IN THE KITCHEN
Three muscadine recipes for the sweetest weeks of a Lowcountry fall.
The muscadines come first. Sometime around Labor Day they start showing up in full force at the farmers market, at the roadside stand with the hand-lettered sign, in a brown paper bag on a neighbor’s porch rail — thick-skinned and bronze and deep purple-black, sweet in a way no grocery-store grape has ever managed. They are the South’s own grape; they’ve been growing wild in these woods since long before anyone thought to plant them in rows. And they keep their own calendar. You cannot rush a muscadine and you cannot hold one back. For a few sweet weeks each fall, they simply arrive, and the only sensible response is to gather as many as you can carry — and make these three while the fruit lasts.
Muscadine Hull Pie
Ingredients
2 pounds muscadines (about 5–6 cups), rinsed, halved and seeded
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into bits
Pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie (homemade or good store-bought — no shame in either)
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Preparation
Halve the muscadines and flick out the seeds with the tip of a paring knife, working over a bowl to catch every drop of juice. Keep the skins with the fruit.
Toss the grapes and their juice with the granulated sugar in a heavy saucepan and let stand 15 minutes, until glossy.
Whisk the cornstarch with the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of cold water until smooth, then stir the slurry into the fruit along with the salt and cinnamon. Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, 8–10 minutes, until thickened and the skins are tender. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla. Cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Fit the bottom crust into a 9-inch pie plate, add the cooled filling, and dot with butter.
Lay on the top crust, trim and crimp, and cut generous vents — a few simple slashes will do, or go the pretty route: cut leaf and vine shapes from the top crust before laying it on (freehand with a paring knife, scoring veins into each leaf), letting the deep purple filling show between them. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake on a preheated sheet pan set in the lower third of the oven — the hot metal crisps the bottom crust and catches any bubble-over. Bake 20 minutes at 400°F, then reduce to 350°F and bake 35–40 minutes more, until deep golden and bubbling at the vents. (Shield the edge with foil if it browns early.)
Cool at least 2 hours before slicing — the filling needs the rest to hold its shape, and so do you.
Roasted Muscadines Over Whipped Goat Cheese
Ingredients
For the roasted muscadines:
1 pound muscadines, rinsed, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
3–4 sprigs fresh thyme
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
For the whipped goat cheese:
8 ounces fresh goat cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey, plus more for drizzling
Pinch of salt
To serve:
1/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
Flaky salt
Grilled or toasted crostini — a baguette, sliced on the bias, brushed with olive oil
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Toss the halved muscadines with the olive oil, honey, thyme, salt, and balsamic on a rimmed sheet pan.
Roast 15–20 minutes, until slumped and syrupy — skins should collapse but grapes hold some shape.
Meanwhile, whip the goat cheese, cream, honey, and salt in a food processor 1–2 minutes, until light and billowy.
Swoosh the whipped cheese into a shallow serving bowl. Spoon the warm grapes and every bit of their pan syrup over the top.
Drizzle with honey, scatter with pistachios and flaky salt, and serve with crostini — warm, while the grapes still shine.
Muscadine Jam
Ingredients
2 pounds muscadines, rinsed, halved and seeded
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (2 cups for a sweeter, old-fashioned jar)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (up to 1/2 teaspoon for a spicier jar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Preparation
Halve the muscadines and flick out the seeds, working over the pot to save the juice. Keep the skins with the fruit.
Stir in the sugar, lemon juice, cardamom, and salt, and let stand 30 minutes, until juicy.
Bring to a strong simmer over medium-high heat and cook, stirring and mashing occasionally with a potato masher, 35–40 minutes, until thick and glossy. Watch the color: the syrup around the fruit will deepen from pale pink to the same deep amethyst as the fruit itself — that’s your cue the set is near. It’s ready when a spoonful on a chilled plate sits as one mound and wrinkles when nudged, rather than weeping a thin pink halo (or a thermometer reads 220°F). Don’t pull it early — the last ten minutes are where the color and the set both arrive.
Off the heat, stir in the vanilla. Ladle into clean jars, cool to room temperature, then lid and refrigerate. Keeps 2–3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Find all three recipes, plus the rest of the Fall 2026 issue, in the digital edition.
