Every year I tell myself I’m done making Grape Pie because it’s so time-consuming. But almost every year I bow to the pressure and make it anyway. Yes, it takes a long time to make - but it’s so unique. It’s truly a labor of love. People are always surprised that it doesn’t taste like they expect it to. It has a sweet-tart flavor that’s much like eating fresh Concord Grapes - it’s not at all like grape jelly or grape juice.

Even on the East coast, where Concord grapes are plentiful, this is a rare pie to find. In the west, it’s basically unheard of. Yet many people here grow Concords to make grape juice and jelly, so while they’re almost never found in the grocery stores, it’s not too hard to find someone who grows them.

I thought I’d be clever and plant Seedless Concord grapes, but as I discovered this year, hot weather will cause them to have fully-formed seeds. Considering the hot summers we have here, I’ll probably never have a seedless crop. I didn’t have enough for a pie anyway, but my mother had plenty, so I picked a few pounds from her vine yesterday, and spent 2 hours seeding enough to make 2 pies. Yes, that’s right. Two hours for 2 pies. And that’s just seeding the grapes. Usually I pick enough to do 4 or 5 pies, and freeze the filling in 1-quart containers. It freezes exceptionally well, and then all I have to do when I want a pie is defrost the filling, pop it in a pie shell, and bake. Doing a big batch like that makes it worthwhile spending all that time seeding the little suckers. If you can con someone into helping you, it’s even better.

This year I tried a new method of seeding the grapes. I’ll give you both methods, so you can choose. (By the way, I’ve tried using a tomato seeder, but all it did was pulverize the grape seeds. Not a good thing.)

The recipe below has a single crust with a streusel topping. It’s also nice with a top crust instead - I like to make a lattice-top. If you want to get fancy, you can cut little grape leaves out of the pie crust dough and decorate the top of the pie.

Concord Grape Pie

4 cups Concord grapes (measured after picking them off the stems)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar (you may need to add more if grapes are tart)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 ½ Tablespoons butter, melted

9″ unbaked pastry shell

Topping:
½ cup flour
1/3 cup cold butter
1/4 cup sugar

Seed the grapes, using either method below.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and the salt in a large bowl. Stir in the grape pulp and skins. Add the lemon juice and melted butter, and mix thoroughly. Pour into pastry-lined pie plate.

Topping: Combine the 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Slice the butter into the mixture. Work in the butter using a pastry blender until crumbly (or use 2 knives, a fork, or if necessary, your CLEAN hands) . Do not overwork. Sprinkle over the top of the pie.

Bake the pie at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the top begins to brown.

Tedious seeding method 1: Slip skins from grapes (pinch grape at end opposite stem end) and put the pulp in a saucepan; set skins aside in a bowl. Bring pulp to boiling; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until the seeds can be easily separated from the pulp. Press the pulp through a wire mesh sieve with the back of a spoon to remove seeds. (Mesh must be small enough to keep the seeds from going through, of course.) Combine the pulp with the grape skins.

Tedious seeding method 2: Cut the grapes in half with a paring knife and pick out the seeds. Don’t worry if the skins fall off the grapes, just put both the pulp and skins into a bowl and discard the seeds. This was the first time I used this method, and I liked it better, because you don’t lose as much pulp as you do when you strain out the seeds. However, it’s not any faster, and might be slower than method number 1 if you’re doing enough filling for several pies at a time.

Either way, prepare to get grape juice all over your work area, and probably yourself as well. A glass of fermented grape juice may help your attitude. An audiobook or nearby TV is also a good idea.