Muscadine Jelly

Muscadine grapes is a variety of grapes that grows mostly in California and they are harvested in August through September. They have a fruity taste without any pronounced muskiness and are either black, pinkish red or bronze in color. They grow in small clusters like berries and are not found in bunches. The muscadine grape is 1 to 1 inches round with a thick skin and it also contains 4 to 5 hard seeds that are oval in shape. As the sugar content of muscadine grapes varies between 16 to 24 percent it is used for producing a variety of food products like jams, jellies and wine.

Muscadine Jelly from Scratch
Ingredients

• 1 cups muscadine grapes
• 1 cup sugar
• cup water
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 1 jam jar

Method

Sterilize the jam jar by rinsing it thoroughly with hot water. Let it dry and keep it aside. Take a large saucepan and add the muscadine along with the water. Let it simmer gently over medium heat for some time. You will find that the muscadine begins to ooze out its juices. With the help of a wooden ladle crush the muscadine until all the juice has been pressed out. Now pour this muscadine juice and pulp through a cheesecloth. Discard the pulp and transfer the muscadine juice back into the saucepan. Allow the juice to boil for some time until it has thickened. Add the sugar into the muscadine juice and stir continuously with the ladle so that the sugar gets dissolved and has a syrup like consistency. Finally add the lemon juice and let the mixture simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Skim of any impurities or foam from the top of the jelly. Pour the hot jelly into the jam jar and let it cool completely before refrigerating.

Spicy Muscadine Jelly
Ingredients

• 4 cups muscadine grapes
• 5 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 plum fruit, seed removed
• 2 habanero chillies

Method

With the help of a sharp knife slit the habanero chillies into half and remove seeds. Chop the chillies into small pieces and place them in a saucepan. Add the muscadines, plum, sugar and water into the saucepan and let it simmer in medium heat for some time. Slightly crush the muscadine and boil it on low heat until you get a thick consistency. Remove the mixture from heat and strain to remove all the pulp and seeds. Pour the hot jelly into sterilized jam jars. Refrigerate when the jelly has cooled and enjoy this wonderfully hot and sweet muscadine jelly.

Easy Muscadine Jelly
Ingredients

• 4 cups muscadine juice concentrate
• 1 packet liquid pectin
• 7 cups sugar
• 4 teaspoon lemon juice

Method

In a large pot add the muscadine juice concentrate, lemon juice and pectin and let it come to a boil. Add the sugar and stir continuously with a wooden ladle so that the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil the liquid for some time until you have a thick syrupy consistency. Skim off the scum that is present on top of the jelly. Pour the jelly into sterilized jars and store them in the refrigerator.

Avoid using too much water when you boil the muscadine grapes as this will make the jelly more runny and you will lose the wonderful tart taste. Make sure that you sterilize the jars before pouring the jelly into it otherwise it might get spoiled. You can also experiment with the basic muscadine jelly recipe by adding different varieties of grapes to the muscadine.