To: Scott Heimdall <heimdall@optonline.net>
From: Will Roberts
<oldbear@arctos.com>
Subject: re:
Date: Sunday, Sep 18, 2005 12:20:03
EDT -0400
Way back in 2002,, you and I had a brief discussion about concord grapes
in the rec.food.baking usenet newsgroup:
> From: Scott <Heimdall@spamless.invalid>
> Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
> Subject: Re:
> Date: Mon, 19 Aug
2002 11:10:13 -0400
> . . .
> Concords are "slipskin" grapes: pinch them at the end opposite where
the
> stem
had attached and the pulp/seeds pops right out. This step is quite
> important
for making pies and preserves--you pop out the pulp, then cook
> it
on medium-hot stove 'til the pulp turns whitish and the seeds begin
> to
float out. . . .
I appreciated being
educated about this. Prior to your
postings, I had
no idea that
one usually buys in the supermarket.
Well, last Spring, I bought a house in
had cultivated several grape vines and trained them on a frame
to form
an arbor/canopy over a picnic table.
It being mid-September,
they are now covered with bunches of small dark
purple grapes.
Do you have any recipes
that you like and are willing to share?
I'd
also appreciate any suggestions about harvesting, handling,
preparing,
etc.
Thanks.
Regards,
Will Roberts
The Old Bear
oldbear@arctos.com
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005
16:38:34 -0400
From: Scott
<heimdall@optonline.net>
Subject: Re:
To: Will Roberts
<oldbear@arctos.com>
On 9/18/05 12:20 PM,
"Will Roberts" <oldbear@arctos.com> wrote:
> I appreciated being
educated about this. Prior to your
postings, I had
> no
idea that
> one
usually buys in the supermarket.
>
> Well, last Spring, I bought a house in
> had cultivated
several grape vines and trained them on a frame to form
> an
arbor/canopy over a picnic table.
>
> It being
mid-September, they are now covered with bunches of small dark
> purple
grapes.
>
> Do you have any
recipes that you like and are willing to share?
I'd
> also
appreciate any suggestions about harvesting, handling, preparing,
> etc.
Hello, Will. Note that
they may not actually be
relatively likely that they are (I wasn't sure whether you had
positively
ID'd them).
they work variously well for the same recipes. Some, like fox
grapes, have a
very strong taste (sometimes unpleasantly so), but are often used
for
decoration.
Strange that you emailed
me today; I was just out at the arbor this morning,
harvesting a few pounds worth.
I've found
‹ bunches rarely seem to
ripen at the same rate, so you basically need to
pick the ripe ones from a bunch and leave the rest for future
picking. At
least, the particular variety I'm used to acts that way.
‹ they come off the vine
very easily, so you stand a good chance of knocking
ripe grapes off and onto the ground. Keeping your container under
where
you're picking will prevent loss (but over- and under-ripe grapes
will
therefore fall in, as well as twigs, leaves, etc.). This is less of a
problem with nicely tended arbors, since there will be more wiggle
room for
you (I sadly neglected my arbor this past winter). I spent an
hour and
change harvesting them, and there's still plenty more left.
Put them into a large
container (e.g., a bowl) that's large enough to have
a decent amount of empty room above the grapes. Fill the
container with cold
water until it starts overflowing; the twigs etc. will float, as
will many
of the bad grapes (it seems that yellow jackets like to suck
the juice out
of them, leaving strangely colored, withered grapes with a
small hole on the
side; this process will tend to separate those). Put your hand in
and
agitate gently, so the junk at bottom floats out. Spill off the
upper layer
of water (along with floaters), refill, and repeat. Don't
agitate too much:
you'll lose juice. Dry them in a sieve; after draining for a while,
I also
put a few paper towels in with them to absorb additional water.
Drying well
is only issue if you're going to refrigerate them for a day or
two, to
reduce molding.
They can be stored in the
fridge for a couple of days, but they will start
to mold and/or ferment (by the second day, you may be able to
smell the
wike-line odor, but
they should be fine for use).
For many of the recipes,
you'll have to remove the skin. It's very easy, but
it does take a while since you have to work grape by grape.
When you pick
them, you'll get a little slit in the skin where the stem was.
Squeeze the
skin gently, opposite this slit, and the pulp will squirt right
out. Keep
the skin and pulp separate (you will combine them later, when
the seeds have
been separated). Offhand, the only time you WON'T need to skin
them is when
you're making juice (for jelly, etc.). For pies, jams, etc., you'll
have to
de-skin them. The pulp is then cooked over medium heat until the
pieces turn
an opaque whitish-green color (from translucent green), and you
then press
it through a sieve (metal is better) to separate out the seeds;
I use a
rubber spatula. If you've cooked it enough, this'll go easily. If
some
pieces are undercooked and won't easily give up the seeds, put them
into a
small, microwave-safe bowl, and cook in 20 second intervals until
the pulp
passes through the sieve.
Don't use a foodmill (the thing with a crank used for pulping fruit and
vegetables, etc.); I find that they tend to pulverize the seeds,
resulting
in little bits in your pulp.
As far as grape jam (my
preference over jelly), I just use the recipe that
comes with the box of pectin. You can, of course, make it without
pectin,
but I find that the taste is more intense if made with pectin,
and less
"cooked."
Note for the grape pies:
when you separate the skins, chop them up into
small pieces before adding them back to the pulp. They can stay
tough, so
mincing them will make them cook more thoroughly and/or make them
easier to
chew. I haven't quite figured out the absolute best way to solve
the
toughness problem; two years ago, there were chewy little bits of
skin. Last
year's batch was absolutely perfect. Maybe it's growing conditions,
maybe it
was my chopping them up that made a difference.
Regards,
Scott
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 1/2 cups
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 unbaked pastry shell (9
inches)
STREUSEL:
1/2 cup quick-cooking
oats
1/2 cup packed brown
sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter or
margarine
Squeeze the end of each
grape opposite the stem to separate skins from pulp.
Set skins aside. Place
pulp in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil and
stir for 1 minute. Press through a strainer or food mill to
remove seeds.
Combine pulp, skins,
sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt; pour into pastry
shell. Combine oats, brown sugar and flour; cut in butter until
crumbly.
Sprinkle over filling.
Cover edges of pastry with foil. Bake at 425'F for 15
minutes. Remove foil; bake 20 minutes more or until golden brown.
Cool on a
wire rack. Yield: 8 servings.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concord Grape Pie
5 cups
1 cup sugar
3-1/2 tbsp flour or cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1 top and bottom
9-inch pie crust, unbaked
Remove pits from grapes
by slitting in half with knife or pop grape pulp
into bowl, reserving skins
Cook pulp until seeds
separate and to bottom of pan, about 10 minutes
Press through strainer to
remove pits
Put grape pulp and skins
in bowl; add sugar, flour and cinnamon; mix well
Pour grape mixture into
pie crust
Top with crust and bake
at 450°F. for 10 minutes.
Reduce oven to 350°F. and bake for an additional 20 minutes
May be made ahead and
frozen before baking
Note: I've started to
favor substituting tapioca for the flour/cornstarch.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECIPE: Grape Sorbet
INGREDIENTS:
4 lb
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp sweet vermouth
METHOD:
Combine grapes and 1 cup
water in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat, cover and
simmer until grapes are very tender, about 15
minutes.
Transfer grape mixture to
strainer. Set over large bowl. Using spoon, press
on grapes to extract as much liquid as
possible.
Measure liquid; there
should be about 4 cups. Add more water if necessary.
Add sugar and vermouth to
liquid in bowl; stir until dissolved.
Pour mixture into an ice
cream maker and process according to manufacturers
instructions.
Freeze until firm, about
2 hours.
Use vodka if sweet
vermouth is not available.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grape Gumdrops
(handy
if you have a small quantity of grapes left over)
Vegetable oil
3/4 cup grape juice
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 pkg. (1 3/4 oz.)
powdered fruit pectin
1/2 tsp. baking soda
sugar
2 drops blue food
coloring, if desired
Line loaf pan, (9x5x3)
with aluminum foil. Brush with oil.
Heat 1 cup sugar and corn
syrup to boiling in 1 1ˇ2 qt. saucepan over
medium-high heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Cook,
without stirring, to 280 degrees on candy thermometer or until small
amounts
of mixture dropped into very cold water, separates into hard,
but NOT
brittle threads.
While cooking sugar
mixture, heat grape juice, pectin and baking soda to
boiling (mixture will be foamy) in 2 qt. saucepan over high heat,
stirring
constantly, reduce heat. Slowly pour hot sugar mixture in a thin stream
into
grape juice mixture, stirring constantly (this should take 1-2
minutes);
remove from heat. Stir in food color. Pour mixture into pan. Let
stand 2
minutes. Skim off foam. Let stand uncovered at room temperature 24
hours.
Lift foil from pan and
remove foil from sides. Cut into 3/4 inch squares
with knife dipped into sugar. Roll squares in sugar. Let stand uncovered
at
room temperature 1 hour. Store gumdrops in
airtight container. About 72
gumdrops, 28 calories each. Sandy Pruden
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
note: the below is an improved version of something I made last
year. The
original got rave reviews from those I gave it to (before they
demanded
more), especially as a topping for grilled tuna steak.
Concord Grape, Ginger & Apple Chutney
2 lb
1 1/2 c sugar
2 lb Granny Smith apples,
coarsely diced
2 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 lb dried currants
1/4 lb ginger, grated
2 tsp sea salt
1 T freshly ground black
pepper
Wash grapes. To remove
the skins, pinch the grapes and they will slip off.
Set the skins aside. Put
pulp into saucepan and bring to a boil. While hot,
press through a strainer to remove seeds. Mix strained pulp with
skins. Add
the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 40 - 45 minutes until
most of the
liquid has evaporated. Ladle into sterilized jars and seal. The
chutney will
be ready to eat in one month. Yield: 2-3 lbs
Jackie Gordon
Executive Singing Chef
Divalicious, Inc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECIPE: Concord Grape
Conserve
Note: very citrusy.
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups concord
grape pulp see notes
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup oranges, 1/2"
pieces thinly sliced
1/3 cup lemons, 1/2"
pieces thinly sliced
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1 teasp
allspice ground
1 1/2 teasp
cinnamon ground
1/4 (or slightly more,
optional) teasp clove ground
METHOD:
Combine the above in a
microwave-proof bowl with plenty of head room to
prevent it from boiling over. Cook on high power for 20 minutes and
then
stir. Then cook on medium power for 10-15 minutes until it passes
the
jelly test.
Place in sterilized jars
and BWB. Or place in jars and store in the freezer
until ready for use.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
##
To: Scott
<heimdall@optonline.net>
From: Will Roberts
<oldbear@arctos.com>
Subject: Thanks (Re:
Date: Monday, Sep 19, 2005 18:41:03
EDT -0400
At 04:38 PM 9/18/05, you
wrote:
> Hello, Will. Note
that they may not actually be
> relatively
likely that they are (I wasn't sure whether you had positively
> ID'd
them).
Thank you for your
detailed and very helpful reply.
I'll let you know how my
wife and I make out with our "harvest" and what
we make out of the grapes.
I know that she is planning to try making a pie.
Also, here is a link to
an article I found which ran in the
newspaper about two weeks ago:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050906/ART06/50906040
Regards,
Will Roberts
The Old Bear
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005
18:41:58 -0400
From: Scott <heimdall@optonline.net>
Subject: Re: Thanks (Re:
To: Will Roberts
<oldbear@arctos.com>
On 9/19/05 9:45 AM, "Will Roberts" <oldbear@arctos.com>
wrote:
> Thank you for your
detailed and very helpful reply.
>
> I'll let you know
how my wife and I make out with our "harvest" and what
> we
make out of the grapes. I know that she
is planning to try making a pie.
>
> Also, here is a link
to an article I found which ran in the
> newspaper
about two weeks ago:
>
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050906/ART06/50906040
Interesting article. I just emailed the author about some of her points.
Like I said, I'm not fond
of using the food mill. I use a sieve somewhat
like [see attached]
except the mesh in mine (which is 50+ years old) is finer and it
has two
thin straps that criss-cross the bowl,
reinforcing the mesh. I use a rubber
spatula to press the pulp against the mesh; it works quickly and
gets *all*
of the pulp out.
When she wrote about
cutting the grapes in half and scraping out the seeds,
my mind boggled. I just processed three and a half pounds for
jam, and it
took a while to separate the pulp and skins. I do them quickly,
using both
hands, sometimes two-three grapes per hand--and it still is
tedious. Cutting
one grape at a time in half... egad! And the seeds are
tenacious, stuck in
the middle of a somewhat gooey yet cohesive pulp that doesn't
want to let go
of them. I have the jam all canned and BWB'd;
if I used the cut-in-half
method, I'd probably still be working on them. Further, I'd imagine
that the
seeds can be easily missed, so I'd *want* to pass it through a
sieve (and
you can't do that if the skin is still attached).
Best of luck,
Scott
Oh, a note: if you do the
slip-skin method, you may find that some of the
skins stick to the pulp in spots. Look at that spot carefully: the
sticking
often indicates a bad spot. You can toss the grape, or cut out the
bad spot
of skin and pulp (it's often insect damage). This is another
good reason to
slip the skins off: you find bad spots that you might otherwise
miss.
Cuisipro 8-Inch Double Medium Mesh Strainer
#
Ideal for straining stocks
or draining vegetables or fruit
#
Holds about 4 cups
#
Double mesh construction
#
Heat-resistant wooden handle insert
#
Hand wash with mild detergent
The
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
Concord Grape Pie
4 cups
1 cup sugar
dash salt
1/4 cup flour
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Pastry for
two-crust 9-inch pie =or= pastry
for one-crust pie plus optional crumb topping
Cook’s note: A faster method of removing the seeds,
is to cut the grape in half and slip the seeds out with the edge of a paring
knife. Any pulp with seeds or juice should still be cooked for 5 minutes before
adding to the grape halves and other ingredients.
To make pie: Slip skins from grapes and reserve. Put pulp in a saucepan
and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Press the pulp through a sieve (or
food mill) to remove seeds. Mix pulp with sugar, skins, salt,
flour, lemon juice, and butter. Pour into pie crust and top with crust
or crumb topping. Bake 425 degrees for 10 minutes and 350 degrees for 30
minutes or until pie bubbles.
Optional Crumb Topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
Combine and mix until crumbly.
Yield: 1 pie
