Grape Crush Recipe!

Hot, hot summer is here and I needed a quick fix to cool my already hot husband!!! My mom’s old recipe book came to my rescue (as it has many times) and today I’m going to share with you all how to make delicious grape crush right at home. My sister and I grew up enjoying this grape juice and I’m very sure you will too. Let’s jump right in.

Ingredients –
Grape juice 1 lt (made from grapes, the method is mentioned right below)
Sugar 2 kg
Water 1 lt
Citric acid 30 gm (about 6 tsp)
Tonovine essence 2 ml
Sodium benzoate (preservative) 2-3 gm or ½ – ¾ tsp

Method: Pluck the grapes and make sure you separate out the spoiled grapes. Wash them thoroughly in warm water and drain. Take the grapes into a vessel, crush them, and heat on medium flame for 15 to 20 minutes. Pass this heated grape pulp through a strainer to separate/weed out the seeds and skin. Measure the quantity of extracted juice. For every 1 liter of grape juice extract take 30 gm of citric acid and 2 kg of sugar and dissolve in 1 liter of water. Obviously it goes without saying the citric acid, sugar, water, Tonovine essence and sodium benzoate (preservative) quantity will vary depending on the quantity of grape juice extract. Heat this on medium flame till the sugar is completely dissolved and cool it till it reaches room temperature. Filter the sugar syrup through a muslin cloth or appropriate strainer in case of any impurities. Take a little of this grape juice and add Tonovine essence and sodium benzoate and mix thoroughly. Then add the remaining grape juice to this mixture and add to the sugar syrup. Stir and fill into clean sterilized glass bottles. Note – General plastic bottles are not recommended because of the preservatives used. Store in a cool and dry place for two to three days before consumption. One part of grape crush is mixed with four parts of water to make delicious grape juice.

Note: I had difficulty finding Tonovine essence and as a result I took grape essence and raspberry color and mixed them together and used. Approximately 2 kg of grapes are used to extract 1 liter of juice.