NCHFP says you can can them whole, but they have to be unripe (2 weeks before peak). May be an option for some of your crop - certainly will help to control SWD if you pick them 2 weeks early.

I can't think of anything besides grape jam (slip the skins) with the ripe (and a few unripe ones for the pectin) grapes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Whole grapes in syrup

HARVEST THEM IMMEDIATELY, THOSE PESTS ARE THE NEW PLAGUE FOR ORGANIC FRUIT GROWERS. Whatever you do, get them harvested and froze or something, don't let them lie on the ground to let those nasty pests lay more eggs. This is a newer pest that we have been warned about for the last 2 years.

I've been picking my wild blackberries all stages of ripeness as soon as I can as often as I can - lots of underripe berries make for a cloudy jelly but at least they're not on the canes to get attacked. Triple Crown are under sheer curtains and I let them get a little riper but not really ripe, those are getting eaten as soon as they are picked. Don't know what I'm going to do next year when they really start producing. We're going to have to cut down all the wild ones we can, I have a hard time keeping up with them.

I hope they find a natural predator and we can import that.

According from what I've heard from the different universities, they don't have anything for them yet. Especially anything organic allowed. They stated that these wasps could wipe out the organic fruit business. Need to make sure to pick as soon as barely ripe. I'm sure there are lots of people that don't know about them.

The joy of pickling has 2 pickled grape recipes (they are sweet in a kind of cinnamon syrup) that I really like

These fruit flies are all the buzz over on Fruit and Orchards forum (no pun intended). It's been a huge problem in the South and PNW for years, just moved into our area the past couple of years, but last year was so dry they weren't in the (shriveled) blackberries, and I thought the blueberries were just growing soft from the heat we had in June, so didn't notice them until this year. I've mentioned to DH a couple of times this week that they are moving into the wild blackberries growing at the south end of the house (that he's mowed down once but grew back over the past couple of years), and just yesterday morning said we have to take out everything on both sides of the road out back since I can't keep up with picking and they're absolute swarms now. I took DD to a horse show today and DH just cut the grass, not the canes. So either I have to take the machete to them or else wait for him to do it next Sat.

Oh, back to grapes - I don't think SWD is supposed to bother grapes (too thick-skinned) unless they are damaged/overripe. What they really like are the just-ripening brambles, esp. raspberries b/c they're so soft. Kncok on wood, none in the Triple Crowns yet.

I know they were warning about peaches and grapes at the conference in feb of this year. They didn't say anything about the harder fruits such as apples. I would call grapes a soft fruit. Haven't noticed any here on our fruit, but I'm suspicious of some South Carolina peaches that I got a few weeks ago. Hope that person didn't bring them to us. I didn't notice anything on the outside, but looked like some had some damage inside.

I have been fascinated by pickled grapes, but have not tried it yet myself.

Nila - are you interested in making any wines or cordials with them? For medicinal purposes only of course. :-)

Grape & Orange Chutney is good. And Grape Conserve makes a great glaze for ham.

Dave

I cut whole clusters of ripe grapes, stuff them into ball mason jars, and freeze them. No prep at all, unless you want to rinse them off. I eat them right out of the freezer without thawing. They taste like candy. They keep really well. I think if you pulled the individual grapes loose, they might not keep as well, because you've injured the fruit. But that's just a theory.

To Dave, digdirt: The link you have for the Grape & Orange Chutney takes me to a Cranberry Orange Chutney which, while it sounds good, isn't what I wanted to check out.

I googled, and didn't find anything that I thought you had meant. Could you help out, please? Thanks.

Kathy

Back before the 'rules' my aunt and uncle would make grape juice, by picking, rinsing, removing from stem and then stuff the grapes in the jar, fill with boiling water and WB. Let set for at least 6 weeks, then shake the jar and strain.

Just an old-fashioned (1950s) way to do alot of grapes in a short amount of time. I'm sure there are ALL kinds of mistakes for nowadays processing.

To Dave, digdirt: The link you have for the Grape & Orange Chutney takes me to a Cranberry Orange Chutney which, while it sounds good, isn't what I wanted to check out.

__________

Kathy it is the same recipe, you just sub grapes for the cranberries. Sorry I should have made that clear. Many of the existing recipes allow for safe substitutions of ingredients.

Another example we often talk about here is subbing zucchini for cukes in many of the pickling recipes.

Dave