These are Champagne grapes, but not the kind used to make champagne. They are also known as miniature currant grapes and Corinth grapes.
I picked these up at Trader Joe’s. Grown in the U.S.A. and only $1.79 per pound. I love finding little surprises like this at Trader Joe’s.
I soak all my fruits and vegetables in a bowl of water and vinegar. They are delicate little grapes, so you have to be gentle when handling them.
Champagne grapes are seedless and easy to eat. They are slightly crunchy and tart, but is soon replaced with intense sweetness. Even the wrinkly ones are good too. It’s like eating raisins off the vine.
Here’s some more interesting info about Champagne grapes:
Actually a variety called Zante Currant or Black Corinth, (named for the Greek city where they were grown more than 2,000 years ago), Champagne Grapes were reintroduced to the food service industry in the early 1980’s when mini-vegetables were becoming popular.” - Melissa’s Specialty Produce.
Maybe the miniature fruit craze will come back. I’ve already spotted some baby kiwis earlier this year.
Such tiny grapes packed in sweetness! They are completely fun to eat too. I just take a small cluster and pull out the tiny grapes from the stems with my mouth. No need to pluck them out one by one!
These would make great additions to salads, ice cream, or even cupcakes. But they are good eaten fresh right off the bunch.
I can imagine these would be good as frozen grapes. It would make an all natural icy dessert.
9:06 pm on September 2nd, 2010
These are tiny, I’ve only bought the bigger one before. So many fruits in season at this time of the year and they are healthy snack too.
12:15 am on September 8th, 2010
The tiny fruits are surprisingly sweet. I almost skipped out on them but am glad I bought them now. I think they would make for pretty garnish too.