A Gift to Appreciate

    We like to think, when we are making a gift—a doll for a child, for instance, or a rope hammock or a handmade journal—that the tedious hours spent at the craft will be rewarded with cries of genuine delight. Such was not the case with grape catsup, a tedious, time-consuming, and messy concoction to make that didn't immediately elicit an appreciative response form friends and family. Recipients of this gift inevitably wrinkled their noses and asked, "What's grape catsup?" 

    Hiding my disappointment at their lack of appreciation, I would explain patiently, "It's a condiment, like a chutney. Think cranberry sauce." I reminded my friends that catsup was really called tomato catsup and was only one variety, the kind made from tomatoes, and that tomatoes, too, were a fruit. This condiment was catsup made from grapes. So why were my friends so skeptical? But I endured their rude response to my gift because I knew that, after they had tried their grape catsup, they would come running with praise.

    Such was the case. My friends, so dubious at first, quickly became grape catsup converts, asking for the recipe one after the other.

    In spite of this success, however, there will be no more grape catsup from my kitchen. Separating grape seeds from pulp is unbelievably tedious. Just imagine the difficulty in removing the seeds from cherries, for instance. Then compare the size of cherry pits with the size of grape seeds, and you begin to get the picture. As I sat on the front stoop grinding grapes through my applesaucer, I vowed I would never make grape catsup again. If you have an easier method of removing seeds, such as enlisting a child to do the work, do seriously consider making grape catsup every summer. But if you don't have an easier method, make this condiment at least once. Unusual and delicious, grape catsup is definitely worth the trouble once in your life.

Next week's post: "Working at Mums"

Recipe from this post: Grape catsup

Grape Catsup

I did, obviously, make grape catsup again, in August 2019

Ingredients

5 pounds Concord grapes (These are most beautiful when picked off your own vines into a basket laced with the occasional broad-palmed grape leaf.)

1/2 cup water

5 cups sugar

2 cups vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pickling spices

Preparation

Wash the forest debris off the grapes if your vine grows in a forest clearing, as mine does.

To make

Combine the grapes and water and bring them to a boil to soften. Put the softened grapes through a food mill, colander, or sieve to separate the seeds. Give yourself plenty of time. Recognize from the beginning that the process will take patience, and plan for it by putting on your favorite music or making your grape catsup on a gorgeous day for sitting on the front stoop with butterflies flitting past and a gentle breeze in the forest around you.

    Once the grapes are seeded and crushed, put the pulp into a large pot with the sugar, vinegar, and salt. Tie the pickling spices in a cheesecloth bag and add them to the pot. Simmer and stir until the mixture becomes thick. (To hasten thickening, you could add a bit of apple.) From time to time skim off the froth. Remove the pickling spices, and spoon or pour the catsup into hot, sterilized jars, seal, and process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water bath.

To eat

If you think about occasions when you eat cranberry sauce or chutney, you will come up with appropriate times to serve grape catsup. It is superb with turkey and chicken. I like it on rice. Don't spread it on bread—it's not a jam. It adds a complementary sweet-and-sour touch as an accompaniment to steamed vegetables (cabbage, green beans, spinach, broccoli), baked fowl, and pork chops. Experiment and enjoy.