Grape Jelly

copyright 2010 eat.write.think

This recipe was a result of a case of sour grapes, that happened recently. Quite simply I picked up a bunch of green grapes that were a little too tart, so it sat languishing in the fridge where the cold temps was doing nothing to slow down the ageing process. I googled frantically, I knew what I didn’t want:

1. I didn’t want to make a jam or jelly, I’d have to add sugar and I don’t think in the long run it’ll be consumed by anyone other than me. My daughter is not a sandwich eater and neither is B, my husband. And I am, I am!

2. I didn’t want to bake, its too much when you have to cook, clean, do dishes, do laundry and be the primary caregiver of a precocious 3 year old! Welcome to my ‘servantless’ home!

3. I didn’t want to freeze, no ice creams or sorbets, the weather’s just not right and I have been recovering from a nasty cold.

4. I didn’t want anything that took me more than 30 minutes to put together!

copyright 2010 eat.write.think

And so I came upon this interesting Italian dish from a site called italian-food-lovers.com (this link doesn’t work any more, maybe they changed their mind?!), this recipe for Italian grape jelly, is supposed to be a local Italian favorite, if any Italians are reading this do correct me I am just going by what I remember reading at the site which doesn’t open any more. Let me tell you this is a beautiful recipe, you can put it together really fast and Mr. B loved it and found it very ‘soothing to the tummy‘!! I’ve tweaked the original recipe ever so lightly, and added vanilla extract and orange rind, of course we are allowed to improvise. Like they say, “the idea belongs to everybody, but the dish belongs to you”.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups green grapes

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2  1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Method

1. Wash and de-stem the grapes, and put into a large bowl.

2. Mash the grapes with your bare hands or with a potato masher, mash away till the juices begin to flow. I was surprised when I saw the amount of juice I got from just one bunch.

copyright 2010 eat.write.think

3. Get another large bowl, place a large fine mesh sieve over it, and strain the juice. Discard the skin.

4. Now add the sugar and vanilla essence and whisk the juice, followed by the flour. Add a little flour at a time.

5. Pour the mixture into a medium size stockpot and cook on medium heat, whisking all the while. When the mixture starts bubbling reduce heat to low and continue whisking till the juice becomes thick and custardy. Remember it should be thick but not clumpy, mine could have been thicker by one more degree.

6. While still warm pour into ramekins, or silicone muffin tray (like I have), or small bowls which have been lined with cling wrap. Add some orange rind into each bowl and refrigerate for 4, 5 hours. This will set the jelly.

7. To serve, turn into dessert plates, garnish with fresh cream, mint, and orange rind or fruits of your choice. I really liked the citrus combination. Definitely going to make this again, and I worked at break neck speed, it really took me around 30 minutes to put this together, then shoved it into the fridge.

copyright 2010 eat.write.think

This is our entry for Sugar High Friday: Sweet Comfort being hosted by Kate from A Merrier World.

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