J is for Jam

The "J" day is officially half over, and once again, it has been a great challenge to come up with a "J" topic. Then this cop-out idea great idea formed in my brain to write a recipe using food starting with "j". I shared this idea with Hubby, and we instantly started thinking of an appropriate food. 


Hmmmm. Silence. Hmmmmm. Huh. More silence. 


Finally, Hubby piped up with "Jam." Wow. That took some major brain power.


Surprisingly, there is not a great selection of starting with this letter. After looking in the index section of my cookbooks, I found exactly four (4) options. 
Jam. Jellies. Jell-o. Jalapeno peppers.


This past summer I was indunated with more Concord grapes than I knew what to do with.  A friend of ours knew someone who had all these grapes. He said he would donate the grapes for brandy, if he could also have some of the brandy. It seemed like a good idea. What we weren't prepared for was the abundance of grapes that he had. If I remember correctly (and that's highly unlikely) there were about 10 - 12 "flats". That may not sound like a lot, but it made about two stacks about five feet high.


Anyway, after the brandy was made, there were still a lot of grapes left over. I made grape juice with some, and finished off with grape jam.


This is the recipe I used. (From the Ball Blue Book: Easy Guide to Tasty, Thrifty Home Canning and Freezing. Edition 27)

Grape Jam


2 quarts stemmed Concord grapes
6 cups sugar


Separate pulp from skins of grapes. If desired, chop skins in a food blender or chopper. Cook skins gently 15 to 20 minutes, adding only enough water to prevent sticking (about 1/2 cup). Cook pulp without water until soft; press through a sieve or food mill to remove seeds. Combine pulp, skins and sugar. Bring slowly to boiling, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly almost to jellying point, about 10 minutes. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Pour, boining hot, into sterilized Ball jars. Adjust caps. 
Yield: about 3 pints

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