Note 90 — Chapter II · AMERICAN GRAPES

Grape juice is made from clean, sound but not over-ripe grapes. The juice is pressed out by machinery in commercial practice but in the home manufacture of the product, the grapes may be pressed by the hands. If a light-colored juice is desired the liquid is extracted without heating the grapes; for a red juice the pulp is heated before pressing and the grapes must be dark in color. In either case the heating is done in a double boiler so that the juice does not come in direct contact with the fire. The proper temperature ranges from 180° F. to 200° F. and must never exceed the 200° mark if the flavor of uncooked grapes is desired. After heating, the juice is allowed to settle for twenty-four hours in a glass, crockery or enameled vessel after which it is carefully drained from the sediment and strained through some sterilized filter. In home practice several thicknesses of flannel, previously boiled, will do for a filter. The liquid is then filled into clean bottles leaving room for expansion in the second heating. The bottled juice is now heated a second time after which it is immediately corked and sealed. The principles involved in making grape juice are the same as those observed in canning fruit and the operation may be varied in the former as it is in the latter if only certain fundamental processes are followed.