Please don't tell me to make wine out of them
October 28, 2015 7:57 PM Subscribe
Just came home from Costco with 4 lbs of red table grapes that turned out to be so tannic that they're inedible. What should I do with them?
Obviously I did not take the advice of this thread.
I think what I'm tasting is a tannic flavor. It is bitter and makes the inside of my mouth feel dry. The grapes are super sweet, but even if I peel them, the tannic flavor is still overwhelming. Can you suggest anything to improve their flavor? (Not wine-making please.) I'd really like to not have to throw out $10 of grapes!
Obviously I did not take the advice of this thread.
I think what I'm tasting is a tannic flavor. It is bitter and makes the inside of my mouth feel dry. The grapes are super sweet, but even if I peel them, the tannic flavor is still overwhelming. Can you suggest anything to improve their flavor? (Not wine-making please.) I'd really like to not have to throw out $10 of grapes!
Grape freezer jam - just check your flavor (drip some onto a cold plate from the freezer so it cools quickly, then taste) to make sure you don't need more sugar, which you might if they're that astringent.
Because it's freezer jam (so the acidity isn't critical for storage) you can add other fruit or flavors. You can also mix in vinegar (either before you put it up, or put it in the freezer in small portions and do this with a thawed portion if you desire) to make quickie sweet-n-sour or meatball sauce.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:04 PM on October 28, 2015 [3 favorites]
Because it's freezer jam (so the acidity isn't critical for storage) you can add other fruit or flavors. You can also mix in vinegar (either before you put it up, or put it in the freezer in small portions and do this with a thawed portion if you desire) to make quickie sweet-n-sour or meatball sauce.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:04 PM on October 28, 2015 [3 favorites]
Return them to Costco. If you can't get to Costco for awhile, store the grapes in the fridge, or an unheated room. Costco will give you a refund.
posted by valannc at 8:08 PM on October 28, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by valannc at 8:08 PM on October 28, 2015 [3 favorites]
Lidia Bastianich's grape cake is unique and delicious. I'm guessing the tannins would mellow with baking.
posted by otio at 8:41 PM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by otio at 8:41 PM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I KNOW Costco would take them back, but we live 200 km away and we're not going back to that city for at least another month!
posted by bluebelle at 9:05 PM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by bluebelle at 9:05 PM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
You could make a whole ton of this recipe, which i have myself prepared and enjoyed: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/radicchio-salad-with-pickled-grapes-and-goat-cheese
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:28 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:28 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Make some homemade raisins? I googled it and it's a thing.
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:34 PM on October 28, 2015
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:34 PM on October 28, 2015
I wouldn't make raisins--that may concentrate the tannins in a really unpleasant way.
Nor would I go with something sweet--you'll need so much sugar that the flavour would be lost.
Pickling sounds like an excellent way to use them. Or chutney.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:37 PM on October 28, 2015
Nor would I go with something sweet--you'll need so much sugar that the flavour would be lost.
Pickling sounds like an excellent way to use them. Or chutney.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:37 PM on October 28, 2015
I think the idea of making a jam or jelly sounds like a great idea. Have you ever tried those hot pepper jams? ...because I'm thinking that the type of jelly from these grapes would be a great base for that. How adept are you at modifying recipes? ...because that's all that I would do - search around for a grape jelly recipe, and a hot pepper jam recipe, and see what ingredients seem to cancel each other out.
Actually, I've found this recipe, if you'd like to give it a try. It calls for 4 pounds of grapes, too! :) Jalapeño Grape Jelly
posted by itsflyable at 10:09 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Actually, I've found this recipe, if you'd like to give it a try. It calls for 4 pounds of grapes, too! :) Jalapeño Grape Jelly
posted by itsflyable at 10:09 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
If it were me, I'd probably put them in a sauce pan and boil them down, then freeze most of that, keeping about 1 cup to experiment with immediately.
So, now you've got tannic grape concentrate, a non-traditional flavor with uncertain potential. You could:
Mix a teaspoon with some seltzer or mineral water for an interesting and refreshing drink;
Mix with pear juice (or pear puree) for a slightly different drink flavoring;
Heck, try it with lime juice, and maybe just a touch of sugar or other sweetener;
Mix with some applesauce and freeze into popsicles (the sweetness of the applesauce will be diluted by the grapes);
Mix with some homemade pear sauce (just boil down some pears) for a similar frozen treat;
Add some soy sauce and use it as a marinade/sauce for your protein of choice (tofu, whatevs, I'm vegetarian);
Use it as an interesting sandwich ingredient - I put cranberry sauce on tofurkey sandwiches, and I think this might be similar;
Put it on biscuits with butter.
...all the above are _without_ adding sugar to the concentrate, which I personally think is worth a try. The idea is that what you have is probably an interesting flavor, just not good to eat undiluted (like a lemon, or cranberry sauce, only not _quite_ _as_ sour). However, if you find it unusable that way, you could always add sugar and use it like jam.
posted by amtho at 10:28 PM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
So, now you've got tannic grape concentrate, a non-traditional flavor with uncertain potential. You could:
Mix a teaspoon with some seltzer or mineral water for an interesting and refreshing drink;
Mix with pear juice (or pear puree) for a slightly different drink flavoring;
Heck, try it with lime juice, and maybe just a touch of sugar or other sweetener;
Mix with some applesauce and freeze into popsicles (the sweetness of the applesauce will be diluted by the grapes);
Mix with some homemade pear sauce (just boil down some pears) for a similar frozen treat;
Add some soy sauce and use it as a marinade/sauce for your protein of choice (tofu, whatevs, I'm vegetarian);
Use it as an interesting sandwich ingredient - I put cranberry sauce on tofurkey sandwiches, and I think this might be similar;
Put it on biscuits with butter.
...all the above are _without_ adding sugar to the concentrate, which I personally think is worth a try. The idea is that what you have is probably an interesting flavor, just not good to eat undiluted (like a lemon, or cranberry sauce, only not _quite_ _as_ sour). However, if you find it unusable that way, you could always add sugar and use it like jam.
posted by amtho at 10:28 PM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
I forgot:
Try putting it on vanilla ice cream - most commercial ice creams are way sweet anyway. You could also try stirring it into yogurt.
I've _never_ tried these; I'm just brainstorming here.
posted by amtho at 10:31 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Try putting it on vanilla ice cream - most commercial ice creams are way sweet anyway. You could also try stirring it into yogurt.
I've _never_ tried these; I'm just brainstorming here.
posted by amtho at 10:31 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
I got some inedibly sour green grapes. I put some in the microwave with sugar, then used that syrup on hot cereal. Honestly? It was not an unqualified success, but you are probably a better cook.
posted by Cranberry at 1:00 AM on October 29, 2015
posted by Cranberry at 1:00 AM on October 29, 2015
Came in to second the ice cream suggestion, or frozen yoghurt(i'm getting hungry just thinking about that actually) but also: black tea!
My partner loves sour berry jams with tea. And yea, it's pretty damn good.
posted by emptythought at 2:54 AM on October 29, 2015
My partner loves sour berry jams with tea. And yea, it's pretty damn good.
posted by emptythought at 2:54 AM on October 29, 2015
Roast them. Roasting grapes sounds weird, but roast chicken and grapes is seriously good. The cooking should help bring out any sugars in the grapes.
posted by Caravantea at 3:54 AM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Caravantea at 3:54 AM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
Think of using them as a substitute for port in a sauce - as they're also sweet, red and tannic. Chicken or beef would do well with it. You could roast them first with meat, and reserve the juices for reduction to sauce. Add some citrus to round out the flavor, and/or possibly a bit of red wine vinegar.
Grapes are great in greek salads, as I've discovered from a local restaurant. Try it, and if you don't like the grapes well you can eat the salad around them.
posted by lizbunny at 7:01 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Grapes are great in greek salads, as I've discovered from a local restaurant. Try it, and if you don't like the grapes well you can eat the salad around them.
posted by lizbunny at 7:01 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's possible that if you called the Costco and explained the situation, they'd agree to give you the credit when you returned in a month and not even make you bring the grapes back, or if you have their credit card they might just credit the account.
I tried roasting grapes once and was not impressed. They seemed kind of like... raisins. But then, I'm not a big fan of raisins. And maybe I roasted them wrong.
Grapes in general are good chopped in half and mixed with bulgar or some other grain, cuke, red pepper, red onion, chopped walnuts, and some sort of salad dressing with lots of olive oil and a bit of lemon juice. This recipe (which I'm writing from memory) originally came from one of the moosewood books so it probably had a fair amount cumin and coriander in it too. There might also have been feta. The other flavors might be enough to cut the bitterness from the tannins.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 3:47 PM on October 29, 2015
I tried roasting grapes once and was not impressed. They seemed kind of like... raisins. But then, I'm not a big fan of raisins. And maybe I roasted them wrong.
Grapes in general are good chopped in half and mixed with bulgar or some other grain, cuke, red pepper, red onion, chopped walnuts, and some sort of salad dressing with lots of olive oil and a bit of lemon juice. This recipe (which I'm writing from memory) originally came from one of the moosewood books so it probably had a fair amount cumin and coriander in it too. There might also have been feta. The other flavors might be enough to cut the bitterness from the tannins.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 3:47 PM on October 29, 2015
My dad used to make spiced grape jelly with the grapes from our garden - they were very high in tannins and full of pips. This recipe sounds similar. We ate it for years, primarily with meatloaf. (I recently found a jar in the back of they're pantry from 1999. I stole it. It's still good.)
posted by kjs4 at 5:25 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kjs4 at 5:25 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I think these grapes are destined to become jelly, seeing as I need to do my fall canning soon anyways! I'll report back on whether it was a good choice or not.
posted by bluebelle at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by bluebelle at 7:03 PM on October 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
Since you can't get back to Costco, you might try this: Phone them and state your problem. The grapes are not good. You're too far away to visit the store. Can they send you a prepaid label to ship them back? Can they send you a gift card for Costco mail order? Seriously, it doesn't hurt to ask.
Costco is famous for their good return policy.
posted by valannc at 12:01 AM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Costco is famous for their good return policy.
posted by valannc at 12:01 AM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by purpleclover at 7:58 PM on October 28, 2015 [46 favorites]