So Many Grapes!!
I wasn't sure where to pose my question in the proper category. But, I am certain that it will be monitored and placed according to the appropriate place.
My husband brought home about 4 pounds of seedless, dark purple grapes. (I asked him why he bought such a huge portion--there being only the two of us--he said that the Giant grocery stores only sold them in prepackaged bunches).
I've used them for dessert, snacks, in salads and am looking for recipes to include them in the ingredients. QUESTION--can grapes be frozen?
QUESTION--any ideas as to where else I can include them in a recipe, etc.?
Should I just give them to my neighbors (they have a lot of grandchildren) before the grapes go bad? Thanks for any help. FoiGras
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Last fall my neighbor brought me a boatload of grapes and I didn't know what to do with them. I'm a scientist, so naturally I decided to crush them by hand, strain, add bread yeast, cover, and wait.
What I ended up with was utterly disgusting, so again, naturally, I decided to distill it. I filled a saucepan with the offending liquid and placed a small bowl in the center, making sure that the edges of the bowl were above the liquid, so the liquid did not seep into the bowl. I then covered the saucepan with a round bottomed stainless steel bowl filled with ice. Then I turned on the heat and kept it slightly below a boil. The alcohol evaporates first, condenses on the cold bowl, and runs down the sides before dripping into the center bowl.
When it was all said and done, I had about two ounces of clear liquid. I tasted the tiniest sip and it was absolutely divine. Worried about methanol, I threw the rest out. But I REALLY wanted to drink it.
I highly suggest this experiment. It was fun and educational.
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greygarious
May 3, 2009 06:19 PM
Dining out, I once had a appetizer of (appropriately enough!) foie gras with roasted grapes and caramelized onion. The grapes made it very special. I keep meaning, and forgetting, to add purple grapes to the pan when roasting chicken, probably for the last 20-30 min since they need to collapse and release some of their juice into the pan juices.
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re: LauraGrace
greygarious
May 3, 2009 07:52 PM
I hadn't, either. The sauce was made with stock/drippings, balsamic vinegar, and probably some wine, all reduced, so it was both sweet and astringently sour. The texture was something between a very soft prune and a roasted cherry tomato or grape tomato.
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re: greygarious
Fascinating! A bit like a cooked, more savory version of those fruit-vinegar what-do-you-call-em sauces. Might be worth a try next time I roast a chicken!
Edit: Gastriques! That's what they're called. I love it when I remember something IN TIME.
Also, great texture description. I can imagine that exactly.
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Try these pickled grapes, made some the other day and loved them ! They say eat after 24 hrs - but I thought they were beter after a couple days
http://www.anticiplate.com/anticiplat... -
Freeze some -- they are DELICIOUS frozen, like little popsicles! When I was a kid, we always kept some in the freezer when the weather turned hot, just to snack on. Really great. As far as freezing for the purpose of later use, I don't know if they'll thaw to exactly the same texture but they'd be fine to put in chicken salad for instance.
Supposedly, halved grapes are a very traditional element to certain foccacias, though I've never tried it.
It would be easy to make a grape granita or sorbet, I'm sure.
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I love frozen grapes! You can dust them with powdered sugar or freeze them plain. Best way to freeze is on a cookie sheet, then when frozen, transfer into a ziplock.
Grapes are also good in chicken or tuna salad. I remember making a recipe once with sauteed chicken, grapes, and herbs. Both of those are yummy, but not sure how much grapes they will use up.
