I have a bumper crop of Niagra grapes just starting to ripen . probably around 200 bunches & apart from giving them away, I'd love some ideas for preserves. I will try some grape jelly, but would prefer savoury stuff, pickles/chutneys, if anyone can help. I have googled but there's nothing much that I could find that appealed. TIA
kiwitrish,
Feb 27, 1:41am
This isn't savoury but a friend owns a vineyard and her mum makes a beautiful grape pie. Just make it like you would an apple pie but use grapes. She uses the seedless variety. Beautiful with ice cream or cream.
samanya,
Feb 27, 3:29am
Hmmm that sounds lovely, thanks. Would it be rather juicy? I do a tarte tatin apple pie & it has a little sugar & flour mix sprinkled over before cooking, wonder if that would work.
unknowndisorder,
Feb 27, 4:00am
I do have Maggie's recipe book Autumn, which has a chapter on grapes.
One sentence "one of the treats for me at this time is add grapes to cakes, desserts and festive breads.", and has a recipe for Schiacciata bread.
samanya,
Feb 27, 4:06am
Thanks unknowndisorder . you'd be welcome to come & taste. I'm wondering if I could use them in baking from frozen. I don't bake a lot, only when I'm having a crowd in for a meal (I'd only scoff it myself otherwise) ;o) I did a quick google & found this . looks scrummy! https://www.maggiebeer.com.au/recipes/upside-down-grape-cake-with-verjuice
I hope you can read that. Oh, that recipes look good)
Another paragraph of interest: the cooking of poultry with grapes is well documented in French and Italian cookbooks, in particular, game birds such as pheasant, Guinea fowl or partridge go with grapes or their juice in classic combinations: the fruit is either cooked with the bird (added at the last minute just to warm through) or a bunch of grapes is squeezed into the pan in the final moments of cooking.
If you grown your own grapes, freeze some to use this way later in the year. Ver juice gives the same flavour and adds a desirable piquancy.
dibble35,
Feb 27, 4:46am
I've been freezing some of them, lovely just eating a handful on a hot day and better for you than an iceblock. My Niagara have just about finished. 1 more picking I reckon and that'll be it. Was a strange summer, they ripened early and started to rot fairly quickly due to all the rain i reckon.
nauru,
Feb 27, 5:55am
Have you tried juicing some of them samanya. We have a grape vine which gives us lovely juice every year. It also freezes well as do the whole bunches of grapes for later use. I also make grape jelly with them too, great with crackers and cheese or on sandwiches as well as toast. Ours are just starting to turn red so a couple of weeks away yet.
samanya,
Feb 27, 6:38am
Oh thanks everyone for the lovely ideas . they are just coming ready & although I have netted them, the birds are having a field day . still plenty left for me though. I tried to give a few bunches to my neighbour today & she had plenty of her own. It's a young vine (about 5 years old) & this is the first time it's had too many for me to cope with. I've nurtured the blardy thing & bless it, it has rewarded me big time & now I'm looking for people to give them to & use. I reckon I would have 30+kgs of them. All recipes most welcome, especially the savoury stuff. I like the idea of juice . how do you do yours nauru?
lythande1,
Feb 27, 8:03pm
Huh mine are coming to the end. but then up here they are ahead of Canterbury.
I just give them away, picked heaps and heaps this year. Ditto friend in Oxford. she's been picking for several weeks now.
samanya,
Feb 27, 10:02pm
Thanks for that, it sounds great. It was hard to read but I c & p'd it & was able to enlarge it & have printed it off.
unknowndisorder,
Feb 28, 6:00am
If Yu have any issues, sing out, I just didn't want to type it out if I could avoid it lol :)
nauru,
Feb 28, 7:12am
I just put the grapes and a little water through my nutri juicer and then strain it through a nut milk bag and bottle. It's not a clear juice, that would involve a lot of work and time and it is so good the way it is. Last year we got over well 70 litres of juice for us and the family and we shared some with our next door neighbours too. We also share some of the grapes with the birds too.
samanya,
Feb 28, 9:49pm
thanks nauru, that doesn't sound too difficult. How long does it keep. I was wondering if I should freeze some for the long term. I've just googled & apparently freezing is not such a good idea as they say that the flavour is not as good after freezing.
nauru,
Mar 1, 7:32am
It keeps in the fridge for a few days, not that it's in there that long in our house. I do freeze it for later use as well though, in plastic bottles leaving plenty of headroom. I read that too about it not being good after freezing so I tried it anyway just to see and I haven't found a problem with flavour after freezing. In fact we had our last bottle of last years crop just before Christmas and it was still good. Maybe the purists would not agree but I'm not one of them and found it was OK.
retired,
Mar 1, 6:57pm
Many,many years ago on a trip around Vineyards we were served pickled grapes with our lunch. Have no idea how to make them but they were delicious.
samanya,
Mar 1, 9:57pm
Retired, I found this recipe for spiced grapes . apparently it's a very old recipe & I thought I'd give it a try. Spiced white grapes 1/4 cup vinegar 1/8 cup sugar 1 inch stick cinnamon 1/2 cup water 3 whole cloves 2 cups white/green grapes Let simmer for 5 mins with the grapes in it. Pack into sterilised jars to within an inch of the top & process in a hot water bath 10 mins.
I have preserved them in a light syrup and used them as a base for fruit salad
samanya,
Mar 2, 1:55am
I've made a couple of small batches of pickled grapes today & they don't hold their shape too well (I wanted to bottle them by the overflow method) so probably overcooked them a bit, as I wanted them to be really hot. I thought I might try preserving juice in Agee jars, as I'm running ut of freezer space. The neighbours have scored a heap as well & I might get rid of some to family over the weekend. The damned wasps have found them too.
nauru,
Mar 2, 8:54am
Samanya, you could freeze some of the grapes to juice later on, they would take up less room than bottled juice, just an idea.
samanya,
Mar 2, 9:50pm
Good thought, nauru, I'm a bit 'graped out' atm. I'm struggling for freezer space though.
samanya,
Mar 3, 6:24am
Thanks you guys for all of the suggestions . I'm done! (& buggered) Got a heap of juice, pickled grapes, a sauce type thing for over icecream & some in the freezer plus got rid of a lot to neighbours & family . the birds & wasps can help themselves now! Thanks again for inspiring me.
nauru,
Oct 18, 5:47pm
Mine are yet to come, another couple of weeks and then I'll be flat out as they all seem to be ready together. Must tidy/sort out my outdoor freezer for space this week sometime though. Did you make any jam or jelly with yours? I keep looking for new recipes that would appeal to our tastes.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.