Making of Grapes Jam

Last week my friend gave me 2 bunches of dark skin grapes from her garden. Though she did told me they aren't very sweet but didn't really expect it to turn up so super sour. Even my hubby who can normally tolerate sourish also complaint inedible, haha. So what to do with them? 'Blink' ! Why not make into jam, since i never do that !! To cover the sourish, i added quite a quantity of sugar, tasting every each time after i add. To make sure not over the sweetness. Well I would say, the final result was AWESOME ! Very unique this recipe, as not many times we are possible to find Grape jams in the supermarket. Either they are eaten, make into grape juices or brewed into red wines. What a discovery, still thanks to my friend.

Autumn is the period for harvest and this is the time where the locals (french especially) love making fruits into jams. When the bottles are well sterilised, the contents can be kept for years, away from direct sunlight. Though it was kind of tedious to stand in front of the stove to stir the jam, but the result was really promising.

Since it is homemade, you can use any fruits to make into your favourite jams for spread. Just watchout on the sugar content. For this grape jam, first i plucked all out from the stem and give some rinse with a pinch of salt. Next drain well and transfer into a anti-adhesive pot. I did not remove the seeds. On medium heat, crush the grapes as you stir along. Until the contents start to bubble, add in your sugar (adjust to your sweetness), and taste it. Keeps stiring, and reduce the heat. Till you get to some tendency of 'thickness', this is where the sugar starts to crystalise. Or by observing the level on the side of the pot (you see that it leaves a layer of 'stained') and is probably almost done. Off fire and let it cool completely.

In the meantime, bring some glass bottles and its caps to boil in a pot of water. Water level should cover the bottles. When the water boils, off fire and let it stays for 5 minutes before removing them out. At this point of time, you can see that some difference of the jam 'texture'. Pour into the bottles and cap it tight. I used the plastic film as i didn't want the jam to touch the cap incase there is a rust somewhere. Voilà, all done ! Now we can enjoy our lovely homemade jams anytime.

I will try on other fruits the next time.