Concord Grape Processing Tips

This year I had my best Concord grape harvest yet. I picked a total of 15 lbs of grapes from one bush. And I still had several grape bunches that I couldn't reach or left alone. However, I ended up picking too much for what I could process in my off time. I ended up throwing away about half the batch due to the grapes turning moldy before I could turn them into juice or freeze them. This post is about lessons learned for processing grapes to avoid making similar mistakes in future years.

• Grapes should ripen around mid August.
• Tools needed are some sharp kitchen scissors and a 5-gallon bucket or similar. Also some garden gloves to prevent bee stings.
• Pick early in the morning or late evening to avoid bees and wasps. They like to suck the juice out of the grapes and get active when the sun is up. Probably best to pick before 7am or after 7pm. Even during these times, watch out. I ended up getting stung by a small bee that I didn't see when I reached for a bunch to cut.
• Pick only what you can process in 2-3 days. Otherwise, the grapes will start to turn moldy.
• Each pound of grapes will produce roughly 1 cup of juice. A typical grape jelly recipe calls for 3-4 cups of grape juice so start by picking only 3-4 pounds of grapes.
• Place the bunches whole in the bucket then bring the bucket inside for further processing.
• Attempt the best you can to pick the grapes off of each bunch and throw away the stems. Also discard any dried up grapes, squashed grapes, or unripen/miscolored grapes. This is tedious but I believe the stems add an off taste to the grape juice. Some small, straggling stems attached to the grape ends are fine. They will get strained out.
• Use a large bowl and strainer to rinse the grapes. I use my salad spinner and will it with cold water with the grapes inside. Then I swirl the grapes around in the water and remove any large grape or other particles that float to the top. Strain the grapes and you are good to use in your favorite recipe.
• If you pick too many than you can use in a recipe, freeze the rest in a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container to use at a later time.