Muscadines grown at Wenker's Vineyard are larger and have a more delicate skin than muscadines found in the wild. They don't grow in tight bunches like grapes, but in clusters of 4 or more fruits. They are picked one at a time.  A good rule of thumb is "the darker the skin, the sweeter the grape". Muscadines are commonly used in jams, jellies, wines, or any other recipes using grapes.

The early settlers called the sweet, musk-scented wild grapes that they found here by the same name as the sweet grapes they had known in Europe, and that eventually became muscadine. 
 

A special note when working with muscadine recipes:  Cut the muscadines in half then remove the seeds.   Squeeze the hull. This will remove the pulp. This eliminates the process of pressing the pulp through a sieve. After these steps are complete, then proceed with the recipe.

Muscadine Pie

1/2 gallon ripe muscadines
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
Dots of butter

Mash muscadines.  Separate hulls from pulp.  Strain so as to get juices, leaving pulp and seed.  Cook hulls in juice until tender, adding a little water if needed.  let cool, then add lemon juice, flour, and sugar.  put this mixture in a 9-inch unbaked pie shell and dot with butter.  place lattice crust across top.  Bake in a 400 degree over for approximately 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and bake another 30 minutes.  Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Muscadine Grape Butter

5 pounds muscadine grapes
5 cups sugar
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground mace
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Wash grapes; drain and remove stems. Plunge grapes into rapidly boiling water to cover; boil 2 minutes. Drain well. Slip off grape skins and grind or chop skins finely, reserving pulp; set aside. Place pulp in a heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until seeds begin to separate from pulp. Press pulp through a sieve to remove seeds; discard seeds. Return pulp to saucepan; add reserved skins and remaining ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Quickly ladle butter into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Cover at once with metal lids and screw bands tight. Process in boiling water bath 5 minutes. Yield: 8 half pints.

Muscadine Sauce over Pears

2 to 3 cups muscadines
3 cups water
4 medium firm, ripe pears
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Rinse muscadines; combine muscadines and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes. Remove from heat; mash muscadines with a potato masher. Strain through a jelly bag, reserving 1-1/4 cups juice; set aside. Peel pears, leaving stems intact. Cut a thin slice from bottoms, so that pears can stand upright. Place pears in a steamer in an upright position; cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until pears are tender. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan; gradually add reserved muscadine juice, stirring well. Bring mixture to a boil, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Place pears in individual compotes; pour sauce over pears.

Muscadine Jam

2 quarts muscadine grapes, stemmed & washed
Sugar (about 3 to 4 cups)

Squeeze the pulp out of the hulls, keeping pulp and hulls in separate containers. Chop hulls if desired, and place in a pan with about 1/2 cup water. Simmer until tender (about 15 minutes stir occasionally and add more water if needed to prevent sticking. In another saucepan, cook pulp until softened. Press pulp through a sieve or food mill to remove seeds.

Combine pulp and hulls in a larger pan; add 3/4 cup sugar for each cup of fruit. Bring slowly to a boil and boil for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until thickened. Stir as the mixture thickens to prevent sticking.

Note: You can also test for jelling by removing the pan from the heat and chilling a dab of it. Pour immediately into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Carefully wipe residue from jar mouths with a paper towel moistened with boiled water and cover with seals and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Muscadine Ice

Ingredients:
2 1/2 gallons muscadines
water
sugar
lemon juice

Stem, wash, and mash muscadines. Strain and reserve juice. Put hulls and pulp in a kettle with a little water; bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, adding a little more water if necessary to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and strain through a strainer or jelly bag. Add juice to the reserved juice. Sweeten with sugar to your taste and add a little lemon juice. Put in an ice cream freezer and freeze as you would ice cream.

Muscadine Cobbler

2 pounds muscadine grapes
2 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk

Remove skins from muscadines; reserve skins. Cook pulp and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes or until seeds loosen. Press mixture through a wire-mesh strainer, discarding seeds. Return pulp mixture to saucepan; stir in reserved skins, lemon rind, and apple pie spice. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until tender. Melt butter in an 11x7-inch baking dish in a 350 degree oven. Stir together flour, remaining 1 cup sugar, and milk; pour over melted butter. Pour muscadine mixture over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Muscadine Dream Pie

2 c Milk
1 ts Vanilla
1/4 c Cornstarch
1 Graham cracker pie crust
1/4 c Honey
30 Muscadines; deseeded, cut in
3 Egg yolks
1 c Muscadine preserves
1 tb Butter

Blend cornstarch and milk until smooth and place in the top of a double boiler. Add honey and cook until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Beat the egg yolks and stir some of the thickened milk into the egg yolks. Add the remaining yolks to the milk mixture in the double boiler and stir constantly until very thick or about 1 minute. Add butter and vanilla and stir for another minute. Cool and pour into pie crust. Cover top of the custard with the cut muscadines. Place the muscadine preserves in a heavy saucepan and slowly heat to a little warmer than room temperature. Place in a blender and process until smooth. Pour muscadine preserves over top of pie. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Muscadine Tart

Sweet Pastry

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
8 tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
2 tbs. milk or cream

Filling

30 muscadine grapes
1 tbs. instant tapioca powder
2 tbs. lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. Finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 tbs. Raw (turbinado) sugar

In a food processor or standing mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and butter until the mixture resembles meal. Stir together the yolk and milk and add to flour mixture. Pulse or beat just until the dough comes together. Do not overwork the pastry. Flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough to a 13-inch circle, adding more flour if necessary. Fit the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Fold over the excess dough and flute the edge. Place foil or waxed paper in the bottom of the tart pan and weight it with dried beans or pastry weights. Bake for 15 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven. Remove the foil and weights and set the shell aside. While the pastry is baking, prepare the filling. Cut the grapes in half and carefully remove the seeds with the point of a knife, without separating the pulp from the skin. In a medium bowl, stir together the tapioca, lemon juice, sugar, and rosemary. Add the grapes and stir to combine. Allow the filling to stand for 15 minutes and stir again to dissolve the tapioca. Remove the grapes from the juices and arrange, cut side down, 1/2 inch apart in concentric circles in the tart shell. Stir the juices again and pour them over the grapes. Bake the tart for 15 minutes on the bottom rack. Lower the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

MUSCADINE CAKE

2 1/2 c. muscadines grapes
1 box white cake mix
1 box blackberry Jello
3/4 c. oil
4 eggs

Cook 2 1/2 cups muscadines in 1 1/2 cups water until hulls are tender. Remove seeds. Separate hulls and juice. Mix one box white cake mix, one box blackberry jello, 3/4 cup oil and 1/2 cup muscadine juice, add eggs one at a time. Beat until fluffy. Fold 1 cup hulls into batter. Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees until done.

TOPPING:

Bring to a boil 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup juice. Spoon over cake while cake is still hot.

MUSCADINE MARMALADE

Cook muscadines "whole" until hulls are tender. Pour into colander - mash pulp and hulls through. Measure 6 cups of pulp into large pan. Let come to a boil. Stir in 5 cups sugar. Combine to boil, stirring constantly, until mixture will slide off spoon like jelly. Pour into jars and seal or refrigerate. Use same recipe for scuppernongs.