I went to an event that I enjoyed so much that I had to share the experience and the muscadine jam recipe that I made afterward! Gardeners, foodies, and families looking for something new to do will enjoy this U Pick Muscadine vineyard during the month of August.
What I enjoy most about gardening is getting to eat what I grow. So of course, any opportunity to check out fruit or vegetables that someone else is growing is a fun experience for me!
U Pick Muscadine Experience
I saw this event posted on social media for U Pick Muscadines. Thompson’s Nursery and Vineyard is located in Valrico, FL, and muscadine picking is open to the public during August. The location was easy to get to and the vineyard was well maintained for visitors to go strolling through the rows and picking the different varieties that they had.
Having never had muscadines before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was surprised at the flavor, and how different they are from table grapes you buy at the grocery store. They’re both sweet and tart. The thick skins come off easily and are easy to chew. I thought the thick skins meant they’d be tough, but they weren’t.The whole muscadine is edible except for the 3-4 seeds in the center. I personally preferred the flavor of the dark red ones, but I picked a handful of the lighter ones as well.
I enjoyed the overall experience and would recommend this to anyone who likes muscadines. Or someone who has never had muscadines and would like to try something new. I ended up getting 2 pounds and a fun experience to share. The only bad part of the experience was that I didn’t get more! I’ll be getting a whole lot more next year for my muscadine jam recipe!While the muscadines can be eaten right off the vine (and a few were!), I decided to make jam out of mine. And I’m so glad that I did! The jam I created is tart (I personally prefer tarter jams and preserves) and the flavor was amazing! I actually prefer the jam more than eating the grapes raw.
If you’re in the central Florida area, I hope you go check out Thompson’s Nursery and Vineyard! They typically open the last week in July and then for the rest of August.
Muscadine Jam Recipe Ingredients:
(Makes 3 half-pint jars)
- 2 pounds of muscadine grapes
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 3 tbsp of lemon juice
- 3 tbsp of classic pectin
Muscadine Jam Recipe Directions:
First, you’ll want to wash your jars, lids, and bands, and warm them. I used Ball half pint jars. I use Ball jars for everything – pickling, preserving, salsa, dried spices from my garden. They’re great and they hold up for a long time. The only thing you have to replace periodically are the lids for sealing. Those should only be used once if you’re going to process the jar (to store 6+ months on the shelf with your delicious creation). And those can be bought separately.
I also use some other cookware for preserving. There’s a great all-in-one set that I have from Granite Ware. I would recommend it for anyone who’s getting into canning. The tools that come with it are helpful for removing your jars and keeping everything sterile without burning yourself in the process (which I need!). I like the pots because they’re tall enough to fully submerge the jars.Moving right along you’ll want to mix the 3 tablespoons of pectin with 3 tablespoons of your sugar. This will help prevent clumping when you add it to your jam. Set aside the rest of your sugar.
Rinse your grapes. Cut the grapes in half and peel off the skins. Separate the insides of the grapes and the skins into two separate bowls. Puree skins with a food processor or blender. I used my NutriBullet.
In one pan, warm the pureed skins for about 10 minutes.
In another pan, simmer the insides of the grapes. Cover with a lid for 15 minutes and then start to mash the grapes until soft and tender.
Strain the insides of the grapes and remove the seeds. A food mill also works great for this and makes the process less manual.Add all of the grapes to 1 pan along with the pectin mix and lemon. Bring slowly to a hard boil, and stir constantly (about 15-20 minutes). A hard boil is one that can’t be stirred down.
Do a sheet test to see when the jam is ready. Use a cold spoon (from the freezer), dip it into the pan, and see if the mixture “sheets” off. When the remaining drops pour off the spoon run together and “sheet” off the spoon then you know your jam is ready.Add sugar and cook for another 5-10 minutes to the consistency that you want.
Fill warm jars, leaving ¼” space at the top. Use a spoon to make sure there are no bubbles in the jar. Wipe the rim with a sterile cloth. Screw on the 2-piece lids.
Let the jars cool and refrigerate for 2-3 weeks or process to hold up longer. I was originally going to process these jars, but then I realized I was part black bear, and I’d be lucky if these lasted a week!
The jam was great on some freshly baked biscuits.
I hope you enjoy this Muscadine Jam Recipe!
Muscadine Jam Recipe
2017-08-05 14:19:56
A southern grape jam full of flavor - both sweet and tart. Recipe makes 3 half pints.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of muscadine grapes
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 3 tbsp of lemon juice
- 3 tbsp of classic pectin
Instructions
- Wash your jars, lids, bands and warm. Mix the 3 tablespoons of pectin with 3 tablespoons of your sugar. Set aside the rest of your sugar.
- Rinse the grapes. Cut grapes in half and peel off the skins. Separate the insides of the grapes and the skins into two separate bowls. Puree skins with a food processor or blender.
- In one pans warm the pureed skins for about 10 minutes.
- In another pan simmer the insides of the grapes. cover with a lid for 15 minutes and then start to mash the grapes until soft and tender.
- Strain the insides of the grapes and remove the seeds.
- Add all of the grapes to 1 pan along with the pectin mix, and lemon. Bring slowly to a hard boil, stir constantly (about 15-20 minutes). A hard boil is one that can't be stirred down.
- Do a sheet test to see when jam is ready. Use a cold spoon (from the freezer), dip it into the pan and see if the mixture "sheets" off. When the remaining drops pouring off the spoon run together and "sheet" off the spoon then you know your jam is ready.
- Add sugar and cook for another 5-10 minutes to a consistency that you want.
- Fill warm jars, leaving ¼” space at the top. Use a spoon to make sure there are no bubbles in the jar. Wipe the rim with a sterile cloth. Screw on the 2-piece lids.
- Let cool and refrigerate for 2-3 weeks or process to hold up longer.
My Little Green Garden https://mylittlegreengarden.com/
Ooh I’ve never tried this jam before but it sure does look delicious, thanks for sharing !
Thank you, Taylor!
Do you have to add the lemon juice for this recipe to work?
Hi Stacey! You can try adding less lemon juice if you’d like. I recommend adding at least 1 tablespoon. It helps to “set” your jam and it also lowers the pH level if you plan on processing your jars. You can always add a little and see how it tastes.
This was really good! I did end up adding an extra half a cup of sugar. great recipe with low sugar and using the skins which have a lot of vitamins in them! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, Stacey! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I just made muscadine jelly and thought it looked like such a waste to through the skins out. I decided to put them in my food processor and I did just that and now I am going to try making jam out of the skins. Just not sure how much sugar to add since I can’t find a recipe for that. May put same amt. of sugar that I did for the jelly and see how it taste. Thanks for all your info.
I am on my fourth batch. Love this recipe, easy and it taste so good…
I’m so glad you do! Thank you for stopping by, Debby! 🙂
I’m going to try this recipe. How do you remove the seeds? Do you strain the insides using a colander?
I recommend using a food mill.
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled?
Absolutely!
This is fantastic!! just finished making it and had a question. How did you remove the seeds? Even with a strainer, it was a lot of work to keep the solids and o my get rid of the seeds. Should I go ahead and use a food mill? Thank you.
Yes! So the first time I tried making this I just used a strainer and I found it to be a very manual process as well. I purchased a small handheld food mill and it made such a difference.
Hi ,
When you say “process” them do you mean water bath canning?
Thank you,
Amelia
Yes! If you’re interested in doing a large batch and saving some.
We’ve got 8-100 foot long rows of Muscadines on our 5 acres that will be ready to pick soon. We are going to try this recipe small scale first then maybe to sell some.
Wow, that’s amazing! Where are you located?
Can this jam be kept in freezer?
I’ve never done that, but yes. You can freeze jam for up to a year.
This recipe is amazing! Thank you for sharing. Most recipes are for muscadine jelly. I used 8 pounds of scuppernongs and quadrupled your recipe. It is absolutely delicious!! The scuppernong taste still shines through and the texture is perfect. I was so afraid mine wasn’t going to set because I stirred for an hour or more with it boiling and it never quite sheeted off the spoon. The jars at room temp are still a bit liquid-like, but the jars in the fridge are absolutely perfect. I’ll simply put a jar in the fridge to form before use.
Thank you, Jeanie! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Can this recipe be doubled?
Absolutely!
Thank you for this recipe!!! It gave me the confidence to cook up 8 pounds of scuppernongs into the best fruit spread I have ever had. I changed the recipe, but your clear instructions and measurements made it simple to convert. Thank you!☺️
Yay! I love hearing this! I’m glad it was delicious!