Roasted Grapes

Well, I’ve got more grapes hanging around here after the harvest last week. Besides make grape pie, I wanted to roast grapes – all new things to me. I saw an article in a newsletter that mentioned roasted grapes as an accompaniment for cheese – just toss grapes with vinegar and roast for fifteen minutes. I can do that.

Of course, I took it a bit further. I had six types of vinegar in my pantry: rice vinegar, ginger infused rice vinegar, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, and strawberry infused balsamic vinegar. (Some cooks take hits from extract bottles, I take hits from vinegar bottles; I like vinegar so much.) It turns out that it really doesn’t matter what vinegar you use; the differences are subtle. Just use what ever vinegar you have.

After fifteen minutes of roasting in the oven, the grapes soften, release juices, and caramelize a bit. The homegrown grapes I was using were very tart, so these roasted homegrown grapes mixed with vinegar were too tangy for most people to handle.

This ain’t gonna work! I reached in the fridge and pulled out the store bought green grapes I bought before the grape harvest came in. (Yep, it’s grapey over at my house.) I tried it all over again with store bought green grapes. Much better. These grapes ended up being sweet and only slightly tangy from the vinegar. These guys can go on a cheese plate without arresting your taste buds.

Roasted Grapes

1 bunch of grapes
a few tablespoons vinegar (your choice)

• Wash and dry grapes.
• Toss grapes with vinegar in a bowl.
• Place grapes in an ovenproof dish or on a baking sheet, and cook in a preheated 450°oven for 15 minutes.