Windfall... part 2

 

Isn't the color amazing?



 

 

 

The purple color of the grape skins did not emerge until I added the skins to the warm pulp.

 

 

The pie was delicious.  So much so, I forgot to take a picture of the finished pie.

Now, I did use a store bought pie crust.  I have learned, over the years, I just can't make a pie crust.  I have tried and I do not have that ability.

DH and I ate the whole pie in two days.

Here is the recipe, below, that I used exactly and we loved it and I will make it again.

Concord Grape Pie I

In fact, one of the reviewers said that she made the filling and then froze it, so I have five more pie fillings in the freezer.

The cooler made seven pie fillings.  One we ate, one I shared with the gal who gave me the grapes and then five are in the freezer for winter.

I liked that you only use 1 1/2 cups of sugar and the pie is tart, it's not real sweet.  You taste concord grapes, not the sweetness, like welshs grape juice.

I hope that if you have concord grapes that you will try out this pie and see how good it is.

Windfall.....

I was so lucky.  A friend called me and said that her husband didn't have time to make jam with their grapes this year, would I like them?

 

SURE!

 

I had no clue how to make jam, or jelly.  But, I thought, I am not going to refuse free fresh fruit!

 

 

 

 

I had never even had Concord grapes before.  Just Welsh's concord grape juice.  BOY! Is there a difference in taste.

 

 

 

 So, I brought home a whole cooler FULL of grapes.  Pounds and pounds of grapes.  That smelled heavenly, by the way. 

 

I went to my preserving books and they all said SUGAR!  Some were 5 cups of grapes, to 5 1/2 cups of sugar.

 

I don't know about where you live, but sugar here anymore is becoming expensive AND they've reduced the package size, but not the price.

 

Then, I went to allrecipes.com, one of my favorite places and found a recipe for Concord Grape pie.

 

 

 

Yes, I said pie.  Interesting.

 

So, I began to "pop" the flesh out of the skins.  What an interesting thing.  The skins just pop right off, very easily.  Too bad apples weren't so easy.  Or tomatoes for that matter.

 

Anyway, I popped the flesh into a measuring cup and the skins went into a bowl.  I needed to save those to add back in to the pie.

 

 

 

 

Then you put the flesh into a pan and you slow heat them and mash them a bit as you go to release the juice.  You bring them to an easy boil and the flesh just kind of melts and then the pits fall to the bottom.

 

 

 

Next, you strain everything.  I used my strainer and a potato masher to get as much of the juice and pulp as I could.

 

And, because I want to keep your interest, please wait for the next post to see the out come!