GRAPES

Wine is generally destiny for the grape. Perhaps this is why we first began cultivating them and (mostly) why we still do. Some 76,000 square kilometres (about 29,000 square miles) of the Earth’s surface is dedicated to grape growing, and over 70 per cent of the harvest is for wine-making. In the kitchen, grapes are typically treated as a garnish rather than the main event, but you can make delicious jams, jellies, cakes and tarts with them, too. Most of us are happy to pick them from the bunch, serve them with cheese or add them to salads and fruit salads. It’s the dried grapes (sultanas, raisins and currants) that we use for sweetness and zing in compotes, pilafs and biryanis, numerous desserts including plum pudding, and in all kinds of baking from breads and buns to Christmas fruit mince, cakes and nut bars.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

New season grapes start arriving in the produce aisles in late summer. Taste one to check for sweetness as they won’t ripen once picked. Be careful when handling grapes, as the thin skins are easily damaged.

Look for bunches as inviting as those in a still-life painting: plump fruit attached to moist flexible stems. The powdery bloom, more visible on dark-coloured grapes than on pale ones, is an important sign of freshness; it fades with time and handling. Avoid any sticky, split or wrinkled grapes on withered or limp stems. Give them a sniff to make sure they aren’t starting to ferment.

When buying sultanas, raisins, muscatels or currants, check the best-before date.

HOW TO STORE THEM

Store unwashed grapes in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and rinse just before using or eating. They should keep for about a week. It’s fun to freeze little bunches to make ‘grape blocks’ for children to snack on.

Dried fruit can be stored in an airtight container (preferably glass) in a cool, dry place, and will keep well for 6 months to a year.

WHAT’S IN THEM?

A small bunch of grapes (80 g/2¾ oz) has 215 kilojoules (51 calories), 0.5 g protein, no fat, 12 g carbs (sugars), 1 g fibre, 155 g potassium and a low GI (53) and GL (6). Raisins (GI 49) and sultanas (GI 56) are much more concentrated sources of calories and carbs. About 2 tablespoons of sultanas (30 g/1 oz) have 400 kilojoules (95 calories) and 22 g carbohydrate.

WHAT ELSE?

Grape syrup or molasses, what is it? Slowly reducing unfermented grape juice, or grape must, is a way to make the most of the harvest, providing velvety syrups (saba, vino cotto or vincotto, pekmez or petimezi) with just a hint of tartness. Try replacing your balsamic vinegar with one of these velvety concoctions in dressings and glazes, or give tahini, hummus or plain yoghurt a lift with a drizzle.

HERO RECIPES

Pork meatballs with fresh grapes (here )

Wild rice with fresh grapes, walnuts and feta (here )