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Grape jam is one of those lost recipes that no one seems to make any more. Every grade school kid knows about grape jelly, but grape jam has long since gone by the wayside. Grape jam is darn delicious, and it’s time it made a comeback!
In truth, there’s a good reason why grape jam fell out of favor. Traditionally it required a lot of work, namely to remove large grape seeds in heirloom grape varieties. The first seedless grapes weren’t developed until the 1980s, and by that point, grape jelly was long since entrenched in our national cuisine.
To make a really fine grape jam, you need to remove the seeds from grapes. They much larger than raspberry or blackberry seeds, and once you’ve cooked a batch down, if you haven’t removed the seeds, there are a lot of grape seeds in the finished jam.
Seedless grapes mostly solve this problem, but not completely, because even “seedless” grapes still have tiny seeds. If you’re using “seedless” grapes, removing the seeds is optional, but I’ll take you through the process either way.
Removing Seeds from Grapes
To make grape jam, the essential part is keeping the grape peels. The idea is to filter out the seeds from the pulp, but leave the peels still in the jam. How on earth does that work?
The Ball Book of Canning and Preserving suggests starting with uncooked grapes and separating the peels from the pulp. Start by peeling back a bit of the grape skin from one end of the grape and then squeeze out the inside. The grape pulp goes into one bowl, and the peels go into another.
I know, peeling grapes sounds tedious. So is shelling peas and all manner of tasks grandma filled her days with staying useful. For me, making jam is something I love to do with my toddlers. They love jam, and they love everything about helping make it. The cooking and canning parts are a little to hazardous for them, but since they’re at the end, once their attention is waning, it works out wonderfully.
Before the cooking process, the more steps the better. Idle baby hands take to coloring the walls, but babies happily put to work peeling grapes take an active part in preparing the food they’ll be eating later. If you don’t have easily entertained toddlers, keep in mind the seeding part is completely optional if you’re working with seedless grapes. Really it’s optional with seeded grapes, if you don’t mind the occasional crunchy grape seed.
Leaving the bowl of grape skins set to one side, the next step is to cook down the grape pulp. Allow the pulp to simmer on the stove until it has pretty well dissolved. Give it a few mashes with the back of a spoon to help it along, but it won’t take long. Pass the pulp through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Even with “seedless” grapes, there are still quite a few tiny seeds.
How to Make Grape Jam
At this point, combine the grape skins and the filtered grape pulp and add the sugar. If you’d like to make a low-sugar grape jam, you can reduce the sugar by half without a problem. Remember that a reduced sugar jam will yield considerably less because you’ll have to cook down the mixture further to reach gel stage. Either way, it’s darn delicious.
Add the pulp/skin mixture and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until much of the juice is evaporated, and the bubbles in the jam begin to change consistency. This jam comes together really fast, quicker than any other no pectin added jam I’ve ever made.
If you’ve made jam before, you’ll recognize this change as the jam approaches gel stage. Place a plate in the freezer and use it to test the jam’s consistency by putting small amounts on the cold plate. Alternately, generally gel stage is around 220 degrees F, and you can test the jam with a candy thermometer.
Once the jam reaches gel stage or consistency that you like, pour it into prepared canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process the grape jam in a water bath canner for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat. Allow the jam jars to sit for an additional 5 minutes before removing them to a towel on the counter to cool.
At this point, it can take a while for the jam to fully gel. Give the jam about 48 hours to rest before you open and test one. If you find it’s too thin, you can pour them back out, recook for a while and re-can the grape jam without issue. If it’s too thick, similarly, you can pour them back into the jam pot and add a bit of water to re-cook. If you tested the jam ahead of time with a plate or thermometer, it should be just fine with no need to retry, but it’s nice to know that options there if you need them.
Choosing Grapes for Grape Jam
Most recipes these days are for “concord grape jam” perhaps because that’s the most popular type of grape for grape jelly. It’s a flavor we’re used to for jelly, thus it’s what they suggest for grape jam. The thing is, it can be hard to find concord grapes for sale in the store. Most of them go directly into jelly or juice, and the few I have seen on supermarket shelves didn’t look too appetizing. I assume they must not keep well, thus the reason they’re always preserved rather than sold as table grapes.
There is no reason you can’t make grape jam with just about any variety of grape. Dark purple or blue grapes make a particularly dramatic presentation, but a bright green Thompson seedless grape jam would have its own beautiful green appeal.
The Ball Book of Home Canning suggests using Concord, Muscadine or Scuppernong grapes. None of those varieties grow up in cold climates. Here in vermont we’re limited to cold hardy grapes for zone 4, which are mostly wine grapes. Most places, you’ll only find generic green or red grapes in the store.
Don’t worry, just get creative with what you can get (or grow) where you live. Trust me, it’s all good.
Old Fashioned Grape Jam (No Pectin Added)
Ingredients
- 8 cups grapes, stemmed
- 6 cups sugar
Instructions
- Seed grapes as discussed above by squeezing the grape flesh out of the skin and then cooking the pulp down. Put the pulp through a fine mesh strainer and then re-combine the filtered pulp with the grape skins.
- Add the skins and pulp into a saucepan along with the sugar and cook the mixture until it reaches gel stage, about 10-15 minutes. Experienced jam makers can watch for when the type of bubbles change and take on a glossy look. To be sure, test the consistency on a plate that’s kept in the freezer or with a candy thermometer.
- Pour the jam into prepared canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Store in the refrigerator for immediate use, or process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the jars to sit in the canner for an additional 5 minutes before removing them to cool on a towel on the counter.
- Allow the jars to rest for 24 to 48 hours to completely gel.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Preserving Grapes
Looking for more ways to preserve grapes?
Hi all, I got lucky and had a bountiful crop of grapes. I have no clue what kind they are but I followed your recipe. But oh my, I thought I took the pan off the heat and lay down for a few minutes. When I got up and discovered it still on simmer I was so upset. Well the jam was like taffy, so I am going to attempt to make another batch and add the taffy in hopes it blends. What do you think? Should I wait till the very end to add the taffy jam? I appreciate any suggestions.
I’m not sure that I would try to add the jam that turned to taffy. I think you would be better off to just make a fresh batch and find another use for the taffy jam.
I do not peel my grapes. I just squeeze the grape and the pulp just comes right out. It only take a short while to pulp all your grapes. Just thought I would let you know how I do it. Maybe it will help.
Thank you so much for that helpful tip.
I am wondering, if I simmer the pulp, remove the seeds, but do not have time in the moment to continue making the jam, can I pick up with the process the next day? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I can’t think of any reason why that wouldn’t work. Please check back in with us and let us know how it works.
When my mother made concord grape jam she ALWAYS waited till the vines had been been hit with the first frost. She never explained why but the old apple growers used to say that delicious apples weren’t REALLY as sweet as they could be till they’d been hit with a frost.
My mother (died in 2010 died at the age of 92) used to pinch the grapes to extract the innards and then strain the separated grapes through a thin tea towel, squeezing it really hard and then even letting it drain out even more juice by hanging it on a handle on the cupboard door for a while to remove the seeds..
If anyone is wondering – I made concord grape JAM in 2001 by adding chopped skins back into the strained pulp with the water bath method and I’m still eating it now in 2022 – it’s still wonderfully perfect.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
This is my second year with this recipe. I’m a 60+ grandfather and have concord grapes that were planted by my great grandparents many years ago. My 3 yr old granddaughter, Riley helped ” pop ” the grapes last year and the conversation we had was priceless. I picked the grapes last night and we’re making jam today. Thank you so much for this recipe. She will be using it long after I’m gone and it will be part of she and I that will carry on.
You’re very welcome. I am so glad that you shared this wonderful experience with your granddaughter. What a beautiful gift.
Hi Ashley
When you say to rest the grape jam for 48 hours do you mean on the kitchen bench or in the refrigerator?
Thanks.
On the counter is fine but if you’re finding it’s having trouble setting it sometimes helps to move it to the fridge.
Made jam for the first time ever and our now 3 yr old vine produced an abundance of grapes. I was able to make 7- 8oz jars of jam and I was worried at first but when it came time for the gel test on the frozen plate I was very happy with the taste. Definitely will try more, Maybe with strawberries. And maybe I’ll look into making Concord grape wine with the rest of the grapes.
Sounds great! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Good morning.
Is it ok ifsome of the pulp continues to reside with the peel once peeled?
I peeled about twenty grapes very well and then decided there must be a faster way. I read in the comments here that if you blanched the graoes it would be easier. Nope. The only change is now instead of deep purple skins, i have mauve-colored skins. Oh and now theyre hot.
-oi
It depends on how much is left behind. If you have a significantly less amount of pulp then it could affect the outcome of the recipe. Typically when you blanch something, you cook it for a short amount of time and then put it directly into an ice bath. This should help the skins remove more easily and also make it cooler to handle.
I have a good harvest of pears along with the grapes. Not being a very experienced jam maker, was wondering if I could add pears to the grapes for a combined jam?
You sure can.
Thought I would add my experience- I love how we get to share other cooks’ ideas in the comment section! I had about 7 cups pulp/skins of a delicious mystery grape my friend grows and a few Concords of mine. 3 cups sugar. I used the immersion blender when it became obvious the skins weren’t going to break down at all. It held at 215-217 for so long – close to an hour- I got worried about the gel. I had a quarter lemon I threw in for the pectin and also some tiny ornamental quince that I halved and seeded. I had always thought about using the quince for their pectin in a recipe like this but never had. In the 15 minutes or so it took the quince to soften, I had obvious jelly. Don’t know if that was it, or if it was just time. Then I tried it warm on a piece of toast (half with peanut butter, half with cream cheese!) and my dreams all came true. Delightful, and much more flavorful than the grape jelly I made a few weeks ago. I didn’t want to drag my canning stuff back out, so3 half pints for the freezer, and one more will probably be gone by tomorrow! Next year, I won’t bother with the jelly at grape time. Thanks!
Got it. Will give this a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
Kim
Hi Ashley! It’s been a while since you posted this recipe, but just seeing it today. We have a HUGE amount of wild seeded grapes growing in our back yard, so am giving it a first shot at making jam. One question, I see lemon juice mentioned in the comments, but don’t see it in the recipe. Do you have a recommended amount?
Thank you! Kim
It looks like the lemon juice may have been removed. You could start with about a Tablespoon and just add it to taste. It is not necessary for gel or safety.
I was thinking I was crazy when I started to skin grapes. It was so worth it!! Turned out amazing and set up nicely. I will definitely make again.
So glad you enjoyed it.
Do I need to add lemon juice to make them shelf stable? I have a Concord grape vine and want to make this jam and give some as gifts. Love the recipe, it sounds delicious
Nope, the lemon juice is not required for canning safety. Grapes are acidic enough on their own and their pH is safe for canning without adding lemon juice. The lemon juice in this recipe is to add a bit more tartness to balance all the sugar, since you need quite a bit of sugar to get the recipe to gel without pectin. Lemon juice also has a lot of pectin, so it helps the jam gel too. It’s in there for flavor and texture, but the recipe is totally fine to can without it.
Diabetic Sugarfree Option
I had 2 cups of grapes which I cooked with 2 teaspoons of Splenda for 20 minutes. Came out wonderfully. Love sugar-free Concord grape jelly, but I rarely find it on the shelves at the grocery. This was so simple because I didn’t peel the grapes. I just smashed them with a spoon and put them in the pot to cook.
Wonderful, that’s good to know!
Ashley hello, question please.
Why in some recipes they tell you to put wax on top and some not?
Wax on top is an old-fashioned canning technique that some people learned from their grandparents. It’s also still done in Europe sometimes. It was done before people started water bath canning jams and jellies. With that method, you just pour the hot jelly into the jar, then pour wax on top (no canning, and no canning lids). In the US, it’s not really done anymore as water bath canning replaced that practice and is a bit more dependable. Generally, waxed jellies were kept in a root cellar, not a room temperature pantry.
I picked 3 ice cream pales of Concord grapes yesterday. My two toddlers and I washed and skinned them (great idea btw-thank you) and I now have 3 quarts of pulp. I am wondering what the ratio of cooked pulp with the seeds removed would be to sugar?
Good question…I didn’t measure it at that stage…If I had to guess, I’d say go with around 2:1. If you have 8 cups of cooked pulp/skins, add 4 cups sugar (as opposed to 8 cups whole grapes to 6 cups sugar in the original recipe). That might be a bit high, since when you cook everything it really shrinks from the original whole grapes, but it’s a good place to start and it should definitely have enough sugar to gel properly. If you find it too sweet, scale back a bit next time. Enjoy!
I can say if you have wild grapes, this is an excellent recipe. However, separating the seeds is not small task. Why not use a food mill? I would likely still separate the peels by hand, but perhaps separate the seeds from the pulp before cooking down the pulp? Anyone do this?
This is an interesting thought. Let us know if you decide to give it a try.
It is a wonderful recipe I tried this recipe at home in the evening and it was very delicious!
I made this jam from your recipe last year wondering if I was a little crazy to remove the skins one by one, as I’ve done it with chickpeas – skinning them one by one — for hummus only to find I didn’t think it made a difference large enough to warrant the effort. This was well worth the effort. I think it’s the best jam I’ve ever had. THANK YOU!