Wild Grape Jelly

It's time to harvest wild grapes. You can find them coast to coast.  Look along country roads, the leaves can be brightly chartreuse-colored now, and where the vines have been able to climb into a tree or along a wall, you'll find fruit. 

Don't worry about picking the grapes clean of their stems, just fill your bags. A heaping two-quarts will make four cups of juice, or two cups of jelly.

At home, rinse them well and pile the grapes, stems and all, into a heavy two-quart pot. Add a cup of water, cover, and turn on the heat to medium-high. Once you hear the water boil, turn the heat down to medium-low. 

After about five minutes, get out your potato masher and squash the grapes. Add more water if it looks dryish. Repeat this until it looks like you've got two things in your pot: juice and pulp. 

Place a colander inside a large bowl and put both of those in your sink. Strain the cooked grape juice through the colander. If you've cooked long enough, you shouldn't have to do much if any mashing at this point. Toss the pulp out behind a bush in the backyard and wash your pot.

Now, you'll need to measure. For every cup of juice, you'll need 3/4 cup sugar. Don't add the sugar yet, though. And don't cook more than 6 cups of juice at a time. Four is best, particularly in a 2-quart pot.

Place the strained juice back on the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. When it boils, turn it down to medium, keeping the boil on for 5 minutes. 

After 5 minutes, add in the sugar, stirring until it dissolves and no more.

Allow to boil again. This time it's going to start bubbling up -- which is the reason you don't want more than 4 cups in a 2-quart pot. After 5 minutes, check its thickness with the old Joy Of Cooking spoon test:

Dip a stirring spoon into the pot, just to coat it. Cool a bit by blowing, then tilt the spoon so that the liquid slowly pours back into the pot. If it runs right in, it's not ready. If it forms two drips that do not meet as they leave the spoon, it's still not ready. When the two drips meet and leave together, it's done.

Pour the hot jelly into a prepared jar. Best to use a funnel -- this stuff makes real stains. No need to sterilize if you're just putting up a jar or two, but keep the jars in the fridge. 

The jelly won't last long anyway. It's the most amazing stuff: sweet, musky, tart, fruity, earthy. Very, very complex. Your wine tongue will love it, and so will your kids.