How to Make Grape Juice

Square side shot of homemade grape juice in a bottle.

5 from 5 votes

An old-fashioned method for turning concord grapes into rich, sweet juice using nothing but sugar and boiling water! The jars are shelf-stable for a year, so a September afternoon of picking keeps you in grape juice all winter.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword concord grape juice, grape juice recipe, homemade grape juice, how to can grape juice, how to make grape juice

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Resting Time 30

Total Time 30 20

Servings cups

Calories 137kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Equipment

1 (1-quart) mason jar, with a new lid and ring (or more jars as needed)
Canner or deep stockpot
Canning tongs
Fine mesh sieve

Ingredients

1 cup concord grapes, rinsed and stems removed
½ cup granulated sugar
4 cups boiling water (approximately)

Instructions

Prepare a 1-quart canning jar, new lid, and ring according to the manufacturer's directions for sterilized jars. Keep the jar and lid hot until you fill them. Place the grapes in the hot jar and add the sugar.
Pour boiling water into the jar until it's about half to two-thirds full, then stir well until the sugar dissolves completely.
Add enough additional boiling water to fill the jar, leaving ¼ inch of headspace at the top. Wipe any drips from the rim and sides with a clean damp cloth.
Cover with a hot lid and tighten the ring firmly. Repeat with as many jars and grapes as you like. Set the jars on a rack in a canner or deep pot of boiling water, covered by at least 1 to 2 inches of water, and boil for 10 minutes.
Remove the jars with canning tongs and set them on a towel or rack to cool overnight.
When completely cool, check the seals. Each lid should be down in the center and stay down when pressed. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark, dry place for at least 3 months and up to 1 year.
When you're ready to use the juice, strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve, discard the solids, and refrigerate the juice in a clean jar for up to 1 week.

Notes

Scale it one jar at a time. Make a single jar from a small picking or fill a dozen if the vines were generous. The ratio stays the same.
Want juice today? Simmer 4 cups of stemmed grapes with ½ cup of water for about 10 minutes, strain, and sweeten to taste. Fresh juice is brighter and more tart, and it must be refrigerated or frozen rather than stored in the pantry.
Concord grapes: They carry the flavor compound behind classic grape juice and give it the deep purple color. Other varieties will taste noticeably lighter.
Always use new lids. Rings can be reused, but a reused lid is the most common cause of a failed seal.
Sugar is adjustable. Start at ¼ cup per quart for a less sweet juice. The sugar helps draw out the juice but is not what makes the jars shelf-stable, so reducing it doesn't affect safety.
Floating grapes are normal. Some jars settle with the fruit at the top and some at the bottom, depending on how much sugar has dissolved into the surrounding liquid. As long as the jar is sealed, the juice is fine.
Half-gallon jars: use 2 cups of grapes and 1 cup of sugar per jar, and process for 15 to 20 minutes.
Yield: each quart jar gives you roughly 3½ to 4 cups of strained juice.
Storage: sealed jars keep for up to 1 year in a cool, dark place. Jars that don't seal go in the refrigerator and should be used within 3 weeks.
Signs to discard a jar: bulging lid, bubbling, or a yeasty or winey smell on opening. Any of these mean the seal failed. Throw it out without tasting it.

Nutrition