You are used to table grapes, seedless, of course, with edible thin skins.
Concord grapes are another animal altogether. Last year we went on a vacation to see relatives in upstate NY and Canada. My father-in-law Joe is a farmer/rancher, who now raises beef cattle and who ran a dairy for many years. So my Aunt Lorna arranged for him to visit a local grape farmer and see his huge mechanical harvester.
Concord Grapes
Proprietor of Butternut Hollow/Deakin Farms is none other than Jim Deakin, a good friend of my Aunt’s and my two other favorite English teachers on this planet, Joan and Margaret. He played host to us and our guests and showed us all the equipment that helps him and his crew grow and pick grapes. We thank him for his kindness and hospitality.
The boys 1/4 mile away (next door, where we lived) taught me at the age of eight the proper way to eat a Concord grape. Take the grape and squeeze the insides between your lips, discarding the thick skin. Suck the pulp in through clenched teeth. Two or three seeds will remain outside and should be properly spat upon the ground of the vineyard you are legally picking from. Swallow the pristine pulp.
We lived next to a vineyard for three years from my age 8-10 and were told we could eat all the grapes we wanted but if the Conti brothers, the owners, ever caught us having grape fights we’d be forbidden access. Every day en route to and from the school bus hut in September and October I’d eat at least eight bunches per day! Even now, as I can’t pick them fresh in Texas, I sometimes buy a bottle of Welch’s white grape juice just to remember the taste.
Perhaps I’ll find you an Italian recipe I had in cooking school south of Florence, Italy. It was grape-picking season and at harvest time they make schiacciata a’l uvo, sort of a sweet grape pizza with wine grapes in their skins and their seeds, strewn with sugar. It’s tasty but you can only order it in restaurants in the fall.
Concord grapes are mainly used in juices and grape jelly, also my home town was host to a winery which makes kosher wine from Concords.
Chautauqua is the home of the WCTU (Women’s Christian Temperance Union). When alcohol was banned from the US Chautauqua County, with the most grapes per acre anywhere in the US, was forced to replace its vinifera grapes with table grapes.
Years later when wine enthusiasts wanted to take advantage of Chautauqua’s unique and very brief growing season they grafted vinifera grapes onto Concord rootstock. The upshot is that NY didn’t get the phylloxera virus prevalent in Napa simply because the ancient Concord rootstock is too hardy.
Just a little tidbit of extra knowledge… D
Messed up on that one, its Schiacciata con a’l uva. Kind of a sweet grape pizza with seeds.
What a great way to separate the seeds from the pulp! I never thought of that. When I was a child, we were taught to squeeze the skin enough to let the pulp start to pop through, then suck the pulp out, chew the pulp, spit out the seeds, and then eat the skin, which tasted quite intense. I like your method of separating the seeds from the pulp far better and shall try it tomorrow when we pick the rest of our Concords. I’m looking forward to your Schiacciata con a’l uva recipe. Sounds tasty.
One of the people responsible for developing those grape varieties you spoke about was Gary Woodbury, a former chemistry teacher at FHS and owner of Woodbury fruit farms. Welch’s didn’t always treat local farmers well, and having other options became desireable. He and my dad (and others?) ran experiments with lots of strangely-named grapes and made wine for years. I remember wathcing the tastings at dinner: uncork it, talk about it for a half an hour, and then grimace and spit when it was horrible. Several worked out well though, and Gary left teaching to become a vintner for a while as the operation grew. They had a spumanti and a champagne that was pretty good, and western NY State is on the map in the world of wine. Gary now lives in Florida and he and his wife, Robin, are still close friends with my parents, who are snowbirds from Maine part of the year. They get together in Maine for lobster, and in Florida for outdoor cooking parties.
This little post was a godsend. When I put the first grape in my mouth and blanched at the bitterness of the skin, I almost got rid of the whole bunch.
You can eat the skin though right? I always have! I don’t mind its sour taste
Depends if it was grown organically or with pesticides, your choice there and your palate. Dee
I guess I’ve always been eating concord grapes without any proper technique. I tried it with your directions and it does make it easier. Thanks!