How to Make Grape Juice

Homemade grape juice is made without chemicals and preservatives, making it a healthy choice as you can be sure of the ingredients. It's not too difficult to make grape juice from scratch and once you've tried it the first time, you'll improve with practice.

Ingredients

Concord grapes (or grapes of your choice)

Steps

1
Remove the grapes from their stems.
2
Wash the grapes. Put all the grapes in a colander and rinse them in warm water. This will help to get rid of the pesticides and chemicals used to grow them.

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3
Mash up the grapes. Use a potato masher until their juice begins to come out.
- An alternative to using a potato masher is to use a blender on pulse. Be sure not to blend them to a puree though.
4
Cook the grapes. Put the mashed grapes in a pot and cook them on medium heat for around 10 minutes.
- Mash up the grapes using a spoon or a potato masher if they start clumping up or retain their chunkiness.
5
Strain the juice. Put the sieve over a container or directly to a drinking glass. Pour the grapes into the sieve and then strain the mixture through.
- An alternative to using the sieve is using a cheesecloth. Put the cheesecloth over the pot and strain the mixture through (you might need to fold the cloth over twice).
- If you have a food mill, this would work beautifully.
6
Cool the juice. Remove the sieve or cheesecloth and put the juice in the refrigerator so it can cool, or pour the juice over ice in a drinking glass.
7
Finished.

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Community Q&A

Question

Can I freeze grape juice?

Community Answer

Yes, you can freeze grape juice.
Question

Do I need to add sugar?

Community Answer

Sugar is optional. If the juice is lacking sweetness, add sugar to taste.
Question

Should I add water while heating the grapes?

Steven Wolford

Community Answer

I put all my grapes in a big pot, mash them with a potato masher, and then add just enough water to cover them. You should not need more than 1-2 cups of water.
Question

After the grapes are turned into juice, do I need to can the juice to preserve it?

Community Answer

No, however it will last longer canned. It should last a week or two if you store it in the fridge.
Question

How can I separate the seeds from grape juice if I don't have a sieve?

Community Answer

Grapes seeds are usually very small and can't harm you. If you really do want to remove all the seeds, though, you can take a thin piece of cloth that water could easily flow through and place it over a bowl. pour the grape juice slowly over the cloth and the seeds should rest on top of the cloth while the juice flows through to the bowl.
Question

Can the seeds get smashed while making grape juice?

Community Answer

It's possible, but check for the big ones. When draining the juice from the grapes, the seeds won't go through.
Question

Can I mash the grapes with my feet instead of with the potato masher?

Community Answer

You can, but you will regret it as the acid from the grapes will start to burn or irritate your feet.