So glad you like the jam and managed to tweak it to your own preference:-)

If you made a huge batch then you should have carried on boiling until the jam passed the chilled plate test. This would have been a much longer boil due to the extra water that needed to evaporate in order to get to the consistency of jam. You can tip the jam back in the pan and reboil until it passes the chilled plate test or use a digital thermometer to get to a temperature of 104.5 C (at which point you test). I would also be inclined to do this in 2 halves so make the boiling process quicker.

I made a huge batch. My jars sealed but the jam did not get thick. What should I do?

cook another batch with no sugar and then mix the two together. taste test then heat till stting point and re jar. works with strawberries, should work with grapes.

Hi James, do you mean you water bathed the jam? I’m afraid I don’t know anything about this process. Either way, if your jam is solid then put it back into a pan with some water, reboil until it passes the chilled plate test (and reaches at temp of 104.5C).

Hello, I did this but when I came to use the jam the next mornong when it had cooled…..the “jam” was solid! What did I do wrong??

Hi Carl, you need to use a stick blender or a jug blender (you’d need to cool the mixture down for the latter and then heat back up before potting up). By hand mixer I’m thinking you mean a hand held whisk which would not be appropriate.

Hi Jill, then you haven’t made jam but stewed liquidised grapes which will have no shelf life. Sugar is used in jam as a preservative.

When I make mine I do not add sugar & it is delicious!

Hi Linda, keep boiling it until it reaches a temperature of 104.5C or the last drip hangs off a wooden spoon and it passes the chilled plate test.

I made this jelly with moon drop grapes and it was so delicious. I decided to try it again and I can’t seem to get it to set. How do I fix this please?

Hi Judy, thank you:-) This is how we make jam in the UK and much of Europe. The jam is shelf stable as written. If you prefer to water bath then you need to follow your jar manufacturer’s instructions.

Hi Janna, I’m guessing you’ve dealt with this now. 1.5 Litres of jam is a lot to get through so if it was just a jar I’d say pop it in the fridge and eat within a few weeks. Freezing doesn’t seem logical to me as not easy to use without prior planning. If I was you, I would sterilise your jars, pop the jam back into the pan, (maybe add a tablespoon of water), bring back to the boil and then pot up. This isn’t canning, that’s done by immersing jars of jam into hot water which they do in the States etc. I’m going to add this to the instructions at the beginning now as I should have made it clearer.

Currently making this right now and it smells amazing. I didn’t realize it was a recipe that you actually had to can in hot jars (beginner at making jam). Do you think it will still be fine if I just put it in containers/jars and put it in the fridge or freeze it?

Absolutely delicious!!!

No water bath though???

Hi Renuka, I would definitely not double the recipe as you could end up with jam that won’t set or it bubbling over the side of the pot. The maximum amount of fruit I’ve ever used is 2 Kg so you could up it to that and you’d have to increase the boiling time. If you have a digital thermometer then test from 104.5 C or just keep pouring the jam off the spoon you’re stirring with and you know setting point is there when it runs off slowly and the last drip just hangs on to the spoon. Still do the chilled plate test though. Hope that helps.

Hi Julie, I would get yourself a mouli. Amended to say another reader just said they blended the seeds/grapes and enjoyed the jam, so you could try that.

Hi
Very nice recipe. It’s my first jam recipe. I used the grapes with seeds but used a blender to break the seeds. It came out well. Family liked it. I want to try doubling it. Do you think I should? If so how do I test? Thank you for your suggestions.

Thank you

In reply to Camilla.

I have grape vines full of grapes and would love to make this but I need to know how to remove the seeds??? Any easy tips?

Hi Arlene, I think you would be there until Christmas trying to sieve this amount and the sieve would most likely get blocked. A better option would be to get hold of a mouli and rid yourself of the pips that way.

I have a surfeit of green seeded grapes in my garden this year. Can I sieve out the pips after blending?

How long do you have to put in a water bath. I have so many grapes on my vines and can’t wait to try

Everyone’s grapes and taste differs, I’m glad you like the jam Kris:-)

After the comment that it was too sweet I reduced the sugar and cooked accordingly. It’s fantastic a bit sweet a bit tart
Thank you for the recipe

In reply to Gent.

me jam has lasted me a good couple of years on the seas aye ye should be fine

I did say in the recipe that I used a mixture of black, red and green grapes.

OMG! It is too sweet when you use 1 Kg granulated sugar. I tried and tested, it is too sweet. Too much sugar while the grape is already sweet. I used black seedless grape. Now I’m troubled in how to reduce the sweetness of the jam.

Hi Mark, pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m a pedant for detail and this recipe was not given this title light heartedly. It is the easiest grape jam recipe on the internet as you don’t need to peel the grapes and that’s why this is one of my most popular recipes. You wouldn’t want to risk burning your many pots of glorious jam so it’s better to tell people to stir continuously than risk people walking off and it burning (which I have heard stories of).

Aww thank you, that’s so lovely to hear, I’m so glad you like the recipe and found something to do with your grapes:-)

Thank you Winn. Yes I have mentioned in people’s comments that they could use a mouli which is probably similar to what you used. Enjoy your jam, it’s one of my favourites:-)

Beautiful recipe, thank you so much! I just wanted to add a comment for anyone who has seeded grapes – we have an enormous seeded, Isabella variety vine – I used a conical strainer when putting the jam in jars. It worked perfectly, unfortunately you also lose the skins but the tough seeds of this variety were a bit too much so the loss is worth it. The result is a smooth, jelly-like jam that set perfectly. Another piece of kitchen equipment but it’s worth its weight in gold for jam and also for un-fixable lumpy custard!

Hi Gent, I answer this question in the text above the recipe.

Hi Heidi, I haven’t tasted this jam with blended seeds but I remember someone in the comments made the jam this way and said it was fine from memory. Personally I would use a mouli to get rid of the seeds. You could so a really tiny sample batch of jam in a small saucepan to judge whether you like it with the seeds well blended. I have done this with yellow cherries from my garden when I wanted to know if they would make good jam, they didn’t.

If I am using a hand blender is it ok just to blend and break up the seeds, have you tasted it with them? I was just given 15 pounds of grapes tonight and want to make jam… but I am NOT removing seeds! Hahah

Yes, just reduce the sugar by the same proportion as the fruit and test for set sooner or use a digital thermometer (test at 105C).

I only have 3 lbs grape short 12 oz
What do I do do I put less sugar

Hi Kimberly, it sounds like you didn’t keep boiling the jam and retesting for set until you got a crinkle on a chilled plate. Just pop it back in a pan and bring back to the boil. If you have a digital thermometer test for set when it reaches 105C or periodically use a wooden spoon to pour jam back into the pan and when a drip hangs on the jam should be tested for set.

Hi Darcy, it sounds like you boiled the jam for too long. You could get yourself a digital thermometer and start testing for set once the jam reaches 105C. To remedy you could pop the jam back into pan, add say 100ml of water, slowly heat up and blend some more (skin should not be noticeable) and then boil until setting point is reached. There’s also a drip test where the jam will hang in a drip from a wooden spoon which is useful to do while the jam is boiling.

Hi Colleen, for the colour I achieved I used the quantities in the recipe ie equal weights of red, black and green grapes. If you use a higher proportion of green grapes then the colour would be more muddy but flavour still good.

Also, are the skins supposed to totally disappear using the wand blender? Mine still has a lot despite blending for a long time.

Hi Michelle, you need to carry on boiling the jam until it forms a crinkle on a chilled plate. Tip all the jam back into a pan and boil for another 2 minutes at a time until you get to that stage (you’ll need to wash and sterilise the jars again). If you have a digital thermometer then test at 105C. This happened to me once with my Greengage Jam which I documented.

Mine didn’t set, any suggestions ?