Grapes

Earlier this week, Becky called to see if I'd be interested in free Concord grapes from a friend's parents. The only catch is that we would have to pick them ourselves. Since, a) I've never said no to free fruit and b) grape picking seemed like a great way to wear Joseph out before nap, I readily agreed.

So yesterday, we got up and out of the house in record time, picked up Becky and headed to the Five Cities. Not knowing what to expect, we pulled up to a well-kept home with two grape vines tangling along a fence line.

"Wow...I was expecting a mini vineyard. Do you think there's going to be enough grapes to make jelly?"

"I don't know," Becky replied. We got out of the car as Mrs. E walked over. After introductions, she showed us to the vines.

"We had a girl come over earlier this week to pick some. She ended up filling four of those large paint buckets." I started feeling a little unsure as to whether or not we'd fill up the tin tub we'd brought.

We set Elizabeth down in the shade, plopped a hat on Joe and set to work. We pulled back the first meandering vine and discovered a trove of dusty, dark purple clusters. Working quickly, we filled first a small tub and then the larger one. Mrs. E came over with a pile of grocery bags and started filling them. Then, while I nursed Elizabeth, Mr. E joined the ladies and continued.

By the time we left, the trunk of my car was packed with bags filled with grapes. It was a little overwhelming to think of juicing all those grapes.

Side note: I'd originally planned on making raisins until I was informed that there are seeds in Concord grapes.

We got home, and, after realizing how work intensive juicing grapes can be, set out a cry for help on facebook. Ruth responded with a steam juicer that cut the time of juicing in fourths. Still, it would take almost two hours for each batch of juice.

We stemmed and washed the grapes, putting great piles of the tiny purple globes into the steamer. Then, when the timer went off, released the clamp and watched the juice pour into jars. Two batches later and the fridge was filled with deep purple juice. And how many grapes are left?

Let's just say that the two batches used one of the four bags. We still have three bags, one large tin tub and a 2 gallon bucket of grapes sitting in my garage and making our house smell like a vineyard. To say that we're going to be juicing all weekend is an understatement.

But it is oh-so-good - sweet and a little tart. And when it's time to make jelly? It'll be amazing.