Making Grape Jelly Part 1- The Juice

Sorry for the night photos, but grape jelly is a two day affair ;) One day we make the juice, the next day we turn it into jelly.

First

Pluck the grapes, and then wash them well in cold water.

Mash them up... I do small amounts for mashing because grapes are harder to crush. I mash some, measure into the big pot, mash some more etc...

Once they are mashed, and all in the big pot...add about 1 - 1 1/2 C water for each quart of mashed grapes. (my water looks a little milky because there was grape residue in the cup)

Now cover the pot and put on medium low heat. Simmer for a couple hours, stirring every so often...and break up any grapes missed in the mashing.

Once done simmering, you should have a nice deep purple liquid. Then it is time to strain.

I put a colander into a bowl... (My friend Shawna made this colander for me, and I Love it!!)

Then I add a light weave muslin towel...

Scoop the grapes and juice into the towel, just enough to not overflow your bowl...because grape juice you know, dyes everything!

Then gather up the towel and twist some gently to press the juice out...

I then pour the juice into a large measuring cup, so that I can fill my bottles. I got almost a full half gallon of juice, which is awesome!!

This is a very concentrated grape juice for making jelly. If you would like to make juice for drinking, you can add more water, or apple juice, or pear juice...You can add a bit of sugar while it is hot liquid and then add water. It is very versatile, so add whatever other fruit juices you would like.

You can also bottle (can) this juice as is, and process for later use...

Anyways, once the juice is bottled, then I wash the outside of the bottles well (So I don't attract bears) and then set the jars outdoors over night. Here it gets down into the 40s F at night...but if you live in a warmer area you can put the juice in the fridge until morning.

Bonus you get a nice naturally tie dyed towel :)

Part 2 will be on making the jelly itself...

#diy #grapejuice #fruit #preserving #food #cooking