Muscadine Jelly on White Bread

Muscadine grapes — wild and cultivated — grew throughout the Appalachian South, and in September families gathered them for jelly. Bronze or purple, thick-skinned and musky-sweet, muscadines made a jelly unlike any other — deep purple, intensely grape-flavored, with a floral, almost wine-like complexity. Spread on plain white sandwich bread, this was a genuine luxury of the autumn lunch season.

Ingredients

• Jelly: 4 cups muscadine grape juice (hull grapes, simmer, strain)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 package (1.75 oz) powdered pectin
• White sandwich bread for serving

Directions

1. Make muscadine juice: wash grapes thoroughly. Place in a large pot and crush slightly. Add ½ cup water. Simmer 10 minutes until grapes are very soft. Strain through cheesecloth or a jelly bag. Measure 4 cups juice.
2. Combine juice and pectin in a large saucepan. Bring to a hard boil while stirring.
3. Add sugar all at once. Return to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil exactly 1 minute.

Remove from heat. Skim foam.

1. Pour into sterilized jelly jars. Process in a water bath 10 minutes.
2. To use: spread generously on plain white sandwich bread. The jelly should be thick enough to spread without dripping.

Notes

Muscadine jelly has a distinctive musky, sweet flavor that is completely different from Concord grape jelly. Wild muscadines from fence rows and woodland edges were free — available to anyone willing to gather them. The thick skin of muscadines means they need to be cooked and strained, not just juiced. This jelly is still made across the mountain South.