Grape Juice Tradition

My Grandma (I call her Oma) has been making grape juice from the grapes in her backyard for decades. It's the most decadent juice I've ever tasted; rich with flavor as well as memories. One sip takes me back to visiting Oma in the summers as a child.

Well, this season, Oma was gracious enough to pass on the tradition to Mutti and me. What follows may be boring to most-it's just a step by step explanation of the art of grape juice making as per Oma. For me, its a bit of family history. :)

STEP ONE: HARVEST THE GRAPES

Opa (my grandfather) kindly did the harvesting the day before. Here's Rudy checking to be sure Opa was thorough. Not a grape in sight. :) Oma says its best if you can keep the grapes on the vine until the weather turns cool for a few days. She says that helps the grapes sweeten up.

STEP TWO: SOAK THE GRAPES IN COLD WATER IN THE SINK TO GET THE GRIME OFF.

Oma would run the water every once in a while and scoop the floating gunk off into the other side of the sink.

STEP THREE: PICK GRAPES OFF STEMS

Discard any green or shriveled ones. This step takes a lot of time, but is a great chance to catch up on family conversation. :)

STEP FOUR: SIMMER GRAPES UNTIL MUSHY AND THE JUICE HAS BEEN RELEASED

Oma fills a pot up with grapes until it's about 2 inches from the top. Then she fills the pot with water just to be even with the grapes, no higher. Then you just stir off and on until you've got grape goop.

STEP FIVE: STRAIN THE GOOP

Pour the goop into jelly bags over a bowl, and allow the juice to drip down at it's own pace. DON'T PUSH IT TO HURRY IT THROUGH. You may knock the bag over (a very messy occurrence-trust us) or at least you'll push sediment through that wouldn't have gone through otherwise. Oma just keeps adding more and more goop as new batches get ready, and lets the weight of the new goop do all the pressing. She also uses a spare bowl so that she can transfer the bag over the spare while she pours the juice into jars. This is a great practice of patience for me, coming from a generation of 5 second commercials and high speed Internet.

drip...

drip...

drip...

The resulting juice is so smooth, it's totally worth it, though.

STEP SIX: ADD SUGAR TO NARROW MOUTH MASON JARS AND ADD JUICE

Oma uses narrow mouth jars because they're easier to pour the juice out of when you want to drink it. She adds 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of the grapes. She fills the jars up to just past the first line around the mouth of the jar with juice and spoons any foam off the top.

STEP SEVEN: PROCESS THE JUICE

I don't have a picture for this one 'cause I was busy feeding Rudy his lunch by that point. Oma uses a water bath canner, but I'm sure you could steam can it too.

TA DA! A bit of family history "preserved". Ha ha ha. :)