Scuppernong

Scuppernong  is the regional name southerners give to  Muscadine Grapes,  which grow from West Virginia, all the way down the east coast and west to Texas. As can be guessed, they thrive in the hot and humid summers of these places and can grow abundantly. Unlike cultivated grapes, they don’t need any pampering whatsoever, nor do they have to “suffer” in poor soil to produce half way decent wine.

A person can pick a bowl full of   Scuppernongs  from their relative’s place up the road, eat them on their back porch and spit

Scuppernong

the pips into the woods. In a few years  Scuppernong  vines will be twining up and around the trees there, though, to their credit, they don’t seem to strangle them. Unlike some other grapes,   Scuppernongs  don’t grow in fat, Dionysian bunches. They grow in clusters of three or four and so avoid the bane of bunchrot.

The   Scuppernong  is also different from other grapes in that it has a smooth bark, a continuous brown pith and tendrils that don’t fork. It also has a skin so tough that it’s almost like a husk. Part of the pleasure of eating this grape is to split this husk to get at the sweet/tart pulp.

Many people will be surprised to know that  Scuppernongs  can come in purple varieties, for where they live the fruit starts light green and ripens into a bronzy green. They’ll also be surprised to learn that the  Scuppernong, which they’ve come to see as a useful sort of weed, is good to eat. It’s full of polyphenols and while polyphenols are usually considered toxic, the ones in Scuppernongs  are antioxidants. The grape is also rich in fiber.

The   Scuppernong  likes to grow in somewhat moist, rich soils in the same habitat as water oak and willow. The grape’s constitution is as tough as its skin and it doesn’t easily succumb to diseases or pests like phylloxera, an aphid which nearly destroyed the entire French wine industry at the end of the 19th century.

There are even cultivars of  muscadine grapes,  which are used to make different sorts of wine. These can be found on the lower shelves in the wine sections of southern supermarkets. Some wine connoisseurs believe  muscadine  wine to be inferior and dismiss it as “foxy,” which probably means it’s not as subtle or complex as they’re used to.

Many ordinary folk in the south use the  Scuppernong  to make home-made wine, which they age in bottles in their root cellars or pantries. Everyone seems to have their own secret way of making the wine. Drunk out of jelly jars or fine cut crystal, it’s good enough for them.

scuppernongs

Other folks make jellies and preserves out of the  Scuppernong.  The jelly is clear or pale green. Here’s a recipe for Scuppernong  jelly:

4 cups of   Scuppernong  juice
7 cups of sugar
1/2 bottle of liquid fruit pectin

Juice the  Scuppernongs  till you have 4 cups.
Mix juice and sugar in a large saucepot and bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add the pectin.
Keep at a hard boil for a minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Skim, then pour into hot, sterile Mason jars.
Seal with paraffin wax.