didn't seal off properly and will likely spoil if you store it in your pantry. If this is your first time canning anything, do a little research on proper canning methods to prevent any food poisoning.
Once everything has properly sealed, store them in a cool dark place, like your pantry. If you are feeling generous share them with friends and family. You can even hang on to them for a little bit, add a super cute jar label and hand them out as Christmas gifts.
Using Your Homemade Jelly
My favorite way to use my Muscadine Jelly is on a bagel or English muffin with a little cream cheese. Of course as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is delicious. I like to set out a small bowl as an addition to a charcuterie board with some crackers, cheese and pepperoni at a get together, never missing an opportunity to say - I made that - anytime anyone takes a little. Am I the only one who likes a little jelly with grits?
Conclusion
So if it is turning late summer and you are in any of the southern states, add this muscadine jelly recipe to your must do list! It is a perfect way to start welcoming in fall!