Cooking Exceptionally With Gin Lee

The Ultimate Concord Grape Jam Recipe: Sweet, Simple, and Simply Delicious There is nothing quite like the smell of Concord grapes bubbling on the stove. That deep, dark purple hue is instantly recognizable, and the scent fills your entire kitchen with the promise of autumn. When you take a bite of toast covered in fresh, homemade concord grape jam, it hits you with a blast of nostalgia. You are suddenly sitting at the breakfast table, a child again, enjoying the perfect combination of sweet and tart flavors. This fruit spread is a classic for a reason, and it is far easier to make than most people think. Making jam from scratch is a rewarding project that anyone can manage in their own kitchen. While store-bought versions are fine in a pinch, they often lack the bright, vivid flavor of fruit picked at its peak. When you make a fresh batch, you control exactly what goes into the jar. You get better texture, better color, and a taste that connects you to the season. The process is sim...

Homemade Piquette   Living life with zero waste and sustainability has become a new normal for a lot of people. For example, I try to upcycle as much as possible. Recently, I made concord grape jam, jelly, and concord grape juice from the grapes that I harvested. Today I will be explaining more about how I made Piquette from upcycling all the grape leftovers.  The grape leftovers (skins, seeds, stems) are known as pomace. It's been utilized to make a diluted wine called Piquette for years. Piquette is a low-alcohol drink made by mixing grape leftovers and water then going through the fermentation process. The wine becomes a nice fizzy drink. With an alcohol content of 4 to sometimes over 10 ABV depending on how long the wine is left to ferment. I make Piquette and have gotten the alcohol content of 10 ABV and sometimes over that. Technically, Piquette is not wine, but it closely resembles it once it's a finished product. So how did I make Piquette?  I went through the pro...

Homemade Concord Grape Juice Although you see me using concord grapes today for this grape juice recipe, any type of grapes can be used. Concord's are the variety I have on hand from this year's harvest. I'm using a mixture of fully ripe concord grapes, and the ones that were starting to turn ripe. The green grapes will be turned into verjuice. I will be using the grape leftovers to make Piquette. I will be telling you a little more about Piquette towards the bottom of this article. I don't add any type of sweetener to my juice recipe. I only use the grapes, water, and a bit of time. First, I picked the grapes a few weeks ago. Then I brought them to the kitchen, where I proceeded to take the stems off, and washed them in the sink. Since I harvested so many grapes this year; I ended up freezing some of them just to get them off my hands, until I get the time to process the grapes. Yes, you can freeze the grapes whole and then later proceed with making juices, jams, jelli...