Grape Jam
Wash the grapes picked from the stems, then press on the grapes with your thumb and forefinger one by one to separate the pulp from the skin. Heat the pulp over the stove eye until it softens and changes color a little. With a pestle, rub the pulp through a puree strainer, leaving the seeds in the strainer. Add the skins to the pulp and sugar to equal the weight of the skins and pulp. Mix thoroughly and let cook about 15 minutes. Store as jelly or as canned fruit.
Raspberry, Strawberry, or Blackberry Jam
Clean and prepare the fruit. Use three fourths a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Crush the fruit and put it over the stove eye. Let the crushed fruit boil about 20 minutes. Add 1/3 of the sugar and once boiling again, add 1/3 more of the sugar. Continue until all the sugar is used, then boil it until the mixture doesn’t separate or grow watery when tested on a cold ladle or saucer. Store as jelly or as canned fruit.
Raspberry or Blackberry Jam Without Seeds
Clean and prepare the fruit. Mash with a wooden or porcelain pestle, then set it over a boiling pot of water and let become very hot. Next press through a very fine sieve. Add about a cup of boiling water to the portion that doesn’t pass the sieve and heat over a stove eye. Then press as much more pulp as possible through the sieve. Weigh the juice and pulp and add an equal weight of sugar, then let boil stirring often until thick. This can be made with less sugar. Apple juice can be used in place of adding water to the seeds to help free the pulp from the seeds. Store as jelly or as canned fruit.
I love cooking, being a housewife, gardening, sewing along with quilt making, being a grandma, and my cats. I'm the pianist at my church and just so happens, my husband is my pastor.