Food for Eating!

A number of people have asked me about grape pie. Apparently, it's not very well known; I suspect it's a Pennsylvania thing that my mother learned while growing up there. I'll have to ask her the history of grape pie in our family because I can't remember the story now. :)

Anyway, here is the recipe...

Grape Pie

1 1/2 pounds (4 cups) Concord grapes (or 1 pint frozen grapes)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell
Crumb topping

Slip skins from grapes; set skins aside. Bring pulp to boiling point; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Press through sieve to remove seeds. Add skins. (Since we grow our own grapes, we make a large amount of this when the grapes are in season; then we freeze them in pints to use throughout the year.)

Combine sugar, flour, and salt. Add lemon juice, butter, and grape pulp. Pour into pastry-lined pie plate.

Top with crumb topping: sift 1/2 cup flour with 1/4 cup sugar. Cut in 1/2 stick butter til crumbly. Sprinkle over pie.

Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) about 40 minutes.

That's it--not very difficult. We are fortunate enough to have our own grapes, but I used to see Concord grapes in grocery stores when we lived in California, so I suspect they are available around the country (at certain seasons). Concord grapes have a much more intense flavor than "regular" grapes, so they make delicious pies!