The Concord variety is chiefly used for the manufacture of grape juice. The grape are washed in acid or alkaline solution, then in water to remove spray residues, then destemmed and crushed by mechanical means.
The crushed grapes are heated to about 180 F to extract pigment from the skins, after which the heated materials subjected to mechanical pressure while enclosed on cotton press cloths. The juice is then filtered, pasteurized by heating to 1790 F, and stored in bulk in covered tanks at about 40 F. This provides for the separation of tartaric acid slats.
The juice is then siphoned off from the tartrate and treated with enzymes, which break down pectin, or with casein for purposes of clarification. It is then filtered and bottled. The bottles are capped and then pasteurized by heating in water at 170 F for 30 min.
To produce grape juice concentrate, grape juice is subjected to heat and evaporation until concentrated. Volatile components can be recovered from the process, and they can be added back to the concentrate. The concentrated juice may be frozen in retail sized containers, or it may be shipped in large tanks to food processors for remanufacturing process.
In most commercial operations, the continuous pressing method is used. Hot pressing is appropriate for deeplypigmented grapes where maximum colour extraction is desired. Whereas, the immediate orcold press procedure is necessary to maintain the initial colour of light coloured grapes.
Processing and production of grape juice
