Grapes in the Steam Juicer!
September 30th, 2012I made and bottled a batch of mostly Concord grapes into grape juice. This is an easy way to prepare fruit to keep on the shelf. It was still harvest time so I was very busy. Just one of the quart jars is just enough to make a batch of grape jelly later when I will have more time and a hot stove is even more welcome in our kitchen.
The night before, I put enough clean jars in the oven, and turned it on in the morning.
The day before we had willing help who picked the grapes. They took some home and left the rest. That used to be called working on shares, meaning you get part of the product in exchange for labor. It is an old fashion way of getting things done without cash.
I started the steam canner on our electric range on high at 8:30 AM. It was not completely full of grapes. The first quart was bottled at 9 AM, another at 9:15 and a couple pints at 9:20. The last bottling was one quart and one more pint and it was complete at 9:40.
Most surfaces on the MEHU-LIISA steam canner are highly polished, so it cleans up pretty easily with hot soapy water.
This article is one of several about steam juicing and bottling different fruits and there is one about the steam juicer itself. See the related articles section to the right side of this page.