Name: Isabella Grape Jam
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 7,5 cups grapes, makes about 4 cups of pulpa; 4 Tbsp lemon juice; 4 cups of sugar; 3 Tbsp pectin + 3 Tbsp sugar

Isabella Grape Jam: Heard it through the grapevine …

I still remember the fragrance the Isabella grapes released after rain in my grandmother’s backyard. We used to play hide-and-seek there under the grand grapevine roof, all around the chairs, running among the Isabella vines and peonies. Is there any such a place left? Anywhere?
Since I had not experienced that wonderful scent for ages, I started looking for young seedlings to plant on my balcony. Friends took this as a sign I was loosing it, but I kept looking around hoping to find one, sooner or later!

My plan was to let it grow around my balcony fence so I could pick the fruits in a few years’ time to have for jams, compotes, cookies or any other desserts.

There is definitely a Guardian Angel taking care of me: my son came home the other day saying that one of his friends was offering me a bucket of the grapes since he knows how much I am into making them.

So, my Isabella grapes arrived out of the blue. We did not even know this vine grew any more, and all of a sudden I had the opportunity to get a seedling and make my dream come true.

Once you start making your batch of grape jam, have in mind it really takes more than an hour to prepare several jars of this jam, but I am not complaining.

It is important to add a little tip: to separate the grape seeds from liquid easily, place a cheesecloth inside a sieve. That way, you easily squeeze more flavours out.

The fragrance was amazing. However, I rubbed my hands with sliced lemons after the job was done, while the jam was cooling, so there were no lasting stains on my skin and the grapes’ beautiful aroma was captured in full. The feeling: undescribable!

In Italy, there is a wine called Fragolino made from this grape variety. It goes well with Panettone. So does the jam.

Enjoy!

5 from 1 vote

Isabella Grape Jam

Isabella Grape Jam: Heard it through the grapevine …

Course Canning / preserving

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword Isabella Grape Jam

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Author 2pots2cook

Ingredients

7,5 cups grapes, makes about 4 cups of pulpa
4 Tbsp lemon juice
4 cups of sugar
3 Tbsp pectin + 3 Tbsp sugar

Instructions

Clean and wash the grapes and separate the fruits from stem.
Mix the grapes in a food processor to get creamy pulp.
Place the sieve covered with cheesecloth over a pot or a bowl of matching size and press the pulp firmly to pass it through the sieve.
Boil the fruit pulp and sugar in medium sized pot over medium heat for 20 minutes.
Add sugar and pectin mixture and cook for another 10 minutes.
Put the hot jam into clean dry glass jars and allow to cool.