Buyer's Guide to Grapes

[Flash]

GRAPES


FRESH GRAPES


Season: All year. Best grape supplies are available from July to November.

Organic Issues: Grapes are extremely sensitive to moisture, developing mold, mildew, fungus, as well as being susceptible to pests. They may also be sprayed with a growth stimulator. Organic grapes are less common than other organic products because of the difficulties presented, and may be more expensive than other organic products.

Look for: Plump, fresh-looking grapes with individual berries firmly attached to stems. A high color for the variety usually means good flavor. Avoid grapes with dry, brittle stems or any that are shriveled or leaking moisture and staining carton. Grapes should be plump and firm.
How to Store: refrigerate fresh grapes up to 1 – 2 weeks, discard any that have softened.


FROZEN GRAPES

To Freeze from Fresh:
Preparation:

Whole grapes. Choose fully ripe, firm, sweet grapes. Sort, stem and wash. Leave seedless grapes whole; cut table grapes with seeds in half and remove seeds. De-stem, wash and place in freezer bags or containers.

Purée: Wash, stem and crush the grapes. Heat to boiling. Drain off free juice and freeze it separately. Remove seeds and hulls with a colander. Add ½ cup sugar to 1 quart (2 pounds) purée. Pack into containers, leaving headspace. Seal and freeze.

Juice: Crush grapes. Add 1 cup water per gallon crushed grapes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain juice through a jelly bag. To remove tartrate crystals, let stand overnight in refrigerator or other cool place. Pour off clear juice for freezing. Discard sediment. Pour juice into containers, leaving headspace. Seal and freeze. If tartrate crystals form in frozen juice, they may be removed by straining the juice after it thaws.

How to Store: Store in the freezer (0F): 6 – 12 months


DRIED GRAPES (Raisins)

How to Store: Dried raisins store well at room temperature for up to four months, or may be frozen indefinitely.

[jujubee]

Buyer's Guide to Grapes

Imported grapes are listed at #10 on the dirty dozen list.

Domestic grapes are listed at #21 on the dirty dozen list.

Most table grapes available in food stores are of the European type, grown principally in California and Arizona. Only small quantities of Eastern-grown American-type grapes are sold for table use.

European types are firm-fleshed and generally have high sugar content. Common varieties are Thompson seedless (an early, green grape), Red seedless (an early, red grape), Tokay and Cardinal (early, bright-red, seeded grapes), and Emperor (late, deep-red, seeded grapes). These all have excellent flavor when well-matured.

American-type grapes have softer flesh and are juicier than European types. The outstanding variety for flavor is the Concord, which is blue-black when fully matured. Delaware and Catawba are also popular.

Look for: Well-colored, plump grapes that are firmly attached to the stem. White or green grapes are sweetest when the color has a yellowish cast or straw color, with a tinge of amber. Red varieties are better when good red predominates on all or most of the berries. Bunches are more likely to hold together if the stems are predominantly green and pliable.

Avoid: Soft or wrinkled grapes, or bunches of grapes with stems that are brown and brittle; these are the effects of freezing or drying. Also avoid grapes with bleached areas around the stem ends (indicating injury and poor quality), and leaking berries (a sign of decay).

Source: USDA

[jujubee]

When buying grapes, I always open the plastic bag and pull out the bunch by the top stem. If a lot of grapes have already fallen off into the bag, I move on. (A few is to be expected, but if it's a handful or more, it's too many.)

Grapes can be refrigerated in a loose plastic bag, and rinsed with cold water when ready to eat.