Why it works: Grape and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,490 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Grape Juice
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the grapes
Stem and wash the grapes, discarding any unsound or soft fruit.
Place grapes in a porcelain or granite preserving kettle with 1 pint of water for each 3 quarts of grapes.
Cook slowly for 15 to 20 minutes, skimming occasionally once boiling.
Extract the juice
Pour off the free juice and reserve the remaining juice with the fruit to strain separately.
Strain the first or clearest juice through jelly bags and label as 'extra clear.'
Pour the remaining juice and fruit into jelly bags, straining small quantities at a time.
Sweeten and bottle
Return both clear and second grade juices to separate kettles and bring to a boil.
Add 1 cup of hot sugar for each quart of juice and fill sterilized bottles immediately.
Press corks in well and store bottles where no draft will strike them.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Grape + sugartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,490 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Concord grapes
- Provide the juice, flavor and natural color of the drink.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the grapes' tartness.
- Water
- Helps the grapes soften and release their juice during cooking.
The step that matters
Skimming during the cook. Skimming foam that rises once the mixture boils removes loose pulp and impurities, keeping the juice clearer and cleaner in flavor before it is strained.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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