"My favorite fruit is grapes. Because with grapes, you always get another chance. 'Cause, you know, if you have a crappy apple or a peach, you're stuck with that crappy piece of fruit. But if you have a crappy grape, no problem - just move on to the next. 'Grapes: The Fruit of Hope.'"
~ Demetri Martin
I need to start this post by asking, have you ever eaten frozen grapes? I don't care if you've eaten them all your life, if you have stories about how your parents used to bring them on picnics with you and your family, blah blah blah that's great. If you HAVEN'T eaten frozen grapes before, you need to stop reading this post, go to the grocery store, buy some organic grapes, wash them, dry them, and put them in the freezer. This post, and the rest of life, will be here when you get back … but you should not waste ANOTHER SECOND of your time on this planet NOT getting closer to eating frozen grapes. They are GLORIOUS.
A few weeks ago at Tuesday night dinner, the Woo Sisters brought some fruit, including grapes, for dessert. We didn't finish all the grapes and we told them to take them home, but Kim suggested just throwing them in the freezer and we could have them for dessert the following week instead. Oh my GOD. That's right. I hadn't ever eaten frozen grapes before. I told the girls this, and they were floored - how could I have gotten through childhood not eating a frozen grape? I don't know - I don't know!!! I had always wanted to try them - but I actually don't eat fruit that often, and whenever I've bought grapes, it's because I want to eat them at the time, not put them in the freezer and wait for them to freeze.
We tossed the leftover grapes in a gallon-sized Ziploc freezer bag and put them in the freezer (they were already pretty dry from sitting out while we had dinner and picked at them). Then we realized that the following Tuesday, we'd actually be in Mexico! No frozen grapes that night for me! But oh well, we'd have a fantastic treat waiting for us when we got home from our trip. The girls brought over some mango, pineapple, and papaya tonight and we cut that up and put the pineapple and mango in the freezer as well, hoping those would freeze in time for dessert, too. They didn't really, but we mixed everything up after a few hours, and it was a lovely fruit salad.
Although the frozen grapes were certainly pretty, with a light dusting of frost on them and everything, I thought they'd be hard as a rock - I accidentally dropped one when we were mixing the fruit together, and the grape fell on the floor and sounded just like a marble. Seriously! Before I ate my first one, I asked the girls about the texture of a frozen grape. "Are they hard? Like ice cubes? Or … are they … how do you eat these, if they're super hard?" The girls told me they weren't, but they also kind of just shook their heads, I think a bit still surprised that I really had never had frozen grapes before, but also basically saying, "Just try it, you'll like it." I love my friends.
So okay, I'm assuming everyone's eaten frozen grapes now (I gave you time at the beginning of this post to get yourself some), so I shouldn't need to explain how wonderful they are - but I will. I love grapes - I love how they're individual little pearls of tender juiciness and fresh bursts of flavor. I love how you get to have that same experience of eating that juicy burst of a grape time after time as you eat each one. But frozen, they're even more magical. Frozen grapes are like tiny, sweet, fruity, refreshing popsicles without sticks. They are SO good. Seriously, if you haven't had them before, you need to try them. They're fantastic. Just thinking about them now, I've messaged Nick and asked him to pick up some organic grapes on the way home from work. You should pick some up too! You really, really should.
Related Links:
Ziploc Freezer Bag, Gallon Value Pack, 30-Count
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