How to Make Homemade Grape Juice and Other Berry Juices; Easy, Illustrated Home Canning Directions and Recipe! (2024)

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Making and canning your own grape juice, muscadine juice,scuppernong juice or juice from other berries is quite easy. Here's how todo it, in 12 easy steps and completely illustrated. These directions workequally well for other types of juice: blueberry, raspberry, blackberry,boysenberry, dewberry, gooseberry, loganberry, tayberry, marionberry,youngberry, etc.; by themselves or mixed berry juice.

Ingredients and Equipment

• Grapes - Any variety of grapes, which includes red, white, seeded, seedless, table grapes, wine grapes, muscadines, scuppernongs, or other berries. Seestep 2 for quantities.
• Large spoons and ladles,
• Sugar - Optional - or other sweeteners - natural orartificial - it's your choice to use any or none. I can't tell you howmuch to add - it's 0 to 3 cups - depending upon your taste! Ofcourse, you can substitute honey, agave, stevia or Splenda, in whateveramounts suit your tastes; sugar is not needed as a preservative in thisrecipe.
• Strainers - a jelly strainer and/or cheesecloth are needed.A Foley food mill really speeds up the process and extracts more. seestep 6 for pictures and where to buy the strainers and food mill.
• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)- Big box stores andgrocery stores sometimes carry them; and it is available online - seethis page. It's a tremendously useful to put jars in the cannerand take the hot jars out (without scalding yourself!). The kit soldbelow has everything you need, and at a pretty good price:
  

  See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon

• At least 1 large pot; I prefer 16 to 20 quart Nonstick ceramic coatedpots for easy cleanup.
• 1 water bath canner (a huge pot to sanitize the jars afterfilling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, sometimes at big boxstores and grocery stores.). Note:we sell canners and supplieshere, too - at excellent prices - and it helps support this website!
• Half pint canning jars (Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger, Safeway carrythem, as do some big box stores - about $7 per dozen 8 ounce jarsincluding the lids and rings)
• Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder thatseals them against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.
• Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. Theymay be reused many times.

Optional stuff:

• Jar funnel ($5 at Target, other big box stores, and oftengrocery stores; and available online - see this page) or order it aspart of the kit with the Jar grabber .
• Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the almost-boiling water where you sanitize them. ($4 at big box stores or it comes in thekit at left)

Grape Juice-making Directions

This example shows you how to make grape juice, or juice frommuscadines, scuppernongs and even berries, like raspberries, blueberries, etc..

Step1 - Pick the grapes! (or buy them already picked)

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better qualityones! You can use Concord grapes, red grapes or other grapes,including muscadines and scuppernongs. And as I pointed out above, you canuse other types of berries, or mix them! Whichever you choose, youwant flavorful grapes. Plain seedless white/green grapes, forexample, have little flavor and make a bland juice. Most peoplechoose Concord grapes or red grapes. Seedless or with seeds doesn'tmatter, as the strainer will remove them!

I prefer to grow my own; whichis really easy - but that does take some space and time.

Above are grapes that I picked at a pick-your-own farm. If you want to pickyour own, here is a list and links to the pick your ownfarms.

Step 2 - How much fruit?

An average of 25 pounds of grapes is needed per canner load of 7 quartsof grape juice. Or to make 9 pints of juice, you will need an average of 16pounds of grapes. If you are buying in bulk, a "lug" weighs 26pounds and yields 7 to 9 quarts of juice; which is an average of 3-1/2pounds of grapes needed per quart of juice.

Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later.The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize"cycle, the water bath processing will sanitize them as well as thecontents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you canwash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jarsby boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they areused.

NOTE: If a canning recipe calls for 10 minutes or more of process time in the canner, then the jars do not need to be "sanitized" before filling them.But really, sanitizing them first is just good hygeine and common sense! See this page for more detail about cleaning and sanitizing jars and lids.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 10 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pullthem out.

Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until youare ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars frombreaking when you fill them with the hot juice.

Step 3 -Wash the grapes!

I'msure you can figure out how to wash the grapes in a large bowl underrunning plain cold water.

Remove the grapes from the stems and pick out any stemsand leaves that became mixed in!

Step4 - Crush or chop the grapes (optional)

You can cook the grapes with out first chopping or crushing them, but I findit speeds up the process.It'sup to you! A simple potato masher (far right) works fine, or a foodprocessor (below). NOTE: If you have a electric juicer, youcan simply juice the fruit, then skip to step 7 to heat the juice toboiling.

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Step 5 - Heat the grapes on the stove

Put the grapesin a pot and add enough water to just cover the grapes. Put the crushedgrapes in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir oftenenough to prevent burning) for until it starts to boil, then reduce theheat and simmer for 10 minutes. We just want to soften the skins to helprelease the juice and break down some of the fruit to help it pass throughour juice strainer.

Note: Steam juicers greatly simplify steps 5 and 6 -see this page for steam juicers.

Step 6 - Sieve the cooked grapes

Youcan either put the soft cooked grapes through a juice strainer (about$9.00, see ordering at right) which results in the most clear juice andis easiest to use, or pour them through cheesecloth in a colander. Or ifyou don't mind chunky juice, just let the juice stand for 20 minutes,and decant (pour off) the clear liquid to use and leave the solidsbehind.

You may also want to run the crushed cooked grapes through a Foleyfood mill (about$20 - seethis page) BEFORE the juice strainer - unless you ran thegrapes through a juicer, the food mill would help to extract morejuice and separate the seeds, stems and skins that will clog thestrainer. It's not necessary, but helps you get the most out ofthe grapes.

If you need a stopping point and want to finish up the next day, thisis a good place. Sometimes, juice gets crystals, called tartratecrystals, forming in the juice. They're not harmful and don'taffect the taste, but some people don't like the appearance. Irarely even see them! But if you do, let juice stand in a in the fridgeovernight, then strain through two thicknesses of damp cheesecloth toremove any crystals that have formed.

There is also a VERY nice, versatile strainer pictured at far right!Click on the links there or see the bottom of this page for more informationand to order! The VillaWare model can handle higher volumes than a Foleyfood mill (without giving you cramps!)

Comments from a visitor on August 22, 2011: "I just thought I would tell youa cost saving item. I use the paint filters at Sherwin Williams paint storesthey are so easy and economical. They can also be washed and reused multipletimes. Yesterday I worked up about three gallons of grapes and I used the 5gallon size (they come in all sizes). "

See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on AmazonSee here for related tools, equipment, supplies on AmazonTo see a greater variety of strainers in other types, sizes, and prices, click here!

Step 7 - Polishing and further filtering

If you read the USDA's guide, they have additional steps to polish the juiceso it is crystal clear. I don't bother with these as it adds a day or twoto the process and most people like the natural look, anyway!

But if you do want the polished look, here what to do:

• Refrigerate juice from step 6 for 24 to 48 hours.
• Without mixing, shaking or disturbing it, carefully pour off clearliquid and save; discard the sediment.
• If desired, you may now strain through a paper coffee filter for aclearer juice.
• Continue to step 8.

Step 8 - Get the lids warming in hot (but not boiling) water

If you didn't do so already, put the lids into a pan of hot water for atleast several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids.

Need lids, rings and replacement jars?

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Step 9 - Sweeten (if desired) and bring to a boil

Ifind that homemade grape juice, made using sweet fresh grapes, rarelyneeds any additional sweetness. However if you have a sweet tooth orare using very tart grapes, this is the time to add your sweetener (sugar,Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, , honey, etc.).

Bring the juice to a boil.

Step 10 - Fill the jars and put the lid and rings on

Fill them to within 1/4-inch of the top, wipe any spilled juice off thetop, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put the filled jars into the canner!

This is where the jar tongs come in really handy!

Step 11 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath

Keepthe jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the waterboiling.

See the table below for the length of time to process the jarsrecommended for your altitude and size of jars used.

Step 12 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!

Liftthe jars out of the water with your jar lifter tongs and let them coolwithout touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takesovernight) You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leavethem on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in placedue to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that theyare sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press inthe center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (oftenmaking a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in therefrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace thelid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat thecontents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in thecanner, it's usually ok.

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 monthsif kept in a cool dark place, like a basem*nt..

Other Equipment:

From left to right:

1. Jar lifting tongsto pick up hot jars
2. Lid lifter - to remove lids from the potof boilingwater (sterilizing )
3. Lids- disposable - you may onlyuse them once
4. Ring- holds the lids on the jar until after the jars cool - then you remove them, save them and reuse them
5. Canning Jar funnel - to fill the jars

You can get all of the tools in a kit here:

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Comments and Feedback from Visitors

Comments from a visitor on August 09, 2010:"Question about grape juice destructions on your page:https://www.pickyourown.org/grapejuice.htm Says that I can use an electricjuicer to extract juice from the grapes. I processed some seeded grapes and theseeds acted like a grinding agent on the outside of the plastic feed tube thatextends down into the process chamber (spinning sieve). The outside diameter ofthe feed tube is quite diminished. I'm afraid processing another batch of seededgrapes will fully grind away the bottom of the feed tube. I make the suggestionto only use the electric juicer on seedless grapes."

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