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How to make homemade grape jelly (from prepared juice)

(This recipe, which I published in 2008, is still making the rounds on Pinterest, but it didn’t have a printable recipe. Such things did not exist in 2008. So, here it is, updated with a printable.)

how to make easy grape jelly

This is kind of a cheater’s recipe for homemade grape jelly because it doesn’t involve squeezing the juice out of real grapes.

While that sort of method might produce some very tasty jelly, it’s not at all cost-efficient unless you grow your own grapes or have access to free ones somehow.

How cheap your jelly is depends on the price you pay for your ingredients. If you buy grape juice and sugar on sale and you have a coupon for pectin, it will be really, really cheap.

Plus, your homemade jelly will have no high fructose corn syrup in it (this is actually the reason I first looked into making my own).

homemade grape jelly

I got this recipe from The Hillbilly Housewife, (and it’s basically the same as the one on the insert from the pectin box) but I thought that some of you might be terrified of making your own jelly and would prefer a pictorial guide. 😉

It’s actually really, really easy. I promise.

Here’s what you’ll need:

    • 3 cups grape juice (either in a bottle or prepared from concentrate)
    • 1 package powdered pectin
    • 4 cups sugar
    • glass jars that will hold 1.5 quarts of jelly

(they don’t need to be canning jars…glass jars that used to hold fruit or applesauce, or jelly will work fine)

Combine grape juice and pectin in a saucepan (I stir it with a whisk to get rid of the lumps) and bring to a boil.

As an aside, do NOT add the sugar before you bring the pectin to a boil.

I’ve done this waaaay too many times, and it causes the jelly to not, well, gel.

After the pectin/juice mixture has come to a boil, stir in the sugar. Bring it back up to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, and boil for a full minute.

Remove from the heat. During cooking, some foam may have appeared on the top of your jelly. I like to spoon this off.

It’s harmless, but it’ll make the top of your jelly look cloudy if you leave it there.

Ladle the jelly into your clean jars, screw on the lids, and let the jelly cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge.

If you want the jelly to be shelf-stable, you can process the jars in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. I don’t mess with that usually…I store mine in the fridge, and they keep just fine.

The color of your jelly could vary depending on the grape juice you use.

In my experience, the bottled grape juice makes a more purple jelly than reconstituted grape juice does. The jars above are made from bottled juice, and the jars below are from a concentrate.

They’ll both taste good, though, so use whatever sort of grape juice you like.

Sometimes, my jelly gels right away, but sometimes it takes a while(like 6-8 hours).

So, don’t become distressed if at first it seems that all you have produced is some very sweet grape juice. Be patient, and as long as you’ve followed the recipe properly, your grape juice will have turned into jelly.

homemade grape jelly

Homemade Grape Jelly

Yield: 3 pints
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

This jelly is super easy because it's made from store-bought juice! And it doesn't even need to be canned. It makes a nice addition to a gift of homemade bread.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups grape juice (either in a bottle or prepared from concentrate)
  • 1 package powdered pectin
  • 4 cups sugar
  • glass jars that will hold 3 pints of jelly

Instructions

    Combine grape juice and pectin in a saucepan (I stir it with a whisk to get rid of the lumps) and bring to a boil.

    Do NOT add the sugar before you bring the pectin to a boil. I've done this waaaay too many times, and it causes the jelly to not gel.

    After the pectin/juice mixture has come to a boil, stir in the sugar. Bring it back up to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, and boil for a full minute.

    Remove from the heat. Spoon off any foam that has appeared.

    Ladle the jelly into your clean jars, screw on the lids, and let the jelly cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge.

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    Mary McKissack

    Wednesday 19th of February 2025

    Can you use any flavor juice concentrate with this recipe? I found some blackberry concentrate and wanted to try making blackberry jelly.

    Kristen

    Wednesday 19th of February 2025

    Yes, that should work fine!

    Jodi

    Tuesday 18th of February 2025

    I was watching a video of jelly making from an Amish woman & she said if you want to seal the jars, you don't have to put the jars in boiling water. You can do it by simply turning the jars upside down until they cool.

    rita villemure

    Tuesday 19th of November 2024

    Can u use splendor in place of sugar and will it gel?

    Kristen

    Friday 22nd of November 2024

    No, if you want to make a low-sugar or sugar-free jelly, you need to use pectin designed specifically for that purpose!

    Frisky Cat

    Tuesday 29th of October 2024

    When you state 1 pkg of pectin, I assume you are referring to the whole 1.75 oz box of powdered pectin. Am I correct? This is my first time attempting to make jelly/jams in over 50 years!! My Grandma and I used to make several batches every fall and spring.

    Kristen

    Friday 22nd of November 2024

    Yes, I use the whole box!

    Mel Mudhook

    Thursday 5th of September 2024

    I just made this with concord grapes from my yard, pressed them myself. I never used any chemicals on my grapes from pesticides to fertilizer, so I know they're clean and fresh. I used a premium less processed pure cane sugar. I'll know in the morning how it gels up.

    The only thing I would have done different would be to run it through a screen strainer after the cooking process to help remove any of the residual foam or anything that stuck to the side of the pan during the heating process. I feel like that step would have made my jam way more clear than it turned out.

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