Concord Grape Juice

I received a few pounds of concord grapes from the farmers market this year and decided to use them to make grape juice.  Wow did it taste good, and it was so easy to make too - let me show you how it's done. 

Start with delicious concord grapes.  These were super sweet and juicy.

Remove all the stems and give them a good rinse.

Place the grapes in a large casserole pan or deep skillet and use a potato masher to squash them really well.  Did you know the inside of those dark purple grapes were light green?  

Add a cup of water to the pan...

And keep mashing.  Mash, mash, mash.

Simmer gently, mashing every now and then until the grapes completely break down.

When the mixture looks like this, you're almost done.  Just a few minutes longer.

And here it is - all the grape insides have broken down and we're left with a whole bunch of empty grape skins.

Strain the liquids from the solids using a sieve. 

Wow, just look at that color!

Don't be afraid to press the solids to get all that juice.   Cool completely and taste carefully - the juice is very concentrated at this point so dilute with cold water as needed.  For my batch, I added 1 part water to 1 part concentrated juice.  That's all there is to it folks!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• rondeau https://amzn.to/3usBnSy

• potato masher https://amzn.to/3sjm5ga

• mesh sieve https://amzn.to/34IHbfF

• glass juice bottles https://amzn.to/3uyAbNB

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Concord Grape Juice

makes 4 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound concord grapes, rinsed and stems removed

• 1 cup water

• more water, as needed, for serving

Directions

1. Place grapes and water in a large casserole pan or deep skillet; use a potato masher to squash the grapes.

2. Simmer over medium heat, mashing occasionally until the grapes break down as shown above.

3. Remove from heat and strain grape seeds and skins from the liquid; cool completely.

4. Taste juice and add cold water to dilute, if needed (I diluted my juice with equal parts water). Refrigerate for up to a week.

Peaches and Cream Custard Crumble

The air is cool, the leaves are changing, and I feel the need to wear fuzzy slippers - it is Autumn in Virginia.  Hoping to hold on to summer for just a little longer, I had a few late season peaches stashed away in my crisper drawer and the time has come to bid farewell my way, by making this decadently delicious Peaches and Cream Custard Crumble.  

No late season peaches left where you live?  Feel free to use frozen and get ready to enjoy something scrumptious!

For the crumble:  flour, sugar, room temperature butter, and pure almond extract.

You can mix the crumble together by hand, but I like to use my stand mixer.  Set aside until needed.

For the custard:  heavy cream, sugar, flour, egg, and pure vanilla extract.  

Whisk together and set aside until needed.

Prepare the peaches.  Just cut them into bite-size pieces.

Place them in the baking dish (either a 9-inch pie plate or 4 of shallow bakers) and pour the custard over.  Note: I've placed by baking dishes on a silpat lined half sheet pan - you do not need to do this, but I find doing so keeps the baking dish(es) from sliding, which can lead to disaster (don't ask me how I know).  

Heap on the tasty crumb topping and sliced almonds.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the crumb topping is golden brown.

Drizzle with cream and serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• individual round baking dishes https://amzn.to/3soyIqh

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3r9wNGK

• half sheet pans https://amzn.to/34pWo5x

• silpat liner https://amzn.to/3B2ldR6

• all natural almond extract https://amzn.to/3gC0iL3

• cute little mixing bowls https://amzn.to/2HXR78M

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Peaches and Cream Custard Crumble

makes 4-6 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 large peaches, peeled, seeded, and cut into bite-size pieces (about 3 cups)

• Garnish: 1/4 cup heavy cream

Crumb Topping:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Custard Filling:

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and arrange rack in center position.

2. To make the crumb topping, combine the unsalted room temperature butter, flour, granulated sugar, and almond extract, by hand or using a stand mixer, until mixture forms clumps; set aside until needed.

3. To make the custard filling, whisk together heavy cream, granulated sugar, all purpose flour, egg, and pure vanilla extract.

4. Prepare peaches and place in baking dish(es); pour custard evenly over peaches, followed by the crumb topping and almonds.

5. Place baking dish(es) on a silpat lined sheet pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until the crumb topping is golden brown.

6. Drizzle with additional heavy cream just before serving warm or at room temperature.