Concord Grape Jam with Vanilla [No Pectin]

Prep the Concord Grapes:
Wash the grapes to remove any debris.
Peel the grapes, slipping the skins off. Collect the green pulp with seeds in the Dutch oven or large pot and save the skins in a medium mixing bowl.
4 lbs Concord Grapes
Cook the grape pulp over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring often, until the pulp breaks down and the seeds separate and rise to the surface.
Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl, using a spatula to press down on the pulp and strain out the seeds. Discard the seeds and set the strained grape juice and pulp aside.
Transfer the purple grape skins to a food processor with the blade attachment and pulse a few times to break and chop the skins apart. Skip this step and leave the skins intact if you prefer a chunkier grape jam.
Cook the Concord Grape Jam:
Place a small plate in the freezer for testing the jam later.
Transfer the pulsed grape skins, pulp, and sugar to a Dutch oven or large heavy-duty pot. Bring to a boil on medium heat and maintain at a bubbly and steady simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent burning.
Skim and discard any large amounts of foam on top while cooking.
3 ½ cups Granulated Sugar
Sterilize the Canning Jars:
If you haven't already sterilized your canning jars, this is a good time to do so while the jam cooks.
Boil the glass jars in a large canning pot with a wire rack with at least an inch of water covering the top of the jars for 10 minutes. Carefully empty and remove the jars from the water and set them on a clean towel until the jam is cooked.
Cover the hot water bath with a lid to keep the water warm.
Finish Cooking the Jam:
After 30 minutes of cooking the jam, add the lemon juice and the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean.
Cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the jam has turned thick with large tar-like bubbles. If you're using a thermometer, it should read about 218ºF (103ºC). This is the point when you want to test it to see if it's set.
⅓ cup Bottled Lemon Juice, 1 Vanilla Bean
Test if the Jam is set:
To test if the grape jam is set, spoon a small amount of hot jam onto the frozen plate and let it rest in the freezer for another minute.
Drag a finger through the middle of the jam. The jam is set if it wrinkles and leaves a clear straight line through the middle without filling in. If it's still runny, then it needs to cook longer for the natural pectin to set.
Remove from the heat as soon as the jam passes the freezer plate test.
Can the Concord Grape Jam (optional):
When the jam is set, place a wide-mouth funnel on top of the sterilized canning jars and carefully ladle in the hot jam (wear heat-proof gloves!). Leave ¼-inch of room on top and wipe the rims if any jam has splattered on them.
Place the canning lids on top and twist on the rings to fingertip tight.*
Boil the water in your water bath canner pot again and place the jams onto your canning rack. Slowly lower the rack into the water bath to cover them in at least 1-2 inches of boiling water.
Cover with the pot lid and boil the jars for 10 minutes.**
Lift the hot jars from the water and let them cool completely at room temperature without disturbing for 24 hours. Within minutes, you should hear the satisfying pop of the canning lids sealing!***
Label and date the jars. The canned Concord grape jam can last for a year in a cool, dark pantry but should be refrigerated once open.
The jam is excellent served on PB&Js, breakfast toast on seeded whole wheat sandwich bread, English muffins, bagels, and even in dessert recipes like babka and pop tarts!

Concord Grape Jam with Vanilla [No Pectin]

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes