Red Grape Lavender Jelly is a Floral Twist on Traditional Grape Jelly

Lavender Red Grape Jelly is a unique combination of flavors sure to elevate your taste buds to a whole new level. With its delicate floral notes and bold burst of fruity goodness, this jelly is a must-try for any foodie or fan of delicious spreads.

Instead of traditional Concord grapes, this recipe shows you how to use different varieties of homegrown or foraged grapes to make a fruity floral jelly to enjoy your self or give as gifts.

When I bought my two grape plants they were labelled Thompson and Red Table. I swear the Red Table did not say anything about seeds! I never would have bought it and planted it and nurtured it so that this year it produced over 20 cups of grapes with annoying little seeds in them. All ripe at the same time.

To mix things up this year I added some lavender flowers to the boiling grapes. I tried it once before with strawberry jam, and it was an equally delicious addition to the grapes. A delightful extra layer of floral flavor.

Should you use added pectin for grape jelly?

This recipe calls for pectin. Many varieties of grapes do not have enough natural pectin in them to gel like Concord Grapes do, which is what is normally used to make grape jelly.

Some people do not like adding packaged pectin to their jams and jellies. I tried adding apples once (as suggested in Joy of Cooking), but it still wasn't enough pectin to make it gel.

If you want to make it without pectin, I would recommend making it a jam instead. Tie lavender stalks together with kitchen twine, or put blossoms in square of cheesecloth tied with kitchen twine. But the grapes, lavender and sugar in a large saucepan. Mash the grapes to release the juice. Bring mixture to the jelling point which is the boiling point of water plus 8 degrees (usually 220F or higher depending on altitude).

What are tartrate crystals?

All grapes contain tartaric acid. When made into jelly (or wine) the acid can form crystals. They aren't harmful to consume, but you may not want them in your jelly.

To prevent them from getting in your jelly, the fruit needs to be boiled and strained then left to sit for 12-24 hours (or longer) and strained again to remove them.

I often skip this step since I know my grapes don't form them too much.

Water Bath Canning

If you have never tried water bath canning before, it is quite simple. I recommend a quick read of these instructions from the pros at Ball.

Or make a small batch and keep it in the fridge.

Recipe

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Ingredients

 

• 3 pounds grapes
• ¼ cup dried lavender flowers
• 7 cups sugar
• 1 pouch liquid pectin

Instructions

 

Prepare Grape Juice

• Remove grapes from stems and wash. Put grapes in a large saucepan with ¼ cup water. Slightly crush the grapes. Rub lavender flowers between your hands to release the essential oils and sprinkle them over the grapes.
  3 pounds grapes, ¼ cup dried lavender flowers
• Cover and simmer until grapes are soft. Strain through a damp jelly bag, make shift jelly bag, or several layers of cheesecloth to extract juice. NOTE: be sure cheesecloth or jelly bag is wet before pouring in the fruit/juice or the cheesecloth will absorb your juice! (experience talking there).
• To prevent formation of tartrate crystals, let juice sit in a cool place for 12-24 hours and strain through a few layers of damp cheesecloth before proceeding.

Grape Jelly

• Measure out 4 cups of juice from above and put into a large saucepan. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Open pectin pouch and put in a cup next to the stove. Bring juice/sugar to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in liquid pectin. Bring back to a roiling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary.
  7 cups sugar, 1 pouch liquid pectin
• Ladle hot jelly into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Adjust two piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Notes

recipe adapted from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

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Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey