Muscadine Jelly

From the garden

• 3½ lb muscadine or scuppernong grapes, stemmed and rinsed — to yield 5 cups juice; a handful of slightly underripe grapes sharpens the set

From the pantry

• 7 cups granulated sugar — measured out in advance; the full amount is required for the set
• 1¾ oz powdered fruit pectin — one standard box

1. Crush the grapes in a heavy pot with a potato masher — those thick hides need real pressure to burst. Add 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil, and simmer 10 minutes, mashing occasionally to free the pulp from the skins.
2. Pour the hot fruit into a dampened jelly bag or a cheesecloth-lined colander set over a bowl and let it drip at least an hour, overnight for the clearest jelly. Don't squeeze the bag — squeezed juice sets cloudy.
3. Fill a boiling-water canner and bring it to a simmer; keep 8 half-pint jars hot in the water and prepare the lids. Measure exactly 5 cups of juice into a tall pot and stir in the pectin.
4. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add all the sugar at once, return to a rolling boil that stirring can't knock down, and boil hard exactly 1 minute. Off the heat, skim the foam.
5. Ladle into the hot jars leaving 1/4 inch of headspace, wipe the rims, and screw the lids on fingertip-tight. Process in boiling water covering the jars by 1–2 inches for 10 minutes. Altitude adjustment: add 5 minutes at 1,001–6,000 feet, 10 minutes above 6,000 feet.
6. Rest 5 minutes, lift the jars onto a towel, and cool undisturbed 12–24 hours before checking the seals. Best on a hot biscuit before the jar even cools all the way.