This easy spiced muscadine butter is perfect for spreading on toast or swirling into yogurt! A small haul of fresh muscadine grapes is easily transformed into a warmly spiced, sweet-tart fruit butter with a few ingredients. The resulting fruit butter is minimally sweetened in order to let the flavor of the grapes shine through.
I find eating peppery and musky muscadine grapes raw to be a chore. The skins are tough and unpleasant and they have a large seed in the center. But, they have the most marvelous flavor! This spiced muscadine butter has become my favorite way to enjoy this beloved Southern fruit. There’s minimal waste involved since we’re only discarding the seeds and stringy pulpy bits as well as minimal ingredients required. This fruit butter is best for a small haul of muscadines (about 1 pound) from either the farmers market or a foraging trip. This warmly spiced muscadine butter is perfect over buttered toast, swirled into yogurt, and dolloped over pancakes and oatmeal!
Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions
We’re working with fairly minimal ingredients here but there is still some wiggle room. I used maple syrup for sweetness because I love it paired with the spices and grapes but you can absolutely use an equal amount of honey if you prefer. I played around with spices and ending up liking the trio of cardamom, allspice, and cloves with the grapes. Since cardamom is a little pricey, feel free to use cinnamon instead. As for the grapes, any variety of muscadine will work well here!
Spiced Muscadine Butter in 6 Easy Steps
PRO-TIP FOR SUPER SMOOTH MUSCADINE BUTTER: make sure you blend up the skins with some water in a blender until the skin pieces are VERY small (about the size of a chia seed). I typically let the blender run on high for 1-2 minutes.
Suggestions for Enjoying Your Muscadine Butter
Curious how I like to enjoy this muscadine butter? Here are my absolute favorite ways to eat it:
- Spread it onto buttered toast. Or, spread it over peanut butter toast for an elevated PB&J vibe. Looking for something to pair with your toast to complete your breakfast? Try my shirred eggs with leeks and mushrooms!
- Swirl some into your favorite plain yogurt for an instant flavor boost and touch of sweetness.
- Dollop it onto a warm bowl of oatmeal. I love pairing it with some cashew butter and a little finely chopped apple or pear.
- Spoon it over your favorite pancakes.
Spiced Muscadine Butter
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy spiced muscadine butter is perfect for spreading on toast or swirling into yogurt! A small haul of fresh muscadine grapes is easily transformed into a warmly spiced, sweet-tart fruit butter with a few ingredients. The resulting fruit butter is minimally sweetened in order to let the flavor of the grapes shine through.
Ingredients
- 1 pound muscadine grapes, about 2 heaping cups, rinsed well
- water, as needed
- 2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
Instructions
Working over a medium sized saucepan, cut a slit in the top of each grape on the stem end and squeeze out the pulp/seeds into the pan. Place the skins in a blender and set them aside.
Cover the pulp/seeds with about 1/2 inch of water, then place the pan on a burner set to medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the pulp breaks down and the seeds separate from it, about 15-20 minutes.
While the pulp mixture is cooking, add just enough water to the blender to cover the skins, then blend until mostly smooth and the skins have been broken down into very small pieces. Leave this in the blender for now.
Place a sieve over a medium sized bowl. Strain the pulp and seed mixture through a fine sieve. Press with a wooden spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the seeds and pulp pieces in the sieve. Return the strained juice mixture back to the pan along with the blended up skins. Stir in the maple syrup and spices and set the mixture over medium-high heat. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium to maintain a simmer and cook for 30-60 minutes, stirring regularly to keep it from burning on the bottom, until it thickens to an apple butter-like consistency.
Once the mixture has thickened, remove it from the heat and put it into a clean jar. Store the butter in the fridge. It will keep for several weeks. Makes about 1 cup.
Notes
- This recipe has not been formulated for canning.
- The wider and shallower your pot/pan, the faster the muscadine butter will thicken.
- Use honey in place of the maple syrup if you prefer.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Category: preserve
I love when you share your childhood memories! I have never had any muscadines, but you have tempted with your recipe!
I already juiced my muscadines. Can you help me translate recipe using juice…or something close?
Since you’re working with just the juice, you’ll be making a jelly rather than a fruit butter or a jam. To make a jelly with the juice, you’ll need sugar and fruit pectin. A recipe like this one should be helpful: https://southernfoodjunkie.com/how-to-make-southern-muscadine-jelly/
5 cups of juice
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
I package sure jell
Bring all to boil 5 min
Add 5 1/2 cups of sugar and boil 5 min
I skim the top
Sanitize jars and Lids if you want to can
Transfer to jars leave on counter to seal no need for water bath . Make sure lids are hot and dry makes 3 1/2 jar
Thank you for sharing this! 🙂
This has become my go-to over the years anytime I spot muscadine grapes at the farmers market! It’s just sweet enough and loaded with warm, cozy spices. Love stirring it into my yogurt!