Concord Grape Jelly

Day 1:

Add the grapes into a very large pot and use a potato masher to crush the grapes as much as possible. Add the water and bring the fruit to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until the grapes are very soft.

Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth, making sure that the cheesecloth extends over the edges of the colander by several inches. Set the colander over a large pot or bowl.

Use a measuring cup to scoop the grapes and liquid from the pot into the cheesecloth. Let it sit for 4-5 hours so that the grape juice will strain through the cheesecloth. After several hours, the fruit will be cooled and a large amount of the liquid will have worked its way into the pot or bowl. Grab the edges of the cheesecloth that are hanging over the colander, pull them towards the center and twist to form a “bag”. Squeeze the bag to release any of the grape juice that remains trapped in the fruit. You should end up with around 9 cups of grape juice. Discard the cheesecloth and fruit remnants and refrigerate the juice overnight in covered containers or jars.

Note: The purpose of spreading the process over two days is to ensure that you get the clearest jelly possible. If you want to proceed without refrigerating the juice overnight, you may do so.

Day 2:

Remove the grape juice from the refrigerator. Any further sediment will have settled to the bottom of the container so you can strain the juice once more through cheesecloth to ensure really clear jelly.

In a very large pot, combine the juice and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat. Boil hard, uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring as needed. Add liquid pectin and stir to combine. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and use a metal spoon to skim off the foam.

Ladle hot jelly into 14 sterilized half pint jars, leaving 1/4″ head space. Wipe off the jar rims and add lids. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Remove jars from the water bath and cool on wire racks.