It’s grape season!
I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see decent-sized clusters of grapes on our 3 year old vines this year! Not only that, a friend called me and asked if I wanted to come over and pick the rest of her grapes. I never turn down an opportunity to pick anything!
Time for grape juice and grape jelly! Keep in mind that jams and jellies make wonderful gifts around the holidays! I use smaller jars for gift-giving.
Making anything from grapes is labor intensive, but the purple-stained fingers you’ll bear for a few days are completely worth it!
How to Make Grape Juice
Wash grapes; drain. Stem, crush and measure grapes. Add 1 cup water to each gallon of crushed grapes.
Heat grapes 10 minutes at 190 degrees F. Do not boil.
Once cooled, strain juice through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. Let stand for 24 hours in refrigerator.
The next day, little crystals will appear on top of your juice, and they need to be skimmed off. Ladle juice from container, being careful to not disturb sediment.
Strain juice again. I’m always amazed at how much pulp is still in there!
Measure juice; add 1 to 2 cups sugar to each gallon of juice. Reheat juice for 5 minutes at 190 degrees F. Do not boil.
Ladle hot juice into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust 2 piece caps, process pints and quarts 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. ( Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, page 22 with my inserted comments added)
Grape Jelly
You’ll need:
4 cups Concord grape juice (about 3 pounds)
7 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
Put grape juice in a large saucepot. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in liquid pectin. Return to rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.
Adjust two-piece caps, process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.
(Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving – page 36)
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About kmorris
I have grape envy right now. I actually have plans for a few grape vines. I can’t decide if I want to order them now. What do you think?
Rachel,
Go for it! Get them in this fall and good luck! It’s three years until fruit.
Thank you so much for this! I have been wanting to grow Muscadines on our balcony and this will come in handy!
I have to show this to Heidi. She has lots of grape bushes. Thanks for sharing.
We bought a house this June and it has 12 grape vines but they didn’t do to good this year. I guess it was too hot and they didn’t get enough water. We picked some before the ants got them. Can you share how to care for them so maybe we can have a better harvest next year?
Thanks
This is tempting me to put in some grape plants! I can wait 3 years for fruit.
We do not have our own grape vines, but we have wild ones along the side of the road. We have picked those- and as bunches, placed the grape bunches into the pot after a quick wash off. These are wild tiny grapes not worth picking each off individually. When you have the stems of the bunch and the seeds in your mixture to simmer, you get the extract as in Grape Seed Extract. I usually just canned the raw juice and then the birds and compost got the rest. As you cook the bunches the juice comes out…and the seeds drop to the bottom of the pan. We pick out the stems as we use the food mill to separate what didn’t sink to the bottom of the pan. We still have a few bottles in the freezer, YES- its time to make another batch! Perhaps it will be a good time to use my new steamer!
And we love using the grape leaves for stuffed leaves, or rolled rice bites… Yummy, and also good for you!
Kelly-
What kind of grapes are these? Do you plant them in the fall?
Thanks-
Might I suggest a steam juicer? I was juicing via cheesecloth, but my mother-in-law showed me how to use a steam juicer, and I’ll never go back! It goes so quickly, and the juice comes out hot and ready to bottle (I put the bottle under the juicer…I think my blog has a photo). Anyhow, just a little less labor for a busy mom of many!
Jillian,
Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check into that.