At one time my mother in law would make many different flavors of jams and jellies. This is one of her old recipes that she has given to me.
We have updated this recipe due to a typo in step 2. The amount of juice should be 4 cups, not 4 quarts.
Read More The amounts on this recipe are way, way off. Three and a half pounds of concord grapes don't even come close to providing 4 quarts of juice. It provides about 1/3 to a 1/2 of that amount. Once you've got your juice, you get to guess the amount of sugar and pectin to put in, leaving you with a runny mess. Unless you know what you're doing, don't bother with this recipe!
Read MoreWe have updated this recipe due to a typo in step 2. The amount of juice should be 4 cups, not 4 quarts.
Awesome and easy recipe...Directions are great...I got exactly 4 cups of juice from the 3 1/2 lbs of grapes and 8 half pints from each recipe. The only thing I did different is instead of letting the juice sit overnight, I cooled it at room temperature for a couple of hours, and then put it in the fridge for a couple of hours so I cuold finish my jelly the same day that I started it.
This is how i make grape jelly all the time, but i do not add water and i use wild grapes... the flavour of the grape is better if no water is added. You do have to use more grapes to get the cups needed to make the jelly.
Lovely jelly, with a beautiful, deep purple colour and silky texture. Sweet, but you still have a good grape flavour coming through. Crushing, juicing & straining the grapes may seem like a pain, but the end product is worth it. Don't try to make a double batch because 1. when the mixture boils hard for 1 minute, it really foams up high. It would have boiled over my big jam pot if I increased the recipe, and 2. large batches (i.e. more than 4 c. grape juice) of grape jelly don't seem to set up well.
The amounts on this recipe are way, way off. Three and a half pounds of concord grapes don't even come close to providing 4 quarts of juice. It provides about 1/3 to a 1/2 of that amount. Once you've got your juice, you get to guess the amount of sugar and pectin to put in, leaving you with a runny mess. Unless you know what you're doing, don't bother with this recipe!
I've never hot water bathed jam or jelly and should have listened to my gut. The 1/2 jar you always have left over jelled perfectly but all the full jars that I water bathed are grape syrup. Great on pancakes and ice cream so no real loss.
This is a very good recipe, although i personally would cut back on the sugar by a half cup to a cup, it seems extreamly sweet.
The jelly turned out great. I used the grapes out of my garden (not sure if they are concord). I didn't get exactly 4 cups of juice from my 3 1/2lbs of grapes, I probably only got about 3 3/4cups of juice and I only used 6 cups of sugar. I had some of the jelly this morning on toast with peanut butter and it was great. I will be making more tonight.
Good Recipe! I didn't have enough grapes to end up with 4 cups of juice so I cheated and added store bought grape juice (100% juice) to increase it to the right amount. It turned out perfectly jelled but I do think it's a little sweeter than I like.
I made four batches with white concord grapes from my garden, they all turned out perfectly with just a little extra juice left. The jelly is great on toast or on crackers with cheese for a quick simple hors-d'oeuvre.
Good grief this was labor intensive but I had a lot of grapes to use up from my garden and wanted to try it. The flavor is so fresh!! I did read some other reviews and used more grapes than called for to make the 4 cups of liquid since water would only weaken the taste. I also used about 5&1/2 cups of sugar instead of 7 to cut back on sweetness. My jelly set up almost immediatly with no problems and i did not process it, just tipped it over onto the top and let it cool down that way for about 1/2 hour then tipped it back upright and the lids could be heard popping inward to seal the jar.
Great Jelly, easy and very tasty. One question, exactly how much pectin is used? 6 oz. or 3 oz.?
7 cups of sugar makes the jelly so sweet you can't taste the grapes. 4 cups of sugar works about right. Not sure what the 1/2 cup of water is for - omitted that. Have made over 150 jars of jelly using this recipe this summer - with the modifications mentioned and people love it!!
I just picked all the grapes off my grape vine, and made juice from all them. Then made batches of jelly using 3 to 4 cups of juice. You can cut the sugar down. Be sure to buy the pectin for low/no sugar recipes!
This is a great recipe...written fairly easy to follow...it is similar to that of most jelly recipes as they all follow the basic recipe of fruit, water, sugar, pectin...even if you look at the pectin recipe insert in the box it gives you very similar ingredients and measurements...I did cut back the sugar to 5 cups. (that's why the 4 star instead of 5)...it's more personal preference. I find the sugar covers the grape taste if there is too much. My concords were super sweet on their own. The sugar is probably needed as part of the thickening process but mine was even gelling as I was getting to the last jar. The hot bath can be eliminated...if your jars are still hot from sterilization and your jam is hot as you are pouring it into the jars they will seal. Usually the bath is to ensure sealing. Very grateful for the recipe as it gave me the direction I needed with grapes and making jelly with them for the first time!
Received a 5lb bucket of grapes from my neighbor, made this recipe and oh boy!! this has got to be the best jelly. I gave some back to the neighbor and he was astounded by how good it was.
Like another reviewer I used 100% Grape Juice that I purchased on sale during Passover. I could have been thicker but my short cut could have caused this.
Great recipe. My grandson asks for it everytime he comes over. He likes it on crackers.
Actually had to retry this recipe. The first time I did it, my pot was too small and when it boiled over the mixture hitting the burner caused an immediate kitchen fire - tried to salvage the jelly but it hadn't cooked enough to jell properly so I had to throw it out. The second time (after buying a 12 quart pot), Kroger was out of concord grapes so I had to use white grapes. Recipe worked wonderfully and the jelly is delicious!
Y'all this is so good and so easy!! I used 2 different types of grapes and it was still so pretty and so yummy.
I too was confused as another reviewer about the amount of pectin. The recipe says 6 oz while the video says 3 oz. I searched for other grape jelly recipes and found that most were saying 1 pouch (85 ml) of liquid pectin to 4 cups grape juice. I put in 1 pouch and a half of another pouch for good measure. It came out fairly firm. So next time I will use 1 pouch of liquid pectin, which is about 3 oz. I also cut the sugar down to 6 cups. The jelly is still quite sweet but all around I am happy with the way it turned out.
Wonderful recipe! I made it with just juice, no added water, I used 3 Tbsp. powdered low-no sugar pectin and 3 1/2 cups sugar. Turned out great! Thanks
Amazing recipe! This was my first time canning jelly and to my surprise it came out perfect! I used fresh concord grapes from my garden and 3 1/2lbs. made almost exactly 4 cups. I will definitely make this again and again!
love it, but wish there was less sugar, Don't just add less sugar, the recipe will not set up!
Worked perfectly on my mix of grapes from the backyard (only some of which were Concord). Not overly sweet which we like. I'll use this one again.
I've made this a couple times now. It has turned out perfect both times. This is my go-to recipe now when concord grapes are in season. Thank you for sharing your secret family recipe with us :)
Work exactly as called for, amounts spot on, jelly was great and this is was my first attempt ever at canning. Just ran a second batch. First batch was not runny and exactly like store bought but better favor because they were my grapes.
This turned out great. Be advised that with the amount of sugar this recipe calls for, the jelly turns out EXTREMELY sweet. If you are looking for the grape flavor to come out more, I'd recommend cutting back on the sugar by at least 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups. This was my first time making my own jelly; thanks for the starter recipe!
I made the preserves and it had lots of flavors?. I do recommend this recipe. But I did make some changes. I used 4lbs. of grapes with 5 cups of sugar. I wished I had used 4 cups of sugar. I will alter next time. One more thing I did was after removing the juice from the grapes. I got my processor and ground up the skins and remaining pieces. I did like the taste and texture. But either way would have been good I'm sure. It yielded 4 and a half pint jars.
easy to make but the term "extract juice" may catch some newbies to making jelly. I used a funnel shaped colander with wood pestle to crush the grapes down to extgract the juice. also I used pork shredding claws (used in shredding BBQ) to initially crush the grapes in the pot.
No changes - was concerned it would be too sweet, based on other reviews. I am not a jelly eater, but my husband is, he LOVES the jelly and says that it is better than the brand currently in the refrigerator, and is not as sweet.
This jelly is very yummy. Id suggest upping the grapes to 4lbs per batch. I had 7.3 Lbs of grapes, separated into two batches, and both batches came up about a cup short on juice. I had to adjust the rest of the ingredients for less. each batch made 8 Jelly Jars worth. I love it so much Im telling everyone about it, and how easy it was.
I made this followed the instructions to the “T” it came out Liquidy.... Why. Not happy with the results. Looks like syrup.
Just a bit too sweet, but the consistency is perfect. Makes a great PBJ sandwich and my husband enjoys it on his toast.
I smashed the grapes with an antique wood potato masher in a 9x13 metal pan, one thin layer at a time. Cooked in a 6 quart large pot and added 2 cups water. Made 3 separate batches using Certo pectin. If you don't quite have enough juice, add more water. I used a metal mesh large drive with my potato masher. It gets the most pulp out. My grapes had seeds. Then with the left over skins/seeds I put into a pot added a gallon water and whisked. Then pour into large jar with cheesecloth. I made grape juice. Add sugar to taste. I made 13 pints of jelly and 3 quarts grape juice. So much better than store bought!
I made this last year and after reading a comment, I did not add any water...It was delicious. I am in the process of making it again but forgot to read the review that eliminated the water so I will see if it is as good as last year's batch when I am finished.
This recipe is sickeningly sweet and the pectin amount is confusing. I cut the sugar from 7 cups to 4 1/2 cups which seemed to help. Also, I saw several reviews asking for the correct amount of liquid pectin -- it should be 6oz not 1/2 of a 6oz container. This recipe is written confusing and I would recommend making an edit to clarify this. Only using 3oz led to the jelly not setting up
It did come out fine, but I didn't heed the warning to make small batches. I had more grape juice so I tried to do it all. it was tricky but I got it to come out okay. Next time I will not try and increase batches and follow the batch size as directed.
I have a very large grape vine in my yard. I have done nothing with them except give them away to neighbours until this year. I decided to make jelly and grape juice with the bumper crop that I have this year. I made two batches of this jelly. The first batch is setting very well and is really good but very sweet, as are most jams and jellies. The second batch I made was with half the sugar. It didn't set too well so I am going to reboil it and use more liquid pectin (a friend who makes jams and jellies all the time told me this would work). Anyway I am very pleased with this jelly and found it extremely easy to make.
I absolutely loved this recipe and how quick it was to make. On my second batch I substituted 1/2 C. of juice with 1/2 C. frozen grape juice concentrate for an even more grape tasting jelly
This worked awesome for me my family truly enjoys the process from picking and cleaning the grapes to filling the jars. Thank you for such a great recipe
So good! I use the food mill to separate the seeds and skins while the grapes are hot. I think it’s easier.
We collected very ripe wild Concord grapes so we had to reduce the sugar significantly, probably by 50% and slightly increase the pectin. We added no water. The jelly was both easy and delicious!!
Easy to do. Nice texture and great taste.
this recipe was perfect. I used grapes from my backyard vine. thoroughly crushing the grapes was mandatory for maximum flavour. I was thrilled how this jelly turned out.
Turned out great! Followed a previous suggestion to use extra juice instead of adding water. Used Concord grapes from my garden.
I tried to use Truvia to replace half the sugar, but I think that messed it all up. The color looks good, it has a good flavor, but it is really sweet. The other problem is that it is very runny, it looks like grape juice!! The little bit that was left over, didn't fit in the jars, set up nicely in the fridge, but softens up pretty quickly once on toast. I did use the pink carton of sure jell for less or no sugar, so I think the problem has to be because of using Truvia. I used 1 cup Truvia ( the container said to use 1/2 as much as sugar) and 1 and 1/2 cups sugar. Any helpful comments?
I had extra grapes, so I had more juice after crushing, and it seemed to not need much water. Flavor is excellent! I strained the juice through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, and the jelly was very clear, not a speck of pulp. Have extra cheesecloth on hand. I had to change it a few times as the pulp clogged it...well worth the little extra effort, although overall, this recipe is quite easy. I'm a beginning jelly maker and I didn't screw this one up!
This recipe was perfect! I got exactly 4 cups of juice from 3.5 pounds of grapes. I used the concords from my garden. It was delicious!
I have made this before, but now I have a question. If I did step 1 (the juice) and don't have time to continue the recipe right away, how long can the juice sit in the refrigerator? Is 3-4 days OK?
This Grape Jelly became pancake syrup! I followed directions as written, but used powdered pectin because that's what I had on hand. So, I will re-process when I have the liquid pectin. And, yes, it is so sweet that it tastes more like grape lollipops than jelly. It has truly been a learning opportunity. Next batch will have less sugar and a different pectin product.
No changes. 1st time jelly maker. Won't make again til at least next year when grapes are ripe
I made jelly for the first time EVER In September 2018. My neighbor gave a grapes from her yard, total of 10lbs!!! I gave jelly making a try. My friends husband says it’s the best jelly he’s ever had, and he shared it with his coworker who said the same thing!
Awesome I did not put the water in because there was enough juice after mashing them. Also I strained in a colander first then strained with the cheese cloth. This helped with getting the majority of the seeds and skins out. Turned out perfect.
This recipe was my first attempt at making jelly. I really enjoy making jelly for my family. This recipe was not complicated. My children insists that homemade grape jelly tastes better than the store bought.
Followed the recipe exactly and it worked perfectly. I have to say though, I used almost 7 lbs of grapes to get the 4 cups of juice. Not sure what that was about?? It's really sweet (obviously with that amount of sugar) but tastes so fantastic! I was afraid to cut the sugar because some said they did and it worked and some said to not cut the sugar since it could alter the outcome. I got ten 250ml jars out of this recipe. Used fresh picked grapes from a friend's house in BC. Would definitely make this again.
I was kind of confused about the 1/2 (6 ounce) liquid pectin. Luckily the certo had an insert with a very similar recipe. (One packet in the 2 pack 6oz package) The cool trick about leaving the juice overnight was great! No crystals formed in my jelly! It was setting as soon as I pulled it off the stove.
I made 4 batches total over 2 days, for some reason my first 2 batches didn't set but the second 2 did. kind of weird. I think I used this recipe last year too and came out perfect.
