It's Scuppernong Season

Scuppernongs are a green-gold variety of the sweet and fragrant muscadine grapes

that grow in parts of the South. The house I called home until I was an adult had a

glorious Scuppernong arbor in the backyard. Picking the thick-skinned, seed-laced

grapes became a family affair each September. With a bowl in hand and my feet

on a stool, even as a child, I treasured those grapes as much as gold. The sweet but

slightly sour aroma that marked the beginning of fall will forever be in my memory.

Scuppernong Jelly 

3 qt. ripe Scuppernong grapes (about 5 lb.)

3 cheesecloth sheets

4 to 6 (8-oz.) canning jars with two-piece lids

2 1⁄2 to 3 1⁄4 cups sugar

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1 (1 3⁄4-oz.) package powdered pectin

1. Wash Scuppernongs; place in a 6-qt. stainless-steel or enameled Dutch oven,

or other large, heavy, nonreactive saucepan. Add 1 cup water, and bring to

a boil. Boil, stirring frequently, 20 minutes or until most of seeds have been

released from pulp, crushing Scuppernongs with a potato masher to slip skins

from pulp.

2. Rinse cheesecloth, and wring out excess water. Line a large colander with

cheesecloth. Set colander over a large bowl or pot. Pour Scuppernong mixture

into cheesecloth, and let stand at least 1 hour. Measure liquid (you should have

about 41⁄2 cups), and return to Dutch oven, discarding solids.

3. Sterilize jars, and prepare lids as described below. 

4. While jars are boiling, add 3⁄4 cup sugar for each 1 cup juice to Scuppernong

juice in Dutch oven. Add lemon juice. Bring to a rolling boil. Boil 5 minutes,

stirring frequently.

5. Sprinkle in pectin, stir well, and return to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute. Remove

from heat, and let stand until boiling subsides. Skim foam from surface with a

metal spoon, and discard.

6. Fill and process jars as described below. Store properly sealed jars in a

cool, dark place. Let stand at least 1 week before serving to allow jelly to fully

set. Serve on biscuits or with Brie and crackers, if desired.

Makes: 4 to 6 (8-oz.) jars 

Hands-on Time: 45 min. Total Time: 1 hr., 41 min., plus 1 week standing time

General Canning Instructions:

To prepare for canning: Use only glass jars specifically designed for home canning, and two-piece lids. Jars and lid rings can be reused, but you must use new flat lids, which can be purchased separately. Be sure that jars, rings, and lids are clean, and that the jars are undamaged, the rims free of chips.

To sterilize jars and prepare lids: Put the jars on a rack in the bottom of a large pot and cover with water. (You can use a specially designed canning pot or any large stock pot as long as it has a rack to hold the jars off the bottom and is deep enough that they can be covered with water and not overflow when the water boils.) Cover the pot and bring to a full boil. Boil for at least 10 minutes to sterilize the jars, then lower the heat and keep at a brisk simmer until the preserve or jam is ready.

Put the flat lids in a heatproof bowl; make sure they are not stacked tightly together. Just before filling the jars, ladle simmering water from the canning pot into the bowl to cover the lids. 

Keep the rings handy, along with a wide-mouth funnel, the ladle for filling the jars, a thin plastic utensil for removing air bubbles, a jar lifter, and a clean paper towel. Put a clean folded towel on the counter near the canning pot, and a second folded towel on the counter in a nearby spot where the processed jars can be set to cool undisturbed.

To fill and process jars of fruit preserves, jams, and jellies: Using a jar lifter, remove the jars from the simmering water, carefully pouring the water inside them back into the canning pot, and place the jars upright on the first towel. Put the funnel in a jar and ladle in the preserve, jam, or jelly, keeping the ladle low and close to the opening of the funnel to prevent excess bubbles from forming in the jars. Repeat to fill the remaining jars. 

If necessary, use a thin plastic utensil to remove air bubbles around the outside of the jar. 

Dip the paper towel in hot water and use it to wipe the jar rims and threads of any dripped preserves.

Drain the water from the flat lids back into the canning pot. Quickly place a lid, white side down, on each jar, then screw on the rings just finger tight—do not over-tighten. 

Using the jar lifter, return the jars, upright, to the rack in the canning pot and make sure they are covered with water by at least 1 inch. Cover, increase the heat, and bring the water to a full boil. Boil for 5 minutes. 

Turn off the heat, uncover the pot, and let stand until the boiling has subsided. Using the jar lifter, remove the jars to the second folded towel, upright, and let cool completely, at least 6 hours. Check to make sure each jar has sealed: If the center of the flat lid cannot be pushed down with your finger, it is sealed; if it depresses and pops up again, it is not sealed and the jar should be refrigerated immediately and the contents used.

Store sealed jars in a cool, dark spot; they will keep for at least 6 months and up to 1 year.

Copyright 2012 Rebecca Lang from Around the Southern Table (Oxmoor House, 2012) by Rebecca Lang. 

Rebeccalangcooks.com

The Recipe That Almost Died

I have a passion for making recipes that my grandmother, Tom, cooked for our family. Tom and I documented her recipes during her late nineties (when she felt more like an average 70-year-old). But there is one recipe I never approached until now. I'm not sure why I almost let this recipe die with her. Maybe I was scared and maybe it was painful. My sweet, sweet grandmother died in January 2003. Two weeks ago was the first time I tasted her incredible Scuppernong Hull Pie since she’s been gone.

Her pie recipe was personal, distinct, historical, and only Tom had made this pie. The house I grew up in had a glorious scuppernong arbor in the backyard. It had been there for decades and the vine that emerged from the black soil was as large as my thigh. On warm fall afternoons, the sweet smell of the golden grapes filled even the screen porch when the breeze blew towards the house.

Fall always brought some long awaited pleasures. Most importantly, it ushered in the recipe that was worth waiting a year to taste. As children, my sister and I would help the grown-ups by taking empty bowls out to the arbor and fill them slowly, one little orb at a time. Each and every one of us picked the grapes for one purpose and one reason only. The pie.

I remembered the pie like my last bite was yesterday. The crust was flaky, tender, unsweetened and the perfect companion for the sugary filling. The hulls were overly sweet, with a tinge of sourness when they were crushed between my teeth. No pulp, no fancy stuff, just hulls and sugar.

A few weeks ago, I bit the bullet, sucked up my hesitation, and bought some scuppernongs. My parents sold the house we still call home, and unfortunately, the arbor went with it. I found some scuppernongs (a type of muscadine native to the South) from my local co-op. I pulled out Tom’s handwritten recipe from the safe-deposit box, made a copy that could get dirty, and got to work.

I knew no matter what, my pie would not be as good as the ones that Tom brought over, still warm from her oven. In the last two weeks, I have made the pie several times over, cried a few tears, purchased more and more scuppernongs, and missed Tom with each bite.

I not only satisfied a craving that was years in the making, but I also connected with the past and one of the most important people in my life. Pick up a family recipe and share.

Tom’s Scuppernong Hull Pie

Filling:

8 cups (2 1/2 pounds) scuppernongs

2 cups sugar

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup Crisco shortening

1/3 cup ice water

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons water

To make the filling, place about 8 grapes at a time in a stockpot or deep mixing bowl. Use a potato masher to squeeze grapes, a few a time. The pulp (containing seeds) should be squeezed out. Transfer the hulls to a mixing bowl. Leave the pulp and any juice in the stockpot as you squeeze more grapes. Continue to mash all the grapes. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of hulls.

Pour the pulps and juice through a fine strainer. You should have about 1 cup of juice. Add enough water to the juice to make 2 cups. Reserve pulps for another use.

Combine the hulls, juice, and water in a clean stockpot over medium heat. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes.

Add sugar to the hull mixture. Simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes. The hulls will look like preserves. The mixture will be thickened and syrupy. Remove from the heat and cool completely. The filling can be made up to one day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator.

As the filling cools, make the piecrust. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Use a pastry blender to cut the shortening into the flour mixture. Sprinkle in ice water and stir just until all the flour is damp. Gather into two equal-sized mounds and wrap each mound in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Working with one mound at a time (leaving the other mound in the refrigerator) roll out dough on a floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch glass pie dish. Trim the dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Pour the cooled filling into the crust. Roll out second dough mound on a floured surface to 12-inch round and place on top of the filling. Trim the edges to 1/2 inch. Press the edges of the dough together, fold edges under, and use 3 fingers to flute the edges.

Whisk together egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Brush the top crust lightly with egg mixture. Use a very sharp, small knife to cut slits in the center of the crust for the pie to vent.

Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the crust is browned, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes: 1 (9 inch) pie

Copyright © 2010 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC