Harvest

We let too much time pass this year and were not able harvest our grapes for wine. Once past the disappointment and faced with a very large bucket of beautiful, delicious, old vine cabernet grapes I was inspired to move on. Every year we have managed a small batch of jelly and it is always a treat and worth the time. This year I am preserving the concentrate juice by freezing in ice cube trays, also experimenting with zip lock bags (laid out flat in freezer), to be used for cooking and juice throughout the months ahead. Another new this year is saving the seeds and skin left over after processing through food mill to be used for salt scrubs...this is still in the "creative" process.In order from end to start — the end product a luscious concentrate — add water only (no sugar required)

the jars are submerged into a pot of boiling water(one to two inches above jar line) to sterilize and seal

the prepared (juice concentrate, sugar and Pectin) jelly is poured into cleaned jars

juice concentrate is poured into ice cube trays-also zip lock bags (which are stored flat) for the freezer
this is the pure juice (concentrate)
process through food mill to separate seed and skin from the juice

about 1/4 a cup of fresh lemon juice goes into the concentrate at some point during process

roaring boil softens and breaks down grapes and a glorious juice emerges (sometimes I'll add about 1/4 c water to get things started)
the best ones are sorted, plucked from stem and selected to enter the pot for the juice

these are selected to be left out and continue the process of becoming raisons - Yum!

The first steps wash, taste, select...