i looked through the older messages but couldn't find a recipe for grape juice to can. i need to know ratio of pounds of grapes to cups of water, where to start - end. we just picked 30 lbs. all i really know is to wash and pull off the stem. can someone draw me a picture please? oh what about jelly and of course wine. there's alota grapes still out there!! thanks again everyone. fred

-- fred in wi (sixuvusmeyers@aol.com), October 12, 2001

Answers

Easy Grape Juice recipe: Add 1 cup grapes in each quart-size jar, fill with boiling water, add sugar to taste (no more than an 1/8 of a cup - I don't usually add any sugar). Process juice in water bath for 15 minutes. Grape juice in ready to drink in about 2 months (when grapes fall to bottom of jars - they will be up on the top after they are processed) My kids just love this juice. Approximately 15 pounds of grapes makes about 96 quarts of juice. Good luck

-- Bev (cafemocha@ivillage.com), October 12, 2001.

well, fred, there are several different ways to make grape juice. I always do it the hard way, but it is so much better, my family thinks. We all gather round the kitchen table and pick grapes off the bunches, pitching the bad ones. Its a good time to have quality time with the kids. Then I let them run play while I wash and cook the grapes. I place them into kettles and run water into them until I see it coming up between the grapes. Bring to a boil, and allow to simmer till totally mushy. The longer the better.

Strain through a colander. If you press on the grapes, you will get a lot of pulp. You can strain pulp out to make grape jam. I place about 1/3 cup of sugar (naughty) into each quart jar and fill with juice. Stir well, and cap. Process in hot water bath for 15 minutes. I have about 30 quarts of this concentrate downstairs right now. (Wish I had 70.) I dilute each quart with another quart of water, and it goes like hotcakes.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), October 13, 2001.

We make our grape juice in half gallon canning jars. Two cups grapes and 3/4 - 1 cup of sugar and boiling water bath for 20 plus minutes. That is the recipe and time I was given years ago. Yes, it is sweet.

Since we have free gas and like our grape juice more flavorful, I boiling water bath it for over two hours.

-- homestead2 (homestead@localnetplus.com), October 13, 2001.

I use a steam juicer for grapes and drain the juice straight into canning jars, add a tsp. of lemon juice and seal. If I make jelly from it, I use the juice straight. If I use it for grape juice, open a qt. jar and dilute it with water and add a bit of sugar. Can't see adding water when canning it, and storing a lot of jars with water added.

-- Duffy (hazelm@tenforward.com), October 13, 2001.