Easy Home-Canned Grape Juice

Once upon a time, I bought a grape plant. It was labeled as a seedless green table variety. Well, they did turn out to be green, but other than that were a complete disappointment. Each grape has several huge seeds and the skin is thick and leathery. The grapes themselves are edible, but sour and hard to chew with that skin and those seeds. There was really just about nothing to do with these awful grapes and I considered ripping the plant out and cutting my losses (namely the three years it took me to get an actual crop from my original little plant). We couldn't eat them, or at least no one wanted to. I used them in my juicer and made a raw juice that was almost undrinkable in its awfulness.

But I remembered that my husband had said that his mom used to can concord grapes for juice. Naturally, this conjured up nightmarish images of me peeling grapes and then squeezing them through cheesecloth like some kind of Roman slave girl. But wait--Kip said that his mom had just put the grapes into jars with some sugar and water and canned them. Then, when they wanted the juice, they poured out the liquid and there it was.

And that, my friends, is pretty much how it is. Grapes, sugar, boiling water into a jar. Process for 25 minutes. Done. 

The first year I made these, I followed the recipe I will give you below. This recipe will give you juice at just the right sweetness and consistency. However, Kip said that his mom put more grapes into the jars and made a sort of grape juice concentrate, which they then added water to until it was just right. I liked this idea because it saved on jars and canning time. This is what I have experimented with this year (I'll let you know how it turns out later). The reason I'm telling you this is to invite you to experiment as well if you wish (or have limited jars or time for canning stuff). But if you want the tried and true recipe, then go with the one below.

There's really no way to make this picture pretty. I'm sorry about that. This stuff looks super ugly in the jars. It probably looks prettier if you have concord grapes, but even then the grapes are going to get wrinkly and pale and burst and just generally look like grumpy grape spinsters. However, once you strain them out and just have the juice, it's really perfectly normal-looking. I hope to get a pretty picture of that for you in a week or so when we can't wait any longer and open up our first jar. But until then you have these ugly pale bald grapes to look at. So, sorry.

An opinion: I realize that this has added sugar. I realize that if you go to the store and buy grape juice it will say that it's 100% juice and doesn't have any added sugar. This may lead you to believe that that juice is more healthy than this one, but I'm not so sure it is. I'm not sure how store-bought juices get their mega sweetness,but it has something to do with using a concentrate (aka--syrup, which is, yes, made from fruit, but still a concentrated sugary form thereof) and then has water re-added. It's processed and pasteurized, and I suppose that's good since you're buying it from the store, but you've lost a lot of the good stuff juice can have through that process. We've processed (cooked) our grapes too, but in this processing process, we've left on the skins and left in the seeds, which will sit there for months imparting their goodness (that's what makes for all those good anti-oxidants in wine and grape seed extract) to your juice. Anyway, sugar or no sugar I just think this is better for you. And you don't have to add the sugar. My grapes are kind of the grossest grapes ever so I do, but if yours are kind of alright, then you can leave the sugar out. If you taste the juice after it's done and decide that leaving the sugar out was a terrible mistake, you can always add it and stir it into your juice.  

Easy Home-Canned Grape Juice
adapted from Cooking, Canning, and Gardening
Makes: recipe for 1 quart sized jar--multiply as necessary
Prep time: This depends on how many grapes you have. One thing I like about this recipe is that it can be done with a small or large amount of grapes. So if a friend gives you a few clusters of extra Concords from her garden, you can whip up a few jars of this and it's no big deal. Or you can do a bunch if you've got the grapes and time/inclination for such a project. If you're doing a batch of five jars, the prep is going to be about 30 minutes if you know what you're doing and can multi-task (sterilize jars as you pluck the grapes off the stems and clean them).
Processing time: 25 minutes
Cost: My grapes are free, so I don't know what it would be if you bought them, but who buys grapes to can them? You'll also need to buy jars, but--again--if you're canning you probably already have those. Sugar is about $.05/jar, and you'll need fresh lids, which will cost a couple bucks for 12 lids.

Note on grapes: As I said above, I have no idea what kind of grapes I'm using since they were obviously mislabeled at the store where I bought them. I know that Concords work beautifully in this recipe. And I'm guessing that any grape with seeds and a thick skin is going to juice well with this process as long as it's not some crazy wild grape.

1 1/2-2 C grapes, cleaned, stems removed
1/4-1/2 C sugar
boiling water to fill the jar

Sterilize as many quart jars as you think you'll need for the amount of grapes you have. You can do this by washing them in the dishwasher or putting them in a pot of boiling water. You'll also want to sterilize your lids.

Clean your grapes. I put mine in water and rinse them off. Then you remove them from the stems (yes, friends, that is a pain, but not as much as squishing your grapes and/or putting them through some frankensteinian machine would be). As I remove them I rinse them again. You want all the dirt and bugs and spiderwebs off. (Unless spider juice is your thing--I'm not here to judge.)

Put 1 1/2-2 C worth of grapes in your sterilized jars.

Add 1/4-1/2 C sugar. (Note: You can always add more sugar after processing if you strain out your juice and find it too tart.)

Pour boiling water into your jar, leaving 1/2 inch head space.

Put your lids on. Then put your metal rings on.

Put jars into a big pot full of water to process. You should have enough water in the pot that the water is about 2 inches above the jars you're processing. You'll process (boil) for 25 minutes (so don't start the timer till the water is boiling).

Take them out and put them on the counter. The lids will pop and seal. If they don't for some reason, just put that jar in the fridge and drink it within the next couple weeks.

I think this juice is best when it's had a week or two at least to sit and do whatever it does, but you could pop one open that night and drink it if you wanted.

When you want to use this, pour the juice through a fine-mesh strainer. I wouldn't crush or press too much on the grapes--if you do, a cloudier, more potent tasting, pulpier part will come through--that's fine if you're okay with it, but if you want juice that looks like juice, not cloudy weird stuff, then just pour your juice through the strainer.

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Pear Sauce

Boy, I've been out of town and have so very very many things to write about. There's pretzel bark and the truly perfect chocolate chip cookie (yes, you heard that from me; I've committed to a cookie; I'm still freaking out about it) and a book about French children eating everything, which I'm hoping will transform my life (I kind of sort of think it will, at least a little). There are thoughts on rolling pins and peach pie. But for today, we're doing a simple little gig involving pears.

Confession: Pears on not my favorite fruit. Every once in a while I come on one that is juicy and sweet and soft, but usually I find them too hard and dull-tasting and with a slightly woody mouth feel. But. Remember my cheapskate creed: If someone gives you something healthy and it's free, you should take it, even if using it up will take some thought or creativity. So when my friend Ronnie, who has a pear tree, offered to let my kids pick a "few" pears and when my kids (especially Mark) went just a little crazy in the "few" department and we ended up with a good 30 pounds of pears, I knew I wasn't just going to ignore the dears. I figured if I could make apple sauce, I could make pear sauce. And I did.

This is great to do if you have too many pears. But it's also a good way to salvage pears that weren't that great from the store, or to make them yummier to a picky child.

The pears I used are (I believe) green D'Angou pears--one of the most mild (read: not sweet) and firm varieties, which--for me--meant that I needed to use a little sugar to sweeten the pears. Also, these needed to cook longer than the apples before they were mashable. Finally, I made a big ol' batch, which took a bit of time. To spare yourself some time, do a small batch or throw the lot into the crock pot and go read a book.

Pear Sauce
Adapted from smitten kitchen
Prep and cook times depend on how big your batch is. For the below recipe it would probably take an hour or two (if not using crock pot), but I can't say for sure since I probably tripled it.
Cost: For me, it was about $.16 for the sugar, so you'll have to figure it according to the cost of your pears.

10 lb pears, peeled and cut into cubes (or cut into whatevers as is the case with me)
1/2-1 C sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla
2-3 C water
cinnamon, opt. (I didn't use)

Note and Confession: I kind of sort of didn't write down how much water I used. Consequently the above amounts are a guess. This I can tell you: You need less than you think and you can always add more (unless you've burned your pears to the bottom of the pot; don't do that). You need just enough water to keep your pears from burning. The pears will release water as they cook so you'll get more and more moisture in the pot. Start with 1 C and then after they've cooked for a while, add more if necessary.

Peel and cut your pears. With those super firm pears, this was the peskiest step. Once peeled, here's the easiest way I know to cut a firm fruit (maybe it seems silly to talk about this, but after peeling 70,000 pears, I really cared about how fast I was moving).

Cut of the top and bottom of the pear.

Then stand your pear up.

And cut the sides off.

You'll be left with a little square core. Throw that away unless you lived through the Depression, in which case I'm sure you'll find something else to do with it.

Okay, so now that you've got your pot of cubed pear pieces, add them to a big pot (or your crock pot) . Then add your water and your sugar. See the note above about water.

Put a lid on the pot and simmer gently for as long as it takes for those pears to get mashy. Mine took forever because I basically put so many in the pot that I had to cram the lid on. Ahem.

Stir the pears occasionally (as in every 30 minutes or so if you're doing a big pot full), doing your best to bring the ones from the bottom to the top. Check your water level to make sure you've got enough so your pears don't burn.

After they're mashable, mash them. (Rocket science.) I use a potato masher. If you'd like a really smooth puree, you can put them in the blender or use an immersion blender.

Add the vanilla extract and any other spices that float your boat. Taste a bit and add more sugar if you feel it's needed (it will be slightly sweeter after cooling, just so you know).

If you wish to can them, see here for instructions (yes, it is just the same as apples). Otherwise, put them in jars or Tupperware containers and let them cool off a bit before putting them in the refrigerator. If you'd like you can freeze it as well. The sauce will keep for a couple weeks in the refrigerator and a good year in the freezer.

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Four Ways to Preserve Tomatoes

It's tomato time.

I get enough tomatoes from my garden to eat and sometimes even to roast, but today I went to my friend's super-duper-survive-Armageddon garden and picked many many pounds of gorgeous (how are they possibly that pretty?) tomatoes. And, you know, I like tomato sandwiches and all, but still...

Basically, there are 4 ways to preserve tomatoes. None are too crazy hard and some are downright easy. Here they are in order of laziness.

1. Roast. I love this method. It is super flavorful. It requires no special equipment. The end product tastes like Eden itself. And it's very versatile. You can just eat the roasted tomatoes, or add them to pasta or rice (or add them to a burger sometime; you'll be the burger gourmet among all your friends). Or use them for the base of a soup or sauce. You can puree them (which is my family's thing--the kids and Kip don't do "chunkies" alas) and use them to make incredible tomato soup or tomato sauce. You can also add onions, garlic, or whatever the heck you want when roasting. Once you've got your tomatoes or puree, you're going to put it in jars or Tupperware and freeze it. Often I use old yogurt containers for this purpose (just remember to label them, eh). I like a slow roast at 350-375. It'll take a couple of hours for a full pan and less time if you're pan isn't packed. 

2. Dry. This is easiest if you have a dehydrator. It's also easiest with Roma tomatoes or some sort of small variety, like Sweet 100's. You cut and seed your tomatoes, add some salt, and dry away. However, this is also a really good method for oven drying. They don't come out quite as dried, but are wicked good. Also, I tend to freeze my dried tomatoes. I'm always paranoid that I didn't get them quite dry enough and that I'll find them moldy halfway through winter. They don't take much space so I throw them in a Ziploc bag and put them in the freezer.

3. Freeze. With this method you're going to pretend you're canning your tomatoes. You'll boil them for about 30 seconds, then plunge them into ice water to get the skins off. You'll mash or cut them. You can salt them if you wish. But then, instead of putting them in jars to process them, you'll put them in Ziploc bags or plastic containers and freeze them. It's a little easier and less kitchen-steaming than canning. Also, you don't need as much specialized equipment as you do with canning.

4. Can. Canning has a bad reputation for being a pain in the bruhahee. And it is a couple hours of juicy work. However, it's really not that bad. Especially if you're just canning a few jars for winter delight and not canning so that you can survive the winter. I usually just do a batch or two--a batch being the 5 or 6 jars that my big pot can hold. Which brings me to another topic. Canning does require a bit of knowledge and some equipment. You'll need a big old pot and something with which to pull the jars out. You'll need Mason jars, fresh lids with seals and the screwy lid things. Also, you're going to steam up your house a bit. Is it worth it? Yes. I hadn't had home canned tomatoes for years. And then, 2 years ago, we canned some at a friend's house. Oh my. They were so so much better than store bought diced that I really couldn't believe it. Here's a good site on canning (although I also add 1 tsp salt to my quart jars for flavor, and I don't wait for my tomatoes to cool off--I plunge them into ice water).

Savory Green Tomato Relish

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on less than $10/day.

If you or your loved ones like relish (or salsa verde for that matter), I have the perfect solution for your green tomatoes. It came from Farmgirl Fare with some very small adaptations from me.

Many of her commenters said it reminded them or green salsa. This is true, although with the amount of vinegar listed, there's something distinctly relish-y about this. If you really want a salsa verde, I'd reduce the vinegar to 1/4 C or even just 2 Tbsp and maybe use lemon or lime juice instead of vinegar.

If you plan to can it, you'll want to use 1 C vinegar in order to make it nice and acidic and safe.

We used it in our taco pie the other day with a little red salsa and it was GREAT.

Savory Green Tomato Relish
adapted from Farmgirl Fare
makes 3 pints (we halved it since we are not huge relish eaters and I didn't want to can)
Prep and cook time: 30 minutes
Cost: $2.00
(tomatoes: come on, they're free, onion: .15, red peppers: .75, apple: .50, jalapeno peppers: .50; other stuff: .10)

2 lb (about 12-16 romas) green tomatoes, cored and chopped (make sure they are hard green tomatoes)
1 lb (1 large) white or yellow onion, chopped
3/4 lb sweet red peppers (2-3), cored and chopped
1/2 lb tart cooking apples (1 large) such as Granny Smith, cored and chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 C apple cider vinegar (use 1 C if you plan to can; 2-4 Tbsp if you're going for a salsa)
1/2 Tbsp salt
2 jalapeno peppers, cored and seeded (Farmgirl recommends 4, but we're weak in the heat department)
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin (optional)

Combine tomatoes, onions, peppers, apples, garlic, vinegar, and salt in a large nonreactive pot (such as stainless steel or ceramic) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to break down and it all seems thicker.

Stir in jalapenos, cilantro, and cumin and simmer for 5 more minutes. Put mixture in blender and blend until chunky (or use an immersion blender). Don't get it smooth.

This will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.

If you want to can it (I didn't so these are Farmgirl's instructions): Ladle hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes. Store in cool, dark place for up to a year.

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How to Can Applesauce

Cheap Eat Challenge, Part 2: Watch as our family of 6 eats on less than $10/day.

I made my first applesauce this summer. For it I only used the few extra apples I had that were heading south--a pound or so of apples. And I gobbled the applesauce up that day or the next. Now it's fall and I'm drowning in apples. The time has come to learn to can applesauce.

So if you could please bestow the domestic goddess award, I'd appreciate it.

'Whatever,' you say, 'canning applesauce  is, like, shockingly easy. We're saving our domestic goddess award for someone with real skills. Like cheese making.'

And it's true. Applesauce is easy to can. Who knew? You make the applesauce. You put it in clean jars with clean sealing lids. You submerge these in a big old pot of water and boil for 20 minutes.

Applesauce, Canned
makes about 6 pints
Cost: $8.00 for the batch
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

7-8 lb apples (this translates to 16-20 C of apples), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces (or so--I'm not a very careful chopper, but I can peel an apple in no time and keep the skin all in one piece. See, I do have goddess-like qualities, come on...)
2-2 1/2 C water
1-2 C sugar
several slivers of lemon rind
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon

To Make Applesauce:

Peel and chop apples. Put them in a big old pot with the water and lemon rinds. It won't look like enough water, but it is; the apples will release their juices. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10-20 minutes (yeah, I didn't keep very good track). You're going to simmer them until they are super soft. Pull out the rinds and mash the apples right in the pot with a potato masher. I get mine pretty mashed because my family has issues with chunkies. If you want yours super duper smooth, put it in the blender and give it a spin.

While it's still plenty hot, add sugar. I like to add it at the end just so I know how much I really want to put in. Start with a cup, taste it (blow it off first; it's hot, remember), and then add more sugar according to your needs. Ditto the cinnamon.

At this point you can throw it into the fridge and just eat it. Or you can be a domestic goddess like myself and can it, which is surprisingly satisfying.

To Can:

1. Clean your jars. Clean your lids and seals. People generally pour hot hot water on the lids and clean them that way.

2. Pour the hot applesauce into the hot jars (You want hot in hot so your jars don't crack or burst). Leave 1/2 inch of space at the top of the jars (Head space they call this in domestic goddess land).

3. Put the seals and lids on.

4. Submerge jars in a pot of hot water (again, hot in hot so the jars don't burst). You need enough water so you have a good two inches above the top of the jars (stick your finger in and touch the top of a jar; if at least 2 finger joints are submerged, you're okay). Note: You don't need a fancy pot. You just need a large (tall) pot. Also, I lay several butter knives on the bottom of my pot to create a sort of rack so that the bottoms of the jars aren't touching the bottom of the pot (i.e. the most direct source of heat). Is it necessary to keep your jars from cracking? Probably not, but I do it anyway. There's a rack you can buy, but I don't can enough to justify it.

5. Bring water to a boil. When water has reached boiling, let jars boil in the water for 20 minutes.

6. Remove jars from water with special jar removing device. If you don't have one, I once used a set of BBQ tongs to get mine out. It's a little trickier, but it can get the job done.

(This thing is pretty ancient. My mom gave it to me. It reminds me of my early childhood.)

7. Sometimes the lids don't seal right away, but as they cool, they will, so don't despair. If one really doesn't seal, still don't despair: put it in your refrigerator and eat it up in a couple of weeks.

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