Mustang Grapes or Muscadine Grapes

22

I am an undercover canner! Earlier this year we canned black berries and today I want to can some Mustang Grapes. Every year we go and pick grapes off of our friend Oudia's Crepe Myrtle affectionately called a "Grape Myrtle". This year we got to pick grapes with Ms. Rachel Altman who also gave us some of her Mother's canning supplies!

Now, I have canned Mustang grapes before but this time I also want to make fruit leather for the kids. The problem is that mustang grapes burn your hands and I am sure your mouth. Additionally, they are not sweet. So as I am researching this the first thing I have found is that Mustang & Muscadine are not the same type of grape. They are a Native American grape found in Kansas, most of eastern Oklahoma and Texas, through to western Arkansas and Louisiana. They are acrid..though I do not know what that means so I'll translate it as it will burn your mouth and taste nasty!

After some research I think I am going to Simply Recipes, I've had good result with her recipes before. Fruit leather is just processed fruit with or without a sweetener added. Clearly for these grapes we will be adding a sweetener and I think I am going to use honey. Then left in a warm oven for at least 8 hours.

I hope this works well because in a few weeks we will be picking some free pears! It would be fabulous to have enough homemade blackberry, grape & pear fruit roll ups for the kids for the next year or so.

I can't wait for my fruit trees to really start bearing and don't worry I'll be sharing just like God taught me through Barney!!