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Naples, New York – Grape Pie Capital of the World

By Ann Hattes
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It’s an opportunity to sample everything grape – from table grapes to grape cookies, grape bars, grape tarts, grape bread, jams, juice, even grape ice cream and grape cotton candy.

Naples, in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, was built on the site of a Seneca Village and named after Naples in Italy. This charming village surrounded by glacier-carved hillsides dotted with vineyards and farms, and just south of Canandaigua Lake, is located in the U.S.’s largest wine producing region outside California making fall a popular time of year to visit.

Every year since 1961, the last weekend in September is when Naples celebrates with a Grape Festival. This year it’s September 26 and 27, 2015, and you can find out all about it at www.naplesgrapefest.org. It’s an opportunity to sample everything grape – from table grapes to grape cookies, grape bars, grape tarts, grape bread, jams, juice, even grape ice cream and grape cotton candy. There’s also an opportunity to show off your pie baking skills at the World’s Greatest Grape Pie Contest. There have been winners from every age, from teens to grandmothers.

It is estimated that 70,000 grape pies are sold annually in Naples and about 20,000 to 30,000 during the six-week fall harvest season alone. There are many grape pie makers in the area but Monica Schenk of Monica’s Pies (www.monicaspies.com) is the local Grape Pie Queen. She no longer ships her pies or other grape goodies, but she does have grape pies and many other varieties from local fruits to luscious creams available year round in her Naples shop.

Those visiting in the fall can visit u-pick farms to collect fresh grapes, raspberries, apples, blueberries and plums. Jerome’s-U-Pick (www.jeromesupick.com) has 11 grape varieties, early to late season, from Ontario, VanBuren, Fredonia and Worden to Niagara, Concord, and Sheridan. The website gives the seasons and prices, directions to the farm, plus recipes for grape juice, basic Concord grape filling, Concord grape pie, grape crunch and grape bread.

If you go, just north of Naples seek out County Road 12 Scenic Overlook, perfect for a picnic. You can see all the way to the north end of Canandaigua Lake, 15 miles away. Nearby in Bristol Springs is Arbor Hill Grapery where owner and winemaker John Brahm has experimented and proved that temperatures near the lake are not too cold to grow fine wine grapes. The winery gift shop here is filled with wine sauces, preserves, vinegars and salad dressings.

Notably, Arbor Hill Grapery (www.thegrapery.com) offers Healthy Purple Grape Topping & Filling. It is the full grape product with natural juice, pulp and skin, only the seeds removed –  a perfect filling for strudels and grape pie, a topping for cheesecake and ice cream. Best of all you can shop online at Arbor Hill Grapery, order this filling and make your own Concord Grape Pie at home. They do ship a cooked Naples Grape Pie but shipping expenses make purchasing the filling much more economical. In the tradition of most Naples bakers, this filling is thickened with tapioca, though some Naples pie-makers use flour. Most Naples pie bakers use Concords, but some use the earlier ripening Worden grape, and some use the green, champagne-flavored Delaware grapes.

Beyond grapes, the Finger Lakes region is known for its gorges and glens. To work off that slice of grape pie, a mile-long creek walk in Grimes Glen located right in Naples will reward you with two 60 foot waterfalls and impressive gorge walls. Not surprisingly, Naples celebrates the grape with its purple fire hydrants. You can celebrate fall and the grape with this recipe by Irene Bouchard recognized as the mother of Naples’ grape pies. Alternatively, a grape pie, cheesecake and grape crunch can be easily made with the recipes and Healthy Purple Grape Filling from Arbor Hill
(www.TheGrapery.com).


 

Grape Pie

(Irene Bouchard’s recipe.)

5 &1/2 cups Concord grapes, washed

1 cup sugar approximately, depending on the sweetness of the grapes

1 tablespoon tapioca

Butter

Pastry for a 9-inch pie

 

Pop the skins off the grapes by pinching them at the end opposite the stem; set them aside.
Put the pulp (without water) into a heavy pan, bring it to a boil, and let it boil 5 to 6 minutes. Put it through a colander or food mill to remove the seeds. Pour the hot pulp over the skins. (Irene lets this mixture sit for 5 hours “to color the pulp.”)

Add the sugar and tapioca, then pour the mixture into the pie crust and dot with butter. Put on the top crust. (Irene uses a “floating” top crust – a circle of dough slightly smaller than the top of the pie, making a pretty purple ring around the edge.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for 20 minutes more until the crust is browned and the juice begins to bubble up.


 

The following recipes accompany Arbor Hill’s Healthy Purple Grape Filling.

Grape Pie

For a 9” pie crust use 3 cups Grape Filling. Arbor Hill’s comes in 24 oz. jars, i.e. 3 cups. For an 8” pie crust use 2 cups Grape Filling.

Pour Grape Filling into pie shell; cover with top crust. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees F, reduce to 350 degrees F and bake 25 – 30 minutes longer.

Alternatively, do as I have done, pour the Grape Filling into a pre-baked pie shell without using a top crust, and serve topped with ice cream or whip cream. Easy, simple and delicious.


 

Grape Cheesecake

Yield: 8 servings

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese

2 cups milk

1 pkg. lemon instant pudding

1 – 9” graham cracker crust

1 cup Grape Filling

 

Soften cream cheese, blend with ½ cup milk. Add 1 & ½ cups milk and the pudding mix. Beat slowly with egg beater just until well mixed, about 1 minute. (Do not overbeat.) Pour at once into graham cracker crust. Chill at least one hour. Just before serving, remove from pan and spread 1 cup Grape Filling on top.


 

Grape Crunch

Yields 6 – 8 servings

1 cup uncooked rolled oats

½ cup all purpose flour

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups Grape Filling

1 quart vanilla ice cream

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix oats, flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Place half of this mixture in an 8 x 8 inch greased cake dish. Cover with Grape Filling. Top with balance of mixture. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Serve hot in squares topped with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

 

Ann Hattes has over 25 years experience writing about both travel and food for publications both in the US and internationally. A senior living in Wisconsin, she’s a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and the Midwest Travel Writers Association.

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