As I walk past the vines, the sweet smell of Concord grapes alert me that it is time to harvest.  When I bring my bounty home and get ready to prepare some grapey goodness, I ask my hubby which recipe he prefers; jelly, jam, puree for pie, juice… “Grape juice, grandma’s way”, he replies.

It is important for me to not only preserve our harvest, but preserve those memories he has of the farm.  My husband is fond of anything done the way they did it on the farm.  So, without delay and without an actual recipe from grandma, I begin.

Now, mind you, my husband does not cook or follow recipes.  I’m going off of stories he recollects from childhood, and for a man who doesn’t cook he does remember the steps pretty good.  The process is very simple and I’m going to experiment with the amounts of sugar, because I don’t have the actual recipe from Grandma Bossler.  I made some of the jars with ½ Cup sugar and others with 1/3 Cup sugar.  I will label them and we shall see at the time of the taste test.

Concord Grape Juice Recipe                    

• 1 Cup Concord Grapes (heaping)
• 1/3 – ½ Cup sugar
• Boiling water to fill to the rim of each jar

Soak and rinse concord grapes in cool water, then drain.  I like to add some vinegar to the water and let them soak for at least 3 minutes before rinsing and draining.  While they are soaking you can set up your canning assembly line and wash canning jars.  After washing the jars in soap and water, I place them in the dishwasher on the sanitize cycle to sterilize.

Remove stems from each individual grape and place into a container for later… depending on how many grapes you have this could be a while.  Fill each sterilized jar with 1 Cup of Concord grapes.  Add sugar to each jar then fill to the rim with boiling water.

Remove lids and rings from hot water bath and place on jars for canning.  Process jars for 15 minutes in a hot water bath.  Because I didn’t have a recipe I used the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving for a reference on how long to process my jars.  This is a great resource and canning companion!

Once the jars are processed and cooled, make sure they have sealed properly. Label and set aside for at least 4-6 weeks while the magic happens.  When you’re ready to have your Concord Grape juice – Grandma’s Way, strain juice and enjoy the grapey goodness!