Chilled Grape-Juice

A concentrated grape syrup rather than a modern bottled juice — the twenty-minute boil with sugar is what makes it keep and what makes it sweet enough to want ice in it.

• Grapes to use"Purple grapes" in an American cookbook of this period most likely means Concord or a similar slip-skin variety, which is why the skins, pulp and seeds part company so readily when heated. Seedless table grapes will not break down the same way and give a much flatter flavor.
• Cooking down the fruitAdd a little water, no more than half a cup per several pounds, and crush the grapes as they heat so they release juice before they scorch. They need only to come to a simmer and collapse, roughly 10 minutes.
• The jelly-bagA jelly-bag is a cone of closely woven cloth on a stand; a double layer of damp cheesecloth in a sieve does the same work. Let it drip rather than squeezing, or the juice turns cloudy and slightly bitter from the skins.
• Sugar proportionHalf a cup of sugar to a pint of juice is a sweet syrup by current taste. A quarter cup is closer to modern grape juice, and Concords vary enough in ripeness that it is worth tasting before you commit.
• Why twenty minutesThe long boil concentrates the juice and heats it through at the same time. If you plan to drink it within a few days, five minutes is enough to dissolve the sugar and set the color.
• Tartrate crystalsConcord juice throws gritty crystals of cream of tartar as it chills. Refrigerate the syrup overnight and pour it off the sediment before serving.
• ServingServed with chipped ice, this is meant to be diluted as the ice melts; a syrup this concentrated is better cut with an equal part of cold water or soda water. About 2 lb of grapes yields a pint of juice, enough for four glasses.