Şıra (Turkish Grape Must Drink)

Şıra is a lightly sweet, non-alcoholic grape juice made from freshly pressed must, popular across Turkey especially during the fall harvest. It’s cloudy, refreshing, and nothing like store-bought grape juice.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs (1.8kg) dark seedless grapes, stems removed
• 4 cups (1L) water
• 2-3 tbsp sugar (optional, to taste)

Instructions

1. Crush the grapes
   Wash the grapes and crush them by hand or with a potato masher in a large pot.
2. Simmer gently
   Add the water and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and lightly mashing the grapes.
3. Strain the juice
   Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer into a large bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
4. Sweeten if needed
   Taste the juice and stir in sugar if a sweeter drink is preferred.
5. Chill and serve
   Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving cold over ice.

Şıra is traditionally sold fresh and unfiltered, so don’t worry if yours looks a little cloudy.