Best Muscadine Jam
"With 53 lbs of muscadines and scuppernongs to process I tried a lot of different recipes. This one was voted best by every member of the family. It has just the right balance of grape and lemon flavors and set beautifully. The prep time includes cooking the pulp and hulls. The cooking time does not include processing the jars in the boiling water bath."
photo by 7SlotFever
- Ready In:
- 2hrs
- Ingredients:
- 4
- Yields:
-
10-12 1/2 pint jars
ingredients
- 5 lbs Muscadine grapes or 5 lbs scuppernong grapes
- 3 lbs sugar
- 1 lemon
- 1⁄2 - 1 cup water
directions
- Prepare grapes by cutting partway through the skin and popping the pulp/seed capsule out of the hull. Put pulp into one pot and the hulls into another.
- Simmer the pulp, covered, on low-medium until soft enough to press through sieve or food mill ~ 10 minutes. Add just a little water if necessary to prevent sticking.
- Meanwhile, chop hulls very finely in the food processor and return to their pot. Add just enough water to make it possible to simmer without sticking. Cook slowly, covered, 10 minutes or until hulls are softened.
- Peel lemon and chop peel finely. Use entire peel, including the white part, to ensure good jelling.
- Juice the lemon.
- Press pulp through a sieve or food mill to remove seeds. Stir sieved pulp into cooked hulls in a large pot.
- Add lemon juice and peel. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in sugar and return to a boil.
- Simmer, stirring frequently until the jellying point is reached ~ 1-2 hours. Timing is approximate and will vary depending on conditions and the amount of natural pectin in the fruit. Check frequently.
- Pack into hot, sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in boiling water bath.
Questions & Replies
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Gonna try this recipe this year. One quick question... Since you're using the entire lemon, is there an advantage to peeling the lemon and juicing separately? Could you not throw the whole lemon in the blender and get what you need? TIA!
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So you don’t actually use the pulp and the hulls? You just strain the juice out? I don’t have a sieve so I use a thin towel. I did not get nearly enough juice, maybe 3 cups and 6 cups of sugar seemed like an incorrect ratio. -
Do you leave the lemon seeds in when processing? -
Do you leave the seeds in or remove them? -
Can you make this jam without sugar?
see 1 more questions
Reviews
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We managed to beat the critters to our wild muscadines this year, at least to a few pounds of them and decided to try using them for jam. I have to say, in all honesty, this project was... interesting. Other than rhubarb (30+ years ago) this is my first attempt to make jam. As is usual with me, I read through the recipe and as I followed the destructions, I had to change things up a bit as I went. The ingredients remained the same but my processes were slightly different. The lemon I had was not as fresh as I thought it was so the skin was a little tough and the layer of white beneath was nearly non existent. So, I chopped it up and put it in the blender with it's own juice. Worked like a champ. I also had some difficulty getting the grape skins to comply, so I chopped them the best I could in my food processor, simmered them the 10 minutes and stuffed their stubborn little tails in the blender too. After adding a dash of water they ground up nice and fine, looked like baby food. In regards to the cooking time, mine was ready to come out of the pan at 45-50 minutes but it took my cold packer the additional ten minutes to come to a boil so I let 'er ride. The jam has good body and a tangy purple taste. Would be fabulous on any piece of fresh bread with a glop of butter or even pancakes. My husband loves it. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I've saved it and will certainly use it again someday. Kate -
We had an unexpected wild crop this year. I used this recipe and made 4 qts. Its so good I can only hope for another crop next year! Thank-you!!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
3KillerBs
Pinebluff, North Carolina
