Venison Jelly—Another Spiced Grape Concoction

If you Google "pickled grapes" or "spiced grapes," you'll find a lot of fascinating recipes. But I was just poking around in another very old cookbook and I discovered a recipe similar to the “Pickled Grapes” from the Hearthstone.

In this instance, the recipe is called “Venison Jelly” and is obviously recommended as a condiment for your venison!

It’s from page 546 of The Settlement Cook Book: Tested Recipes from the Settlement Cooking Classes, the Milwaukee Public School Kitchens, the School of Trades for Girls, and Experienced Housewives, compiled by Mrs. Simon Kander [that is, Lizzie Black Kander, 1858–1940] (Milwaukee: Settlement Cook Book Co., 1921).

I must write more about this particular cookbook someday—this volume was my Grandma Schroeder’s cooking textbook from her domestic science class in 1922–1923. It’s full of great recipes! An absolute trove. You can find it online here.


Venison Jelly

1 peck wild grapes, or 12 lbs. concord grapes,
1 quart vinegar,
1/4 cup whole cloves,
1/4 cup stick cinnamon,
6 lbs. sugar.

Put first 4 ingredients into a preserving kettle. Heat to boiling and cook until grapes are soft. Strain through a jelly bag and boil the juice 20 minutes. Add sugar and boil 5 minutes, or until it jells. Turn into glasses.