I like grapes.
No, strike that.
I love grapes.
And oh, what a cruel love it can be, because grapes are fickle, fragile things. The bag of red organic calling to you mysteriously goes soft and mushy once it’s in your fridge; the many grapes at the bottom of the bag, so promising when you bought it, are revealed as muddled and sopping and sad when you pop them into your mouth. But when you time it right–and when you’re gentle with them, coddling them from bag to sink to serving bowl–you get the best, healthiest, tastiest fruit snack on God’s green earth.
I recall sitting back on my heels in a Japanese vineyard, eyes dull and half-lidded, my face and hands awash in sticky juice. My movements were smooth and efficient: Pick grape. Peel grape. Devour grape. We paid to eat our fill for half an hour, and when we reached thirty-five minutes I was carrying a purloined–and rapidly shrinking–handful back to the tour bus. This, I thought to myself, is all I need forever.
We need more grape recipes. We need more grape cocktails. We need more grape everything.
For the time being, I will look sadly at my now-empty grapevine.
And know that next time I’m in the produce section, I get to fall in love all over again.
-Jim is getting the Halo junkie itch.
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My doctor asked me once what one food I couldn’t give up if I had to give up all others. She expected me to say chocolate, or ice cream — and she was gobsmacked when I said grapes!
Posted by Lydia at September 25th, 2007, 5:34 pmThey’re, um, pretty good fermented too. (Sorry, I think that was the Pinot Noir talking).
Even grocery store grapes are good, but the best are the fancy schmancy varieties from a farmers market (or even better–a vineyard!). Some taste just like dessert wine. So I’m wilth you on that, grapes are awesome. Weirdly enough, they’re even good for you.
Posted by Crabby McSlacker at September 26th, 2007, 4:02 amThey always look so good at the market, but then I take them home and forget I bought them. Four days later, wilted grapes in my fridge stare out at me and make me feel guilty. :(
Gal
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Posted by jeena at September 26th, 2007, 10:40 amYesterday i save this recipe ,and I try to madethis.I think that I be fall in love whit this apple brownie .
Posted by Sylvia at September 28th, 2007, 2:58 pmOops !!! I swear that I put my comment in another post… The apple brownie post…
Posted by Sylvia at September 28th, 2007, 3:01 pm[...] finally, from Chew On That, we have this post about the pleasure of eating grapes. It’s not exactly health related but it caught my eye because so many people use words like [...]
Posted by Weekend Roundup - Ren Faire editionhttp://www.60in3.com/wp-admin/post-new.php : 60 IN 3 at September 30th, 2007, 5:50 pm[...] do so on my birthday this weekend. Make some proscuitto paninis, bring a bottle of wine, pack some fresh grapes, and find a nice bench somewhere. I bet everything’ll taste a whole lot [...]
Posted by Chew On That » Blog Archive » A Brief Picnic at October 4th, 2007, 4:14 pm