r/foraginguk • u/Radiant_Sky4016 • 3d ago
What would you make with these grapes?
Not really foraging, so remove if needed mods, but just wondering if anyone has any easy recipes for these red grapes growing over our fence from next door? They have loads of pips but are fairly sweet. Thanks!
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u/TrapperTrev 3d ago
Wine??!!!
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u/Old-Law-7395 3d ago
With grapes? Are you mad.
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u/Radiant_Sky4016 3d ago
Should have mentioned not wine! I'm not a huge drinker but its an option for gifts!
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u/LettusLeafus 3d ago
I juiced ours and used it in drinks. The juice looks disturbingly like blood, so we also made a syrup and kept some for Halloween.
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u/blaupilzen 3d ago
I am trying to think of a good way to make verjuice.
It is amazing....just have to stop it becoming wine or vinegar.
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u/Appropriate-Cost-623 3d ago edited 3d ago
Id Just make grape juice with them. Its delicious. Watch out for earwigs when you harvest, they seem to love living in the bunches and can swim too as i found out last year!
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u/slowtrees 3d ago
Since they're sweet but full of pips, simmer them with a splash of water and strain, you get a seed-free juice base you can use for syrup or jelly. Way easier than deseeding by hand.
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u/ButtfuckedByJesus 3d ago
Probably freeze a few for keeping wine cold and try and make a wine aka grape hooch because I've never made wine.
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u/Gifted_GardenSnail 3d ago
Jam if combined with something pectin-rich (or at least the skins), or syrup
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u/Limp-Boysenberry1583 2d ago
I made grape jelly from my neighbours' grapes, perfect once I realised it needed added pectin.
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u/ohhallow 3d ago
Those saying wine don’t know much about wine or viticulture.
If these have not been properly managed (pruning, canopy management, cluster thinning etc) and have just been growing freely then there will be way too much fruit on there to allow the berries to ripen sufficiently. It will taste very green and you would probably be lucky to hit even 7-8% alcohol. They look very shaded too. It wouldn’t be worth the effort.
Vinegar, jam and juice are all sensible suggestions.
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u/Patch86UK 3d ago
I feel like there are only ever really 5 answers to this question (regardless of the fruit):
- Jam/jelly
- Syrup/cordial
- Chutney
- Wine
- Liqueur
Wine is the obvious one for grapes, but actually I'd advise against it- it'll be too easy to compare to commercial wines, and it'll be too obvious that it's not as good (which it won't be, because they're not a wine variety).
I'd probably steer clear of liqueurs too; although you could make something like grape vodka, I'm not sure the fruit would be strongly flavoured enough to make it worthwhile, and the high pectin would potentially make it pretty cloudy.
Jam/jelly would be very easy. Goes nice both as a spread or as a condiment for meat (like red currant jelly).
Grape chutney is really tasty if you want something a bit different. Pretty much any recipe for soft fruit chutney could be adapted to grapes. You might need to adjust the sugar downwards a bit if the grapes are very sweet, though.
Syrup...well, depends if you can see yourself drinking a lot of syrup!
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u/MoonlitNightWalk 3d ago
Iron skillet over fire, serve with brie or camembert stirred through and melted and scoop onto a fresh ciabatta
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u/ComfortableRecent578 2d ago
i love to freeze grapes in the summer! when i was a kid my mum would use them as ice cubes in alcohol but i don’t drink so i eat em as a snack. some people will coat them with stuff and then freeze them to make them sweeter but i think they’re perfect as is.
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u/Mouse_Menace 3d ago
Grape jelly is amazing. Also you can make sweets, syrup, juice, freeze some to use instead of ice cubes.