Interesting question. I don't recall any jelly, juice, gum, cough syrup, etc. ever tasting like any grape I've ever eaten. Any more than watermelon anything tastes like watermelon.

ETA - and now that I'm googling recipes I'm wondering, is it Concord grapes that taste so different from your standard supermarket green and red?

Make your own.......there's a world of difference! Buy concord grapes, wash and put into a big pot with just a skim of water on the bottom, cook until grapes are all collapsed, strain juice through an old thin dish towel hung over another big pot or bowl. measure juice add an equal volumn sugar and boil until ti gels....forms a sheet when sliding off a metal spoon....pour into sterile jars and enjoy.

FOAS, when I was growing up, I ate concord grape jelly that had a wonderful grape flavor...but it seems, just like roses don't smell like roses any more, grape jelly doesn't taste like concord grape any more. It is a very different flavor and scent (they smell wonderful when growing) than the red or green seedless things.

Lindac, I was hoping to avoid going through all that work by getting something ready made, but you may be right...it may be the only way to get that great taste any more.

I have found delicious grape-y tasting jams and jellies made and sold by some small vineyards. I am not much of a wine consumer so I wouldn't have thought to look there until I went on a group trip a few years ago that included a vineyard tour and I bought jelly there. Now I keep an eye open for local vineyards when I'm traveling.

My favorite preserves are Monastery Greetings Trappist Preserves. Full of real fruit and real fruit flavor. Not too sweet. They make jellies too. I have not tried their Concord Grape jelly, but I have had their peach, apricot, fig, and strawberry preserves, and they are all really great. It's an actual monastery, St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Mass. If you call, they are so serene and quiet on the phone.

Here is a link to the Trappist Preserves page. Try to switch to the classic site if you are on a device. Their mobile site is not that good.

https://www.monasterygreetings.com/product/Trappist_Preserves

What about an organic fruit preserve? I find them more flavorful in general.

Now I'm curious to taste Concord grapes. Don't think I've ever seen them in the store but I'll look harder come the end of summer.

carolb, I tried that to no avail. In fact that's what I'm eating now and it's almost tasteless.

FOAS, they aren't very good till after the first frost, so don't fall for the extra-early ones. Also, watch out for the horrid Thomcord, which is not a concord grape at all, just looks like one. Alas, our local grocery loves thomcord, because they last much longer than real concords do, so that's what they mostly get anymore. :(

Your best bet for grapes is a neighbor with an arbor or a farmer's market.

That reminds me.

Sometime ago, I ran out of grape jelly, just when I wanted grape jelly.

So I took some golden raisins and put them in a high powered blender with some water and turned the raisins into a thick paste.

It was very good, as I remember. Have to try that again.

dcarch

I'm not a jelly eater (no PBJ), but a number of years ago, I bought a jar of grape jelly at Whole Foods for a recipe and it was delightful. It had a firmness that broke off in an almost crystalline way, rather than being like thick syrup, and tasted of fresh rich grapes rather than Lifesavers or nothing. The only thing is, I can't remember for sure what the brand was. It might have been Crofter's. Look at Whole Foods, though, if you want something you can pick up off a shelf locally (assuming you have Whole Foods).

Yes, Concord grapes are the traditional grape jelly flavor. My grandmother had a Concord grape arbor, and we grands loved to pick them and eat them right there.

Alright. Will have to try to find some. After first frost. Concord not Thomcord. Duly noted - thanks!

I agree, it's got to be Concords for grape jelly. Good luck finding some, even here I can't find them at farmer's markets. I finally planted my own. I will point out that Welch's grape juice is made with Concord grapes and if you can't find the grapes, you can make jelly from canned juice or frozen concentrate. I do occasionally get crystals in my grape jelly, very distracting but not harmful, so don't be surprised...

Annie

Just for disambiguation: When I mentioned crystal like jelly above, I meant the jelly breaking as it's scooped out of the jar along planar surfaces that remind me of crystals, not actual sugar crystals formed in the jelly, such as Annie was warning against.

Have you tried Stonewall Kitchen's Concord Grape Jelly? My sister sent me a jar of their black raspberry because it tastes like the blackcaps we used to pick in NY. It was so good I wanted to order from their website, but I found a limited selection at a local store and bought the red raspberry, which is also outstanding. I would expect the grape to be just as good. They're in Maine.

Oh! Thanks, Linda.

Yes, LindaC is right. The tartaric acid crystals don't always form, I've had it happen only once, but the small shards of crystal come as something of an unpleasant and disconcerting surprise if you aren't expecting it.

Annie

Wild thought...if you harvest them and add baking soda will they rise?

You can make your own jelly from grape juice. Find a bottled grape juice that you like. Jelly is pretty easy

How to Make Homemade Grape Jelly from Bottled Grape Juice - Easily!

As Momj47 mentioned, use a grape juice you like. I happened to use Welch's, because that's what my girls like. Most times it turned out fine, but one time I got the tartaric crystals and was a bit surprised when I opened that jar. As I mentioned, they aren't harmful, but it'll not be what you expected.

Now, I've made jelly using canned juice a dozen times or so, and only got crystals once, but I've never gotten them using fresh grapes. Which is not to say it can't happen, I guess, and is dependent on actually finding fresh grapes.

Annie

Once I juiced fresh grapes and put the juice in the refrigerator to make juice another day.....and the tartaric acid crystalled out...guess some water evaporated over time and I got a supersaturated solution.
Those crystals are where cream of tartar comes from.

Mom is still making her own from her own Concord arbor. People queue up for it, and sometimes quarrels break out. Dunno what we will do when she quits. The Crofter's is good, but more of a fruit spread, IIRC?

Re Crofter's, I just don't remember, MizLizzie. That was a guess.

Maybe it was Randall Family?

It was concord grape jelly and just really different--far superior--to anything I'd seen my friends spread on PBJ or dump on meatballs. It was delightful! Perhaps something more like what your mom makes than industrial sludge?

Speaking of which, perhaps it's time to plant your own grape arbor? Making the jelly doesn't sound that hard. It's growing the grapes that's the key!