If you're leaving grocery brands behind and entering into the world of gourmet jams and preserves, a whole world of fruit jellies and other flavors is open to you. And if you're using these to make your PB&J you'll definitely want to pairing them with a gourmet peanut butter, as well. Jams refer to the type of preserves that are traditionally made from whole fruit or sections of the fruit, while jellies are made with fruit juice. The gelling agent can come from pectin, gelling sugar, or honey.
Homemade Concord Grape Jam
To make your own jam, you'll want sterilized canning jars with screw lids, an instant-read thermometer, a deep boiling pot, and a food mill fitted with a fine disk. You'll want to remove the skins from 5 lbs of concord grapes and puree them with a cup of refined sugar in a food processor then move the mixture to a large pot to mix in 2 tbs of fresh lemon juice. Then add the peeled grapes and another 4 cups of sugar and boil the whole thing on medium heat. Stir continuously until the pulp is really mixed in with the rest of the mixture. You can skim the foam off the top the whole time; this should take about 20 minutes. Pour the jam then through the food mill over a bowl big enough for the mix. Once you've strained out the chunks, return the mixture to the pot to boil to thicken it for a half hour. Then you'll want to seal the jam in the canning jars, you should hear a little popping when you've been successful in this. Then you'll have plenty of concord jam for you and your friends.
