Canning Homemade Grape Juice (Granny's Easy Way)
Canning grape juice is one of the easiest, most rewarding ways to preserve the flavor of freshly picked grapes, and it’s a tradition many of our grandmas perfected long before store-bought juice was ever a thing. Canning homemade grape juice (granny's easy way) will guide you every step of the way.
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Large Stock Pot (non-reactive)
- Canning Jars - Quart Jars (new mason jar and lid or used jars with new lid - seal must be intact.)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Grapes
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- Water
Instructions
Step 1: Sterilizing the Mason Jars and Lids
- There are multiple ways to do this:1. Dishwasher Method - Some dishwashers have a sanitize function on the dishwasher which works well for preparing the mason jars. The downfall, however, is this can be a time consuming method.2. Oven Method - Wash the jars with soap, rinse, but do not dry. Place upside down on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 20 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit (130 degrees Celsius). Carefully remove the hot jars for canning.3. Boiling Method - Wash the jars with soap and rinse. Place jars in a large pot of boiling water (like the water bath canner) and let them sanitize for 20 minutes. Remove jars and let air dry before use.
- For the new lids - place in a small sauce pan of hot water until it is time to add them to the jars.
Step 2: Preparing the Grapes
- First, wash the grapes. Place grapes in a large pot and let them soak for about 5 minutes. Then remove the grapes from the stems - keep only the ripe good grapes and discard any with bug blemishes, any that are mushy, or any that have shriveled.
- Next, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Measure out one cup of clean whole grapes and add them to each sterilized quart jar. Using a funnel makes for less mess. Next, add the 1/2 cup of sugar to each quart jar.
- Finally, add boiling water to each jar leaving about an inch of headspace.
- Wipe jar rims with a clean damp cloth or paper towel. Using the magnet lid lifter tool, grab the jar lid from the small sauce pan, and carefully place it on the tops of the jars. Screw the rings onto the lids to ensure the lids stay in place.
Step 3: Water Bath Canning the Grapes
- Add hot water to a little over ½ of the water bath canner and bring to a full rolling boil.
- Place the jars on the inner wire rack of the water bath canner and lower jars into the boiling water. Add the lid to the canner. Process grapes for 20 minutes (quarts) in boiling water. **See notes on elevation from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
- After the processing time is up, turn off the heat and carefully remove the hot water bath canner lid. Grab the metal insert by the handles (with oven mitts) and raise the jars up, carefully hooking the handles onto the edge of the water bath canner. Let the jars sit for 5 minutes.
- Lay out a hand towel or a doubled up flour sack towel on a counter surface. This will act as a barrier between the hot jars and cool counter, preventing the counter and keeping the jars from bursting with the drastic temperature change.
- Using the jar lifter tool, carefully remove the jars from the wire insert and place them on the towel. Allow jars to sit and cool, undisturbed, for 12-24 hours.
- Test jars for airtight seals. The metal lids will not “pop” when pushed down on and will not pop off when pulled up on.
Notes
The sugar will not be dissolved at this point, the sugar will remain visible in the bottom of the jar. Don't be alarmed. The canned grapes need to rest about 6 weeks before enjoying, which is the hardest part of the process - waiting.
After the 6 week wait, the sugar will be dissolved.
When the juice is ready, the grapes can be discarded, or mashed to maximize the juice flavor and/ or enjoyed with the juice.
**Note on elevation and times from the National Center for Home Food
- 0-1000 ft : 20 minutes
- 1001-3000 ft : 25 minutes
- 3001-6000 ft : 30 minutes
- above 6000 ft :35 minutes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!