Concord Grape Jam
There are a few failproof signs of fall for me. Catching a whiff of wild Concord grapes on a cool day in September is one of them.
The heady, slightly musky smell is a sure sign that the weather is well on its way to turning colder. (Do you have grapes growing out back in your yard? Then you know just the intoxicating fragrance I’m talking about.) I was delighted to find them when we were out and about this weekend. I grabbed a few boxes, and practically skipped home to make some jam.
Facts about Concord grapes
Concord grapes are the very same little purple wonders that give Welch’s grape juice its signature flavor.
Concord grapes come from (you guessed it) Concord, a now-sleepy little Massachusetts town that was a hotbed of activity during the Revolutionary war. Concord was home to writers and thinkers like Thoreau and Emerson. And it’s also not that far from where we live in Salem.
They were first planted by Ephraim Wales Bull in 1854. His grapes were hardy, and survived in Concord, where other European varieties did not.
Nowadays, Concord grapes also grow in the wild all over many parts of the Northeast. And when summer turns to fall, you can find them in stores and farmers’ markets if you’re lucky.
A few facts about Concord grapes:
- Concord grapes are a dark purplish black, and are often covered in a light layer of harmless white bloom.
- They’re usually less sweet than traditional grapes.
- Concord grapes are also a “slip-skin” variety of grape (as opposed to “fixed-skin”), which means that they pop right out of their jackets when you give them a little squeeze.
- They’re generally used for juice and jam or jelly, not for eating out of hand because they have big seeds.
- Folks also put them into pies and tarts, like this.
Notes on timing, pectin, and canning
The timing on this recipe is imprecise at best, and will depend on your particular batch of grapes, specifically on how much pectin they had. Fruit loses pectin as it ripens. (And pectin is the stuff that thickens jam.) Concord grapes don’t have a ton of pectin, and each batch will be slightly different. For that reason, this recipe also relies on reducing the jam to thicken it.
The bottom line? Cook the jam for 20 minutes as I indicate, then check it and cook it a little longer if it’s not done. Keep reading, I’ve included just what you need to look for.
Also, this recipe makes about 4 pints, which is a relatively small amount of jam. I just keep it fresh in the fridge, where it will be happy for weeks—if it lasts that long.
For instructions on how to properly can jams and jellies, take a peek at these instructions from the good folks over at Ball.
Concord Grape Jam
3 lbs. concord grapes
3 cups sugar
2 Tbls. lemon juice
Yields about 4 pints
Skin the grapes
This is a pain to do, but it goes faster than you think it will. It’s also kind of gross, but kind of fun. If you have kids in the kitchen, they’ll make perfect little helpers.
Grab a grape. Remove the stem. Give it a gentle squeeze between your thumb and first two fingers. The skin will split, and the meat of the grape will pop right out. 
Do this over a bowl, so you can catch the juice that the grapes give off. There’ll be a fair amount of it and you’ll want to toss that into the jam pot with the fruit.
Keep the grapes in a bowl…
…and set the skins aside in another (or just heap them in a pile, like I did). Repeat until you’ve skinned all your grapes.
Puree the grape skins
Once all your grapes are peeled, put the skins in the food processor. (I’m reasonably sure a good blender would work for this, but haven’t tested it.) Toss in 1 cup of the sugar.
Process them on high for a minute or two. The skins will combine with the sugar and completely liquify. This is fun and feels like magic. (Hey, it’s the little things!) It happens almost instantly, and is delightfully shocking to see. Be careful from this point on. This stuff stains like mad.
The mixture will be thick, like this, and flecked with bits of grape skin. That’s just fine. You’re going to strain the mixture eventually. (Give it a taste. It’s heavenly already.)
Cook the Concord grape jam
Put the pureed skins in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the peeled grapes.
Add the lemon juice, as well.
And the remaining 2 cups of sugar.
Stir the whole mess up to combine it well.
Set the pot on the stove over high heat and bring it to a boil. Stir occasionally.
Once it boils, drop the heat low enough so that the jam maintains a simmer—but doesn’t rapidly boil.
Cook like this for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Keep an eye on the heat. If the jam feels like it’s sticking to the bottom of the pot when you stir, lower your heat a little. (If you keep the heat too high, it will scorch and your jam will have a burnt taste.)
After 20 minutes, your jam will have thickened and reduced, and should look about like this:
Strain the jam
Before you start, grab a plate and put it in the freezer. You’ll need it to test the jam in a few minutes.
Set a large, heatproof bowl on the counter. Fit a strainer on top. Pour the jam through the strainer, into the bowl. Be very careful when you do this. It may be delicious, but boiling hot jam is like napalm.
With a spatula, push the jam through the strainer. Keep smooshing it until most of the jam is in the bowl, and you’re left with a lump of seedy pulp in the strainer, like this:
How to test the jam for doneness
This is the part where the recipe gets a little imprecise. Now, at this point, your jam should be pretty thick. But the question is: Is it thick enough? Let’s find out. (A note for my buddy Jeff over at A Dork and His Pork: Yes, I switched spatulas at this point.)
Grab that plate that you just stashed in your freezer a few minutes ago. It should be very cold to the touch. If it’s not, stick it back in until it is.
When your plate is cold, drop a spoonful of hot jam on it in a little puddle. Pop the plate back into the freezer for 1 minute. (Yep, just one minute will do the trick.)
After 1 minute, yank the plate out. Tip the plate on its side. The jam should stay where it is in a blob, not run down the plate. Next, scoot the jam a little with a finger. The jam should have a skin that wrinkles up, like this:
If your jam passes both these tests, it’s done! If it’s still too thin, take the strained jam and simmer it for another few minutes. Then test it again. Repeat until it’s thick enough.
Jar, serve, and enjoy!
Ladle your warm jam into clean, sterilized jars. Let them cool to room temperature, then cover them and pop them in the fridge.
Enjoy!
Peek into a readers’ kitchens as they make this jam
Update—October 13, 2009—A special thanks to Sheldon, who made a huge batch of this jam from Concord grapes in his own yard. He was kind enough to send me the video he and his son made.
Here’s what he wrote:
“This is a video my son helped me make – turning 12 pounds of the Valiant strain of Concord Grapes into jars of jam. I found that every pound of grapes took one cup of sugar (and a bit of lemon juice) yielding one 250 ml jar of jam. It wasn’t too sweet…in fact just a bit tart, but really is one of the best jams or jellies I’ve ever made.
A very special thank you to Jessie at the Hungry Mouse for her wonderful, easy to follow and well illustrated recipe. Here is a link to that page, which I had opened the entire time I was making the jam.”
And here’s his video.
Oh, he also canned it in a traditional water bath. Some of you have asked how that works out, and it looks like it’s just fine! He didn’t add any additional ingredients (no Certo or Surejell).
Update—October 14, 2009—Thanks also to Charlene from crazedparent, who shared this picture of her jam-making adventure.
Update—October 20, 2009—And thanks to Jeff from A Dork and His Pork (seriously, one of my favorite food blogs, ever) for his picture of jam from this recipe. That’s his homemade bread, too.
Cheers!
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33 Comments
where can I sign up and get myself a jar of that yummy grape jam???
Hehehe…you’ve come to the right place! Jam line forms over there.
*points to kitchen and hands you a glass of wine*
+Jessie
I wish I liked concord grapes, because I’d be tempted to make this!!! Well done as usual my dear
When will you guest post for me??
Concord grapes are flavorful and great as jelly. You post reminds me it is that season again.
I knew my ears were burning!
I saw your tweet about Concord Grapes earlier this evening and I was really excited! I borrowed a food mill last year just for the purpose of making a jam like this (I HEART these grapes) and now I have a recipe.
I know I say that a lot, but I promise promise promise to make these really soon.
Jeff
I love concord grapes. We had a grapevine just up the hill from where I grew up and mom and I would go pick the grapes and make jam. This makes me want to go see if there are any grapes over there now!
Oh, I love that you had them in your yard! When I was little, my neighbor had grapevines all around her house. (She also had the biggest blackberry patch I’ve ever seen in my life.)
Cheers!
+Jessie
This is a great step by step detailed recipe for jelly. Good work.
Skinning grapes is always a fun chore! My nimble fingers find it harder to do the older I get! lol That is when a young apprentice comes in handy! lol
Hehehe…see? I knew I couldn’t be the only one who got a kick out of this. I’m with you on having a helpers, though. One pound of grapes is fun. Two starts *almost* feels like work. (Almost.)
Cheers!
+Jessie
I’ve never had these before. I like how you can peel them so easily!
Yeah, they’re a ton of fun. Definitely snag some if you can find ‘em.
+Jessie
I cannot wait to get settled after my move and start making some of your recipes again! The jam looks great!
Thanks, honey! And good luck getting settled. We just moved, too, and it’s definitely a process…
Cheers!
+Jessie
popping/peeling the grapes totally appeals to the the little kid & ocd in me, lol! i love the shot of them all peeled too, looks like a big pile of fish eggs XD
i might try this for kicks, thanks again for another ‘canning’ recipe that’s easy!
Hehe, thanks hon. Yeah, one of these days I’ll get around to properly canning something. I really do like making small batches of fresh stuff, though.
+Jessie
Yum!! It’s funny, I’m not huge on grapes but I’m in love with grape jam! Thanks for the recipe!
Ha! I’m kind of the same way. I prefer some fruits in jam form.
+Jessie
Hey there, this is the best recipe I have found online. Thanks for the tips! The detailed, pictured steps are great! My only question is can I can this jam? Do I need to add Suregel pectin to it if I can it? Thanks!
-Christina
Thanks so much, Christina!
Sorry for the delayed reply.
Ya know, I’m not a huge traditional canner, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. As long as you simmer it down to thicken it until it passes the freezer test, you should be OK without the Suregel.
Let me know how it turns out?
+Jessie
Wonderful description and visual aides – I was thrilled to find a method without using Certo! Flavor and color of my jam – over the top!
Just one \flaw\ – I live in Concord, MA, and it is a far cry from a \sleepy little town\ – come visit the three vibrant sections of Concord – Concord Center for rich history and upscale shops – Thoreau Street for marvelous cafes – French and Italian, homemade icecream shop, may local businesses as well as an ordinary supermarket and a couple of chain eateries and then cross Route 2 into West Concord Village for a thriving neighborhood community with two bakeries and an outstanding Natural Foods Store – all of which have appeared in national publications. All of Concord is surrounded by a dozen local farms which supply seasonal fresh produce as well as organic and pasture-fed meats and eggs!
Thanks, so much Alice!
Hehe, and I meant no offense about Concord. You have to understand…I lived in Boston for so many years, that anywhere outside the city is relatively quiet to me. I’ve been to Concord many times, and know just what you’re talking about! (Consequently, we live in Salem now, and…except for Halloween…I’m apt to describe our city as relatively sleepy, too.
)
Cheers and thanks so much for stopping by!
+Jessie
I was happy to find this post. Last year’s jam with our white grapes was a challenge but this year’s jelly turned out well. I was just able to pick up 3# of concords at the market and was searching for a better jam recipe. This fits the bill – back to the kitchen!
Thanks so much, Jennifer.
White grape jam! I’d love to know how that turned out. Let me know how you like this one?
+Jessie
Our landlord just gave us TONs of concord grapes!
I usually make freezer jam as I’m not set up for canning.
If I use this recipe as is, can I freeze it???
I normally use the Surejell recipes for other fruits but this is my first time working with grapes.
Do I need to do anything different to make it be freezer jam???
Thanks!
Oh wow! Lucky you.
Gosh, you know…I’ve never made freezer jam. From what I can gather, it looks like you freeze the jam, then let it thaw in the fridge before using. Is that about right?
I found a few recipes online, and they all seem to consist of fruit, sugar, water, and pectin. The pectin will serve to thicken the jam–something I accomplish in this recipe by simmering it down on the stove.
So…I don’t see why you couldn’t freeze this.
Let me know how it goes?
+Jessie
Hi Jessie,
I harvested 12 pounds of concord grapes off my two plants this Fall and was looking for a good jam recipe I could do. This was a fantastic recipe!! The illustrations were excellent! Thank you so much for posting this. I hope you don’t mind this, but my son taped me using your recipe and we’ll be posting it on YouTube. I intend to post a link to this recipe in the description. If you’d prefer that I didn’t, please let me know.
Again, thank you very much. It was so informative and easy to follow that even I could do it.
Sheldon
Thanks so much for stopping by and reporting in! SO glad you liked it.
(You’re a lucky duck with all those grapes in your yard.)
And on the contrary, I’d be thrilled if you linked to the recipe in your video. In fact, send me an email (jessie@thehungrymouse.com) with the link, and I’ll embed it in this post so folks can have another perspective.
Cheers!
+Jessie
I can’t wait to try this. Love the photo’s. Can this recipe be frozen?
Thanks so much, Barb. Someone else asked about freezing this jam. I honestly haven’t done it, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. It’s just fruit, water, and sugar. Let me know how it keeps if you freeze it?
Cheers!
+Jessie
Hi,
I’m getting ready to make the concord grape jam recipe. I picked the grapes in my own backyard! About how many cups of grapes equals 3 lbs?
Well, since no one answered 2 cups = 1 pound.
Hey Lori,
First off, so sorry for the delayed reply! I really try to answer all questions as promptly as I can, but sometimes one slips by me. Thanks for commenting back with the measurement.
One thing to note–your conversion is a good one, but will be approximate (which is just fine for a recipe like this).
Since a pound is a measure of weight, and a cup is a measure of volume, the exact measurement will vary depending on the size of the grapes, how tightly they’re packed into the cup, how dense they are, etc.
Totally nitpicky, I know, but worth noting in case someone tries to apply the same conversion to something like flour or sugar (more dense than flour)…
Again, sorry for the delayed reply. I really hope you liked the jam.
Cheers!
+Jessie