Basically I bought a large thing of grapes when we already had grapes. We’re eating them pretty much every day, but I’m worried that they’re going to go bad before we finish them. Any suggestions on what we can do with them?
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You can puree them and make jam. Or juice them and make jelly.
Iirc, that’s the old school canning method for preservation
Edit: here is a good set of instructions for jelly. The difference between jam and jelly is that jam uses whole fruit that’s been puréed.
(At least, that’s the distinction in the US. I’m aware euro, jelly=jello in some places… jello sets harder…)
I would suggest straining it for jelly instead. You tend to get a better texture that way, and you can usually find a canning section in most grocery stores with mason jars, rings and lids. Everything gets sterilized in a pressure cooker (or boiled) to help it last. If you don’t want to use the ring-leads, the parrafin wax that’s also right there can be used- melt in a double boiler and pour a 1/2 on top.
(or… if you don’t use gas, just a pan, is fine. To quote my grandma, “It is wax. You can make candles out it. Or a house fire.” She taught me most of what I know about canning)
Jelly or jam is a great suggestion. I’ve made jams and preserves before, so I’ve got everything to make it with.
I might actually try making grape jam, since I’ve never had it before (or even seen it anywhere).
Freeze them? That’s a popular snack at my house.
I’d probably squeeze the juice and freeze it. Then use the skins for chimia (a type of jelly - see further info below*). Here’s the recipe:
- 3 cups of grape skins. Don’t include seeds, they get bitter.
- 2 cups of water.
- 1/2 cup of sugar.
- 1/2 cup of lemon or lime juice.
- Cook the skins in the water. Let it boil for ten minutes or so, on low fire, then drain the excess water.
- Add sugar and lime juice. Keep cooking it on low fire and stirring it. The skins should fall apart on their own and thicken the jelly, but if you want use a blender to speed up the process. Keep in mind that the final result will be thicker when cold, so don’t cook it too thick.
That’s it. If preserving it put it inside pots while still boiling hot, and they should outlast the thermal death of the Universe.
*further info: @FuglyDuck@lemmy.world mentioned that the distinction between jam and jelly depends on the country for English speakers. Well… when you speak Portuguese it varies regionally in Brazil (and likely in Portugal, too), and it might have one to three categories. I grew up with three:
- geléia or geleia - jelly made with whole fruits, either heavy on pectin by themselves or with added pectin (e.g. from the white part of lemons). It sets hard, with a gelatinous consistency.
- doce - the word means literally “sweet”, and it’s used for stuff like dulce de leche (doce de leite) or desserts, but when it comes to fruits it’s usually “jam”. No pectin added, so it’s usually runnier
- chimia - at least I see it as a type of geléia/jelly, but a lot of people see it as a third thing, aside from the other two. It’s traditionally made with pomace, as a way to reuse leftover skins from wine production; because otherwise the drunkards would make graspa aka bagaceira (grape pomace spirit) out of it.
That’s basically as far north as Paraná though. Norther than that (São Paulo) and people don’t use the word “chimia”; go further north and they take “geléia” and “doce de frutas” as synonymous.
Chimia sounds really interesting. I’ve never heard of it before. Thanks for the recipe!
Very interesting about the different types of jellies and jams. I knew about the whole jelly/gelatin thing (I’m from the US so I don’t refer to gelatin as jelly).
hmmm.
that sounds delicious. gonna have to give a go the next time I have too many grapes. Usually I go with blackberry jam boil the black berries until they’re easily mashed, mash through a fine strainer to get rid of the seeds, then add sugar, a little lemon zest, some cinnamon. some conrstarch. add some water to help things mix, and reduce to the right consistency.
It, ah, also makes an awesome topping for vanilla ice cream, if you add some whole berries back in while it’s reducing.
I’m a bit biased because I grew up with this sort of stuff, but I think that it is delicious. Just don’t skip the first step (boiling then straining the water), specially with darker grape varieties, otherwise the tannins get a bit too strong.
It, ah, also makes an awesome topping for vanilla ice cream, if you add some whole berries back in while it’s reducing.
That’s an amazing idea. And I think that blackberries are in season now here (it’s usually late Feb, early March in the S. Hemisphere), might be worth checking the neighbourhood for some.
for topping, I suggest leaving it a little more liquidy, but you can also heat it up a bit.
also goes great on top of pancakes and waffles if you’re not a fan of straight liquid sugar.
This is a nice way of using the leftovers from making blackberry jam. We get about a gallon of blackberries from our back yard each year. I’m gonna give this a whirl.
If you like fish, the best trout I think I’ve ever had was trout amandine with grapes. Sounds weird, but it worked surprisingly well. Oh, or waldorf salad, which is apparently a controversial suggestion, but I used to love it.
Are we talking just a flat of grapes? Or more. Because wine is a classic way to deal with excess grapes.
Not quite that many. Like two large store packages. You think it would be enough for a batch? I have been wanting to try making fruit wine.
My experience home brewing is limited to a handful of very small batches of mead, but as far as I know there’s not much reason you couldn’t simply scale any recipe down if it isn’t enough.
If your teeth aren’t sensitive to cold some people enjoy frozen grapes. If you have other fruits you could add it to a fruit salad or parfait. If all else fails you can make jelly.
Although it was too long ago to remember, I did make a rhubarb and grape pie. With cinnamon, butter, flour, and sugar. I mixed the fruit, flour, cinnamon, butter, sugar in a bowl. Filled a pie shell, and baked for about 45 minutes.
The only things I can remember from all the pies I made from that time is I liked every single one of them, and the grapes, I sliced in half before using them.
That sounds good! I always wondered what grape pie would be like.
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Make grape compote and freeze. Otherwise jelly or jam are good options as said elsewhere.
Pickle them
