(This recipe, which I published in 2008, is still making the rounds on Pinterest, but it didn’t have a printable recipe. Such things did not exist in 2008. So, here it is, updated with a printable.)
This is kind of a cheater’s recipe for homemade grape jelly because it doesn’t involve squeezing the juice out of real grapes.
While that sort of method might produce some very tasty jelly, it’s not at all cost-efficient unless you grow your own grapes or have access to free ones somehow.
How cheap your jelly is depends on the price you pay for your ingredients. If you buy grape juice and sugar on sale and you have a coupon for pectin, it will be really, really cheap.
Plus, your homemade jelly will have no high fructose corn syrup in it (this is actually the reason I first looked into making my own).
I got this recipe from The Hillbilly Housewife, (and it’s basically the same as the one on the insert from the pectin box) but I thought that some of you might be terrified of making your own jelly and would prefer a pictorial guide. 😉
It’s actually really, really easy. I promise.
Here’s what you’ll need:
-
- 3 cups grape juice (either in a bottle or prepared from concentrate)
- 1 package powdered pectin
- 4 cups sugar
- glass jars that will hold 1.5 quarts of jelly
(they don’t need to be canning jars…glass jars that used to hold fruit or applesauce, or jelly will work fine)
Combine grape juice and pectin in a saucepan (I stir it with a whisk to get rid of the lumps) and bring to a boil.
As an aside, do NOT add the sugar before you bring the pectin to a boil.
I’ve done this waaaay too many times, and it causes the jelly to not, well, gel.
After the pectin/juice mixture has come to a boil, stir in the sugar. Bring it back up to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, and boil for a full minute.
Remove from the heat. During cooking, some foam may have appeared on the top of your jelly. I like to spoon this off.
It’s harmless, but it’ll make the top of your jelly look cloudy if you leave it there.
Ladle the jelly into your clean jars, screw on the lids, and let the jelly cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge.
If you want the jelly to be shelf-stable, you can process the jars in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. I don’t mess with that usually…I store mine in the fridge, and they keep just fine.
The color of your jelly could vary depending on the grape juice you use.
In my experience, the bottled grape juice makes a more purple jelly than reconstituted grape juice does. The jars above are made from bottled juice, and the jars below are from a concentrate.
They’ll both taste good, though, so use whatever sort of grape juice you like.
Sometimes, my jelly gels right away, but sometimes it takes a while(like 6-8 hours).
So, don’t become distressed if at first it seems that all you have produced is some very sweet grape juice. Be patient, and as long as you’ve followed the recipe properly, your grape juice will have turned into jelly.
Homemade Grape Jelly
This jelly is super easy because it's made from store-bought juice! And it doesn't even need to be canned. It makes a nice addition to a gift of homemade bread.
Ingredients
- 3 cups grape juice (either in a bottle or prepared from concentrate)
- 1 package powdered pectin
- 4 cups sugar
- glass jars that will hold 3 pints of jelly
Instructions
Combine grape juice and pectin in a saucepan (I stir it with a whisk to get rid of the lumps) and bring to a boil.
Do NOT add the sugar before you bring the pectin to a boil. I've done this waaaay too many times, and it causes the jelly to not gel.
After the pectin/juice mixture has come to a boil, stir in the sugar. Bring it back up to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, and boil for a full minute.
Remove from the heat. Spoon off any foam that has appeared.
Ladle the jelly into your clean jars, screw on the lids, and let the jelly cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge.
Mel Mudhook
Thursday 5th of September 2024
I just made this with concord grapes from my yard, pressed them myself. I never used any chemicals on my grapes from pesticides to fertilizer, so I know they're clean and fresh. I used a premium less processed pure cane sugar. I'll know in the morning how it gels up.
The only thing I would have done different would be to run it through a screen strainer after the cooking process to help remove any of the residual foam or anything that stuck to the side of the pan during the heating process. I feel like that step would have made my jam way more clear than it turned out.
Grandma Beth
Tuesday 9th of July 2024
I have lost my recipe for grape jelly made with liquid pectin. Iโm sure it came from thefrugalgirl.com. We moved after 50 years in our house. We had grape vines that produced grapes which we juiced with a steam juicer. Your method made foolproof jelly but I donโt remember the correct quantities of sugar and juice. I hope you can help me. Thank you!
Holly
Friday 5th of July 2024
How long will the jelly be safe in fridge for?
Kristen
Saturday 6th of July 2024
I don't know for sure, but I can say I've kept mine for months and it's been fine. Think about how long a jar of regular jelly keeps once it's been opened, and use that as a benchmark.
Allison
Tuesday 18th of June 2024
I already extracted my juice from Blue berries and need a good recipe. The one I was going to use, just didnโt add up. Can this be used for Blueberry juice and how long do I process pints for, does anyone know? Thank you in advance
Linda
Saturday 25th of May 2024
I just came across this recipe and made it using bottled 100% Grape juice (given to me by a friend) and regular sugar cause that's all I had. Thank you so much for posting because Welch's Grape juice is over $4.00 a bottle and contains corn syrup and HFCS.