Muscadine jelly, a delightful Southern staple captures the essence of the unique wild grapes. Vibrant color and distinct sweetness, muscadines are a very popular fruit to turn into jelly. The best part is you can forage these all over!
What you Need to Make Muscadine Jelly:
Muscadines are bringing their one-of-a-kind flavor to the table. Look for ripe, plump muscadines with a deep color when making jelly. Here’s what you’ll need:
Muscadine Jelly Ingredients
- Fresh muscadine grapes (about 5lbs, stems removed)
- Granulated sugar
- Fruit pectin
- Fresh lemon juice
Why You’ll Love this Muscadine Jelly
- Naturally Sweet: Muscadines are one of nature’s candy, their natural sweetness shines in this jelly.
- Versatile Pairing: Spread it on warm biscuits or toast, use it as a glaze, or enjoy it with cheese.
- Homemade Goodness: Making your own muscadine jelly is rewarding, and the taste beats anything from the store.
- Southern Tradition: True Southern flavor, this jelly brings a touch of nostalgia to your table.
What is Muscadine Jelly?
Muscadine jelly is a classic Southern delight that showcases the unique flavor of these grapes into a smooth, spreadable treat. Muscadine grapes are found growing wild all over the Southern United States, as well as cultivated varieties.
Starting with fresh muscadines, the grapes are simmered and strained to extract their juice. A touch of lemon juice and pectin are added for balance and texture. Its a great recipe to gift to loved ones or enjoy yourself.
How to Make Muscadine Jelly:
This should be a bullet list of steps to take. Summarized with ChatGPT, entry paragraph will give a bit of explanation
- Prep and Crush: Rinse the muscadines, remove the stems and gently crush the grapes to release their juices.
- Simmer and Strain: In a large stockpot, bring the crushed muscadines to a simmer and strain the juice to remove all seeds and grape skin.
- Combine Ingredients: Mix the muscadine juice with granulated sugar, fruit pectin, and a splash of lemon juice.
- Bring to Boil: Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it reaches a rolling boil, stirring regularly.
- Skim Foam: As it boils, remove any foam that is on the surface with a large spoon.
- Test for Set: To check if the jelly is ready, perform a wrinkle test by placing a small spoonful on a chilled plate.
- Fill Jars: Carefully ladle the hot jelly into sterilized canning jars, leaving space at the top.
- Seal and Process: Place sterilized lids on the jars, tighten the bands, and finish the jars in a water bath.
- Cool and Store: Cool the jars on a clean towel, then storing in a cool, dark place.
- Enjoy your homemade Muscadine Jelly!
Muscadine Jelly
Ingredients
- 6 cups water, just enough to cover the grapes
- 5 lbs muscadine grapes, rinsed and stems removed
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 1 box fruit pectin
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Prepare the Muscadine Juice
- Prep the muscadines by removing all stems and rinsing with water. Place the rinsed grapes into a large stockpot. Add just enough water to cover the grapes.
- Bring the muscadines to a simmer over medium heat. Use a potato masher to gently smash up the grapes while simmering. Crushing the muscadines is key to releasing all their juices.
- Simmer the muscadines for about half an hour to get all the color and flavor out of them. Remove from heat.
- Set up a fine strainer inside a large stainless steel bowl. Carefully pour the muscadines into the strainer. Use the potato masher, a large spoon or a pestle to mash the grape pulps left in the strainer to extract all the juices. Take your time, get every last bit of goodness from them!
Making the Muscadine Jelly
- 5 pounds of grapes will yield around 5 cups of juice. I have listed the ingredients for this, if you have more or less juice feel free to adjust the sugar and lemon juice accordingly.
- Combine the muscadine juice with the pectin in a large pot, bringing to a rolling boil while stirring regularly. Slowly add the granulated sugar and lemon juice while stirring.
- As it boils, remove any foam that forms on the surface with a large slotted spoon.
- To check if the jelly is ready, perform a wrinkle test by placing a small spoonful on a chilled plate from the freezer. It should wrinkle when pushed if it is ready. Remove from heat.
- Carefully ladle the jelly using a funnel into prepared sterilized jars. Be sure to leave a gap at the top of about 1/4 inch.
- Place sterilized lids on the jars, tighten the bands, and finish the jars in a water bath.
- Allow the jars to cool on a clean towel, and then store them in a cool, dark place.
- Enjoy your homemade muscadine jelly!
