I know this is kinda an old thread but I have been concentrating tangerine and grapefruit juice lately. I juice the fruit and freeze in jugs (separately) and once the jugs freeze, I pull them out and allow to partially defrost. I can then prop them upside down to pour off the sweeter juice while the water stays frozen longer. Once the stuff dripping out of the previously frozen jug seems to be more water than fruit juice, stop and dispose of the rest of the ice. I've found that if I mix the two different concentrates together I get a really sweet strong juice that doesn't take up as much space in the freezer. I have not been diluting this juice before drinking but I suppose some people might want to. I guess it might be possible to freeze and do the thaw concentrate operation again and get an even stronger concentrate but I don't know how effective it will be in subsequent runs.

Thanks, Dave. Although mayhaws do grow in bogs and wetlands, they also grow beautifully in well-drained soil. We are fortunate to have good sandy loam at our place, even though most of our area has awful black gumbo clay. My parents told stories of going with their parents to scoop up the mayhaws with nets from the wet, boggy areas, but they planted mayhaws in their yard many years ago. They make a very tasty, unique jelly that is crystal clear deep red. The mayhaw is very tart. It's a beautiful tree, especially in the spring when it is full of white blooms. Since I forget that other parts of the country may not know what a mayhaw is, I found this off the mayhaw.org website: "The mayhaw (crataegus opaca) is a fruit about 1/2" to 1" in diameter. Ripe from mid-April through early May, its fruit color varies from bright red to reddish yellow. It is not a desirable berry for eating raw." "The mayhaw is a Hawthorne native to the southeastern states that is normally a 20 - 30 foot tree at maturity. Usually found in low, wet, slightly acid areas, mayhaws produce best on good upland soils in full sun." "The mayhaw normally flowers in February and March. Ball-shaped at maturity, the mayhaw tree makes a beautiful ornamental." "Historically, Mayhaws have been harvested in backwoods sloughs, swamps, and river bottoms. Boats are sometimes utilized in the harvest of wild mayhaws. Limbs are shaken over the boat and nets are used to scoop them out of the water. Accessibility has dwindled over the years as developers have cleared the woodlands. Commercial and home orchards are now being created with grafted mayhaws." My grandmother used to make a delicious mayhaw cake, which was about 6-8 very thin layers of plain cake and mayhaw jelly. While still warm, she used a toothpick to poke holes in the first layer, pour warm melted mayhaw jelly over it, added the second layer, poked holes, poured jelly, and repeated until finished. The top layer was dusted with powdered sugar. I'm making my mouth water just thinking about it! I have a feeling I won't have enough juice left to can it for drinking. :-) Jill

Yes, perectly OK. They also sell frozen grape juice concentrate in stores. Its the Welches brand.

My guess is that you got some less-than-flavorful lemons. Although I don't have the lemons that Beachlily has, I do get lemons on sale and I freeze them whole for lemonade later or I juice them and freeze the juice. I don't notice a big difference in the flavor of the juice after it's frozen but I do notice a big difference between the commercially bottled stuff and fresh/frozen lemon juice. The bottled stuff is sour and acidic, while the fresh stuff is tart and, well, fresh tasting. I do love lemon, so I usually use more juice than called for and toss in some zest for extra insurance! Annie