Grape preserves are made by cooking whole or crushed grapes, sugar, and sometimes pectin. Concord grapes are the most commonly used variety, but other types can also be used. The preserves are used as bread toppers, toppings, and flavorings in other recipes, and can also be used as a condiment on meats or as a dessert topping.
Typically, people make preserves, jams, jellies, and most other fruit spreads by cooking fruit, sugar, and pectin. Although cooks use various grape varieties to make grape preserves, the Concord grape is the most common variety used in making preserves. In 1940, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set standards for commercially made preserves, and most home recipes reflect these standards. People use preserves as bread toppers, toppings, and flavorings in other recipes, such as barbecue sauces. Sometimes cooks combine grapes with other fruits such as apples when making grape preserves.
While grape jellies use grape juice, they are usually clear and free from fruit particles, preserves, jams, butters and other spreads use the whole fruit and are thicker. Cooks usually make jams and butters with pureed fruit, but make preserves with whole or crushed grapes, giving the preserves a chunky texture. Cooks can prepare preserves with or without the peels. Concord grapes are called skin grapes because the skins slide off easily. Some other grape varieties, such as muscadine, have thick, tough skins that are difficult to remove.
Most of the preserved recipes are similar. A cook usually places the skins in a bowl and the grape pulp in a sieve over a bowl; and pressing the pulp through the sieve, the cook removes the seeds from the pulp. Typically, cooks weigh the pulp and skins and add the amount of sugar that the recipe suggests. The 1940 FDA standards have a 45:55 ratio of fruit to sweetener. Home cook recipes can vary, but are usually close to this ratio.
After determining the right amount of sugar for the preserves, the cook slowly boils the skins, pulp, and sweetener in a nonreactive metal pot until thick. Some recipes call for pectin, which is a thickener used in jellies and other types of fruit. Many gourmet grape preserves feature special fruit pairings, such as green muscat grapes and figs. Other popular gourmet preserves add apples or raisins to grapes or special flavorings, such as spices or vanilla beans.
The most common grape variety is the ripe Concord grape, but some food companies and home cooks broaden the selection to include grapes such as Catawba, Muscat, and other varieties. Where mustang grapes grow in the United States, some cooks make green mustang grape preserves. This grape is not a popular grape because ripened grapes are bitter. To make preserves, the cook picks the immature grapes when they are pea-sized and the seeds are soft. Many recipes call for equal parts grapes and sugar to offset the acidity of the immature fruit.
People usually spread grape preserves on bread or toast, but there are other uses for them. The thicker consistency of the preserves — at least 68 percent solids according to FDA standards — makes it a good taste for meats. Some cooks use them as a condiment on steaks, lamb chops, and pork roasts. Other people use them for desserts, such as a topping for ice cream and puddings.
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