Muscadines are a wild grape (for you who are not familiar with them) that grow all over the Southeast. Growing up in Western N.C., we picked muscadines in September and Mama made juice... really more like a "juice cocktail" that was so easy to make and SO good to drink!
Here in the Midlands of S.C., at least in my yard, we have a muscadine variety that ripens earlier than I'm accustomed to... last summer was our first summer in our new home and we missed the muscadines (birds ate well!) because I was in denial that they could be ripe in July! Well they are and we picked a few recently (many are way to high up and I haven't found a way to get to them just yet... birds may beat me to them again, but I'll get the lower ones!)
Anyhow, here's how I made my juice
I heated my quart jars and lids and boiled a big pot of water...
Then...
In each hot quart jar I put...
One cup of grapes (rinsed well)
And...
One half cup of sugar
Then...
I filled each jar to within a half inch of the top with boiling water.
I tightened my hot lids and rings onto the jars (I gave them a little swish and shake to make sure the sugar dissolved)
Then I processed the jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
Mama always canned this juice in half gallon jars (so if you're fortunate enough to have half gallon jars, double the amount and go for it!) My brother still cans this juice every September, and in the same tradition as Mama, he doesn't let anyone open a jar until Thanksgiving! We always have Muscadine Juice on Thanksgiving.
The juice does need to sit for at least two months so the juices and sugar can blend... it starts out a pale barely pink color, but within a few weeks begins to darken to a gorgeous deep ruby red. And it's so yummy!
When it comes time to drink the juice, we strain out the grapes and enjoy the yummy juice!
We have always made this from our local wild muscadines, but the same method can be used with any grape... and maybe other fruits. Dunno, never tried it!
 |
| Muscadine Juice after sitting for a week... it will continue to darken and strengthen the flavor. |
When it is time to drink the juice, do you also eat the grapes?
ReplyDeleteWe usually just strain them out. ~~Granny
Deleteiv heard that the grapes are good in plain yogurt
DeleteI grow muscadines and make wine out of them. But I have so much that I will make juice also. The skins on muscadines are thick and thats why they make great wine.The grape itself is very sweet and tasty.
DeleteWOW i'm in Fayetteville NC and I am trying this ASAP! TYVM.
ReplyDeleteThere are some in the stores now but it will be a while yet before they are ripe here.
ReplyDeleteIm just picking all mine now at the first of October in Virginia when they are at their darkest, a dark purple. A lot of people make wine with the redder muscadine, they really need the darkest color because it makes the best juice ever.
DeleteGranny, when I was younger I always remember my daddy making muscadine (we pronounce it muskedime...lol) jelly and wine! This was my favorite jelly growing up! I live in Rhode Island for now but can't wait to get back down south to (hopefully) get some of this jelly!
ReplyDeleteThis spring we transplanted a muscadine plant from a rental property to our yard here at home. It had NOT been taken care of at all so there were lots of trimmings. Now we have 1/2 doz trimmings that rooted and the Momma plant is doing fabulous! Might have to wait until year after next for grapes though.......Maybe I will go out and fertilize tomorrow to give that Momma plant a little incentive.
ReplyDeleteI grow muscadines on our NC prperty and the general rule is "grape vines like to struggle". I fertilized mine only once and the crop was almost non-existant but the vines grew tremendously!!
DeleteI grow muscadines on our NC prperty and the general rule is "grape vines like to struggle". I fertilized mine only once and the crop was almost non-existant but the vines grew tremendously!!
DeleteHere in Wisconsin we have wild grapes growing all over! Are these what you are referring to? Ive never heard them called this. I make my concord grape juice this same way & would love to try doing the wild grapes!!
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think muscadines grow in Wisconsin, they're pretty much a Southeastern only grape, but I'm sure you have your own wild grapes and any variety of grape would work with this recipe. ~~Granny
Deletethanks, i will give em a try. I might need to use more sugar. I stumbled upon your blog and absolutely love it! Im gonna try a few of your recipes!!
DeleteIll bet it is muscadines or scupanongs. There are over 100 varieties of these wild grapes. The skin is thick and they have seeds. My favorites are the bronze variety. I don't know the scientific name.
Deletehaha, granny poor, haha
ReplyDeletecannot wait to do this! I have been given access to someones vinyard and I can pick all I can stand to have. Making jelly now but this juice is on my list gotta go back and pick again!!
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing the reference to Western North Carolina! I have been here my entire life (far west NC!!) Just found this website and have recommended it to friends. Love it!!!
ReplyDeleteI found this in an old book a few years ago..i have concord grape vines..i do this so simple and fast..sometimes i use splenda instead of sugar ,,turns out fine
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion (as a health coach), stick to sugar over artificial sweeteners. (Due to the major insulin response caused by the artificial sweeteners). My two cents. Enjoy the juice...making mine right now! :)
DeleteMy suggestion (as a health coach), stick to sugar over artificial sweeteners. (Due to the major insulin response caused by the artificial sweeteners). My two cents. Enjoy the juice...making mine right now! :)
DeleteHow long would you process this in half gallon jars? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI would do 25-30 minutes for half gallons. ~~Granny
DeleteWould you still only put in a cup of grapes? Or maybe double the amount of grapes and sugar? Looks so good and easy. This would be a great idea to do in the fall and then in the winter break out the juice and make your juice.
DeleteLove your site and FB page also. Thanks for all the great recipes and information.
I assume this would work for Scuppernongs too? Do you bruise the grapes at all or just put them in whole but clean? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYes, it would work for any grape. I've done it both ways, bruised and whole... doesn't seem to make much difference in the finished product. ~~Granny
DeleteI wonder- once you drink it, can the strained grapes be turned into fruit leather? Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteSB
Hmmm... don't see why not. ~~Granny
DeleteI used this recipe for some back in 1989 and still have 2 jars I can't stand to think of opening. A gentleman who passed away in 92 let me and my(young then) children pick them. We used many jars but when I found these I just couldn't resist putting them back on the shelf for another year. Still sealed and refreshing looking. Waxhaw,NC
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat way to get the juice! Tried first time today. Many of the muscadines 'popped' after processing and some released seeds/pulp. Will it just require straining when open or will it affect the taste? Regardless, it's so simple, and I didn't find any other websites that did it this way. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt's normal for some of the grapes to pop... will actually add to the intensity of the flavor, and easily strained out after opening. ~~Granny
DeleteCould you maybe use honey instead of sugar?? Just trying to think of a self sufficient sort of way for doing this or maybe just omit the sugar all together??
ReplyDeleteYou could use honey instead of sugar... I'm thinking since it's more of a juice cocktail, it might not be good with no sweetener at all. ~~Granny
DeleteI use stevia and it works well
DeleteWhat about with cranberries. Cranberry juice is so pricy around here. I would probably crush them some first.
ReplyDeleteMmmmm... yes! Cranberries would do great! May have to make some myself now! ;) ~~Granny
DeleteWell, Granny--here I am 2 years later still canning cranberry juice (I learned how not to be anonymous too). Thought I'd up date in case others want to try cranberry juice. First time around I simply traded the grapes for cranberries. We all liked it very much--but we prefer it stronger; so this time I
Deletedoubled the amount of fruit (2 C/ qt) but kept the sugar (1/2 C/qt) the same. I will let you know how we like it. Eventually I would like to make a cranberry concentrate so it doesn't take up as much space. I bought 36 lbs of cranberries (3lbs for cranberry sauce, 33 lbs for juice). So--- 33 lbs of cranberries made 78 quarts of juice! I can hardly wait 2 months. Feb 19, 2015 is Chinese New Year & this will be an awesome red addition.
Next year I will try 1C grapes, 1C cranberries, 1/2 C sugar per quart jar.
These came out perfect with 2C berries/qt & 1.2C sugar/qt. Next up--using apple juice instead of water & reducing the sugar to 1/4 C/qt. Can hardly wait for cranberry season.
Deletecould I cover them with water and boil to make juice for jelly?
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Hi Granny!
ReplyDeleteI tried this with half-gallon jars, and I put up six gallons. It was sooooo easy! I brought 3 gallons to the annual party, and ohmygosh it was SOOOO GOOD!!!
This is a truly spectacular beverage!
Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I'm a writer for the "You've Got to Taste This" blog on MyRecipes.com and featured this recipe today with some links back to you. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily!!!!! ~~Granny
DeleteGranny, I cannot tell you how over joyed I am that I stumbled onto your site. I have looked for this recipe for years. My great aunt Sallie made the white or (Scupp.) grape juice in 1/2 gallon jars and kept hem in her spring house. The highlight of a visit with her was when she opened a jar. DELICIOUS. And cold. That was over 60 years ago and Now that I have found your site I can try my Bronze Scupp. and my Black Mucadines this way....Thanks
ReplyDeleteI've been making Muscadine jelly for the last several years. This looked like a winner to me so I am in the process right now of canning 12 Qtrs. Can't wait to taste it this fall.
ReplyDeleteCan you make this with coconut sugar and red grapes from the garden? Not wild grapes?
ReplyDeleteI've made it with regular grapes as well, works great! I've not tried it with coconut sugar, but I don't see why not... go for it! ~~Granny
DeleteThanks for your reply Granny. Just wanted to make sure. You do leave the sealed lids on when you let them sit for 2 months, right? Very excite to try this. We have a bumper crop of grapes this year due to our long, hot summer in B.C. Canada
ReplyDeleteYes! ~~Granny
DeleteHi Granny! I'm in Western N Carolina (Haywood Co). Thanks for the recipe. A friend of the family gave me the recipe but it called for a cup of sugar for a quart. I have Scupernongs on my vines right now and am looking at more juice and wanting to make wine. Do you have a recipe for wine?? Thanks
ReplyDeleteI just Googled "making muscadine wine" and pulled up several recipes and chose from those. ~~Granny
DeleteI made a batch tonight but am wondering where the best place to store the jars may be (refrigerator, pantry)? Love your site!
ReplyDeletePantry, no need to refrigerate. ~~Granny
Deletecan you use the canned juice the next year to make jelly?
ReplyDeletecan you use the canned juice the next year to make jelly?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't, too much water content. This is more of a juice cocktail or "muscadine tea" than a true juice. ~~Granny
DeleteI made this and we LOVED it at Thanksgiving last year. I somehow failed to see 2 quarts..... are they still ok to drink? Dated 8/14/15. Thanks so much for sharing, Lisa from South Alabama
ReplyDeleteOh yes, this stuff is good pretty much indefinitely. ~~Granny
DeleteI made about 12 quart jars of this juice about 3 weeks ago. In 3 of the jars the juice has turned cloudy, almost white. Does this indicate microorganisms growing due to contamination? Or would there be another reason for the white cloudiness. The it her jars are all clear. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWas wondering if this is a sweet grocery store type juice or a fermented type? I
ReplyDeleteSweet grocery store type... not fermented at all. ~~Granny
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing! I tried this and it turned out wonderful!!!
DeleteI was wondering how long you can keep it unopened,but you answered it above.thanks.
ReplyDeletecan you do this with the white(light green)also? I want to thank you for your blog on canning found it by accident and glad i did.now we can try some more things that you have here.
cc
Thank you for bringing back so many memories. Our vine is very old and way up in the pines. The deer have ate well and left several signs for being there. I am making about 4 quarts today. I did a half gallon jar a few weeks ago. So glad I found that old jar. Never open a jar until Thanksgiving and it's even better at Christmas. Growing up in the mountains we used it for communion. I now live in SC Upstate and new this was my home when I found the vines.
ReplyDeleteI made this 4 weeks ago and a couple jars the lids buldged out with pressure after sealing. I opened and it fizzed like carbinated drink. Whats going on what went wrong.
ReplyDeleteWas looking to see if anyone had tried other berries and the only thing I found was one with cranberries. I imagine these are the commercial ones available in the store not the highbush ones. We are trying one jar of our Saskatooons. we use them for things instead of blueberries. Kind of similar and not.
ReplyDeleteGood information share about Juice Recipes for health benefit
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for this recipe. My husband enjoyed this as a child and I want to make it as a surprise.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if this can be done without any sugar or sweeteners? I know it won't taste good just like that....can't have sugar or artificial sweeteners so want to be able to can it and sweeten as needed when I open it up. Nope....can't use honey either. Thanks in advance!!
ReplyDeleteHow long is it good after you open it?
ReplyDelete