Canning Concentrated Grape Juice | CANNING RECIPES

how to can concentrated grape juice

Walking by the grapes on the vine in the yard, you know when they are done and it’s time to make juice.  It smells like grape juice outside!  We have two vines and we will process one and then the other.  We make concentrated grape juice from the one vine along with grape jelly.  The other we will share with friends and make quick grape juice.

Making grape juice is not an easy process.  You will need a food mill or a food press to help you process the grapes.

We’ve created a video on how we canned the grapes.

What you’ll need:
clean washed concord grapes (stems and twigs removed)
sugar
pint/quart jars
white sugar (1/4 – 1/2 cup per jar – optional)
sterilized seals and bands
water bath canner
food mill or electric fruit and vegetable strainer
fine mesh bag (if you want to hug and squeeze the grapes)

how to can grape juice

You will want to take your cleaned grapes and run them through your food mill or food press  or another mixer with a strainer.

Grind the grapes up, separating from the seeds and extracting the juice into a large bowl.

If you are using the electric strainer, you will want to run at a slow speed.  The seeds can bind up. You will also want to clean out the strainer after running through about 2 cups or it will stop working.

Once the grapes have been run through, you can run the juice through the mesh strainer.  Depending on how much pulp you want in your juice.

Take the juice and heat it to 190 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove from heat once this is done.

You can allow to cool over night for the sediment to settle, or continue canning.

how to make grape jelly

Take the sterilized jars and add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup sugar (if desired) to each jar.

Add grape juice into each jar, leaving 1″ head space (straining again if desired).

Place a sterilized seal and hand tighten band on each jar.

Place hot jars into hot water bath canner, with 1 inch of water over the jars.

Process for 15 minutes for pints or quarts.

Allow jars to sit 5 minutes before removing from water bath.

Remove the jars from the heat and allow to cool for 12 hours (we put towels around them to have the cool slowly)

Write the date and that it’s concentrated grape juice on the label or seal. Check to make sure lids sealed.