PickYourOwn.org
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How to Make Homemade Muscadine or Scuppernong Jelly - Easily! Making and canning your own
muscadine or scuppernong jelly is also quite easy. Here's how to do it, in 12 easy steps and
completely illustrated. These directions work equally well for other types of
fruit jelly: grape, raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry,
dewberry, gooseberry, loganberry, tayberry, marionberry, youngberry, etc.;
by themselves or mixed berry jelly. Any variations will be spelled out in the directions inside the
pectin.
Related directions:Ingredients and Equipment
Muscadine or Scuppernong Jelly-making DirectionsThis example shows you how to make either muscadine or scuppernong jelly. (What is a muscadine? It's a large type of grape, with large seeds and a stronger flavor. They're more common in the deep South), You can use this recipe to make almost any type of jelly from the fruit juice; where there is a difference, I will point it out! The yield from this recipe is about 12 eight-ounce jars (which is the same as 6 pints).
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Table 1. Recommended process time for Muscadine Grape Jelly in a boiling water canner. |
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| Process Time at Altitudes of | ||||
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | 0 - 1,000 ft | 1,001 - 6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
| Hot | Half-pints or Pints |
5 min | 10 | 15 |
Lift the jars out of the water with your jar lifter tongs and let them cool without touching or
bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.
Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them!
From left to right:
You can get all of the tools in a kit here:
Summary - Typical Cost of Making Homemade Grape Jelly - makes 12 jars, 8 oz each** |
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| Item | Quantity | Cost in 2005 | Source | Subtotal |
| Grapes |
4 lbs |
$1.00/lb | Pick your own | $4.00 |
| Canning jars (8 oz size), includes lids & rings | 12 jars | $7.00/dozen | Grocery stores, like Public, Kroger, Safeway and sometimes, Big Lots, local hardware stores and big box stores | $7.00 |
| Sugar | 4 cups | $2.00 | Grocery stores, like Public, Kroger, Safeway and sometimes, Big Lots, local hardware stores and big box stores | $2.00 |
| Pectin (low sugar, dry) | 1 and a third boxes * | $2.00 per box | Grocery stores, like Public, Kroger, Safeway and sometimes, Big Lots, local hardware stores and big box stores | $2.70 |
| Total | $15.70 total or about $1.30 per jar |
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| * pectin use varies - blackberry
jelly needs very little, raspberry a little more, grape the most.
** - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles, and reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars and reduce the cost further; just buy new lids (the rings are reusable, but the flat lids are not)! |
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Canning booksCanning & Preserving for Dummies
Click here for a larger photo, more information, pricing, ordering, etc. |
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The Ball Blue Book of PreservingThis is THE book on canning! My grandmother used this book when I was a child. It tells you in simple instructions how to can almost anything; complete with recipes for jelly, jellies, pickles, sauces, canning vegetables, meats, etc. If it can be canned, this book likely tells you how! Click on the link below for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy) Price $8.95 |
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Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later.
The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sterilize" cycle, the water bath processing will
sterilize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sterilize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then
sterilize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot
water until they are used. 
Step
4 -Wash the
muscadines!
processor,
with the slicing blade. 
Step
6 - Measure out the sugar
We just want to bring the muscadines to a boil to help release the juice
and break down some of the fruit to help it pass through our jelly
strainer. Put the crushed muscadines in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to
prevent burning) for until it starts to boil, then reduce the heat and
simmer for 10 minutes.
Step
8 - Sieve the cooked muscadines
You can either put the soft cooked muscadines through a jelly strainer
(about $9.00, see ordering at right) which results in the most clear
jelly and is easiest to use, or pour them through cheesecloth in
a colander. Or if you don't mind chunky jelly, just let the juice stand
for 20 minutes, and Decant (pour off) the clear liquid to use and leave
the solids behind.
Stir the pectin
(with 1/4 cup sugar) mix into the grape juice and put that in
a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to
prevent burning). It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to
a full boil (the kind that can not be stirred away).
e,
you'll find out exactly how much pectin to get the thickness you like.
Step 12 - Testing for
"jell" (thickness)
Fill them to within ¼-inch of the top, wipe any spilled jelly off the
top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put them into
the boiling water canner!
Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water
boiling. In general, boil them for 5 minutes, which is what SureJell (the
makers of the pectin) recommend. I say "in general" because you have
to process (boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you
use larger jars, or if you did not sterilize the jars and lids right before
using them. The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you
exactly - and see the Table below for altitude differences. The directions on the pectin tend to be
pretty conservative. 
