Greek Fresh Grape Juice (Moustos-Style)
Fresh juice pressed from ripe red grapes and strained through cheesecloth, in the spirit of Greek harvest-time must (moustos). It's sweet and bright with a deep ruby color. A little water keeps it from being syrupy.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- —
- Wait
- 2 hr 30 min
- Total
- 2 hr 55 min
- Makes
- About 4 cups (1 liter), 4 servings
Steps
Before you start
- Choose fully ripe, deeply colored, sweet grapes. Seedless or seeded both work, but taste a few first because the juice will only be as sweet as the fruit.
- Chill the water and a serving pitcher so the juice is cold when it's done.
- Wash your hands, bowls and cheesecloth well. Fresh juice has no preservatives and spoils quickly.
- Plan about 2½ hours of mostly passive time for chilling and settling.
Wash the grapes
- Pull all grapes off the stems and discard stems and any shriveled or moldy grapes.
- Rinse the grapes in a colander under cool running water, tossing with your hands, for about 1 minute.
- Drain well.
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Ready when: Water runs clear and grapes are free of stems and debris.
Tip: Discard any moldy grapes, since one bad grape can taint the whole batch.
Crush the grapes
- Put the grapes in a large 3-quart (3 L) bowl in 2 batches.
- Mash each batch firmly with a potato masher for 2 to 3 minutes, pressing down and twisting, until every grape has burst.
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Ready when: No whole grapes remain and the bowl is full of pulpy, dark juice with skins floating in it.
Tip: Crush gently rather than pulverizing so seeds don't break and release bitterness.
Rest the crushed grapes
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the crushed grapes for 30 minutes.
- This helps the skins release more color and flavor into the juice.
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Ready when: Juice is deep ruby and pooled around the pulp.
Strain through sieve
- Set a fine-mesh sieve over a clean bowl.
- Pour in the crushed grapes in 2 or 3 additions and press the pulp with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice as you can.
- You should have about 3 cups (720 ml) of cloudy juice.
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Ready when: Pulp in the sieve looks dry and clumped, with little juice dripping.
Strain through cheesecloth
- Line the clean sieve with 2 layers of cheesecloth and set it over the pitcher.
- Pour the juice through slowly.
- Gather the cloth corners and gently squeeze to get the last juice out.
- Discard the solids.
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Ready when: Juice is clear of skin and seed fragments, with only a fine haze.
Tip: Don't wring hard, or fine sediment will pass through and cloud the juice.
Dilute and sweeten
- Stir in ½ cup (120 ml) cold water.
- Taste.
- If the juice is too tart, whisk in the honey until dissolved, about 30 seconds.
- Add another splash of water if it tastes too intense.
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Ready when: Tastes sweet and balanced, grape-forward but not syrupy.
Tip: Add the water a little at a time. You can add more but can't take it out.
Chill and settle
- Cover the pitcher and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the juice gets very cold and fine sediment settles to the bottom.
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Ready when: Juice is cold to the touch and a thin layer of sediment sits at the bottom.
Serve
- Stir the juice gently, or pour carefully to leave the sediment behind.
- Serve in glasses over ice, if you like.
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Ready when: Juice is cold, ruby-colored and mostly clear.
Good to know
Tips
- Taste your grapes before you start. Very sweet grapes need no honey and can take the full amount of water.
- Don't crush the seeds hard, because they add bitterness.
- A blender pulsed 3 or 4 times in short bursts can replace the masher, but strain more carefully since the juice will be thicker.
- Serve within a day or two for the freshest flavor.
Make ahead
"Make the juice up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Stir gently before serving."
Storage & reheating
"Refrigerate in a sealed jar or bottle for up to 3 days. Natural yeasts can start fermenting it, so discard it if it smells sour or fizzes. To freeze, leave 1 inch (2.5 cm) of headspace and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and shake or stir before drinking."
Substitutions
- ripe red grapes → Concord grapes or green/white grapes. Concord gives a stronger, more tart juice, so use the full water amount. Green grapes make a paler, milder juice.
- honey → Sugar or maple syrup. Use 2 teaspoons of sugar, stirred until dissolved, or an equal amount of maple syrup.
- cold water → Sparkling water. Add just before serving for a fizzy spritzer. Don't add it before chilling.
- ice cubes → A few lemon slices. A squeeze of lemon brightens very sweet juice.