Grape Juice

A short, workable method for unfermented grape juice, written for slip-skin American grapes at the height of their season. The main thing the original leaves out is what happens after bottling.

• Quantities in modern termsA gallon of grapes is roughly 6 to 7 lb of fruit. Three pints of water is 6 cups. Expect somewhere in the region of 2 quarts of finished juice.
• The grape mattersA method of this kind assumes slip-skin American grapes of the Concord type: strong perfume and high acid, which is why a splash of water and a short boil are enough to draw the color and flavor. Table grapes such as Thompson seedless give a thin, flat juice.
• "When it boils" is the hingeBring the fruit and water just to a boil and no further; long boiling extracts bitterness from skins and any stray stem, and dulls the fresh flavor. The grapes should have burst.
• StrainingUse a scalded jelly bag or a double layer of cheesecloth in a colander and let it drip. Squeezing the bag forces pulp through and gives a permanently cloudy juice.
• Sweetening"To taste" is genuinely open here, since ripe Concords vary widely. Half a cup of sugar to the quart suits most palates; less if the fruit is fully ripe, and none at all if the juice is destined for cooking.
• Tartrate crystalsGrape juice throws gritty crystals of cream of tartar as it stands. Chilling the strained juice overnight and pouring it carefully off the sediment before the final ten-minute cook gives a clearer bottle.
• Bottling and keepingThe recipe stops at "seal in bottles," with no processing time given. Filled hot and refrigerated, the juice keeps a week or two, and it freezes well. For shelf-stable jars, follow a current tested water-bath canning procedure rather than sealing and setting aside.