Pickled Green Grapes
I like grapes when they are firm and sweet. If they are the slightest bit soft in the market, I will pass them by. When they are at their peek and in season, I like to buy them often. In California green table grapes are in season from July to January and in the off season they are shipped in from other countries, such as Peru and Mexico. I’ve used them to dot focaccia dough before baking it off and roasted them on the vine to eat with yogurt. I now also pickle them, thanks to the inspiration of a Southern California chef.
Jose Centeno of Baco Mercat in Los Angeles has a Pickled Rooibos Red Grape recipe in his cookbook Baco…which is incredible!! I thought it would be fun to do my own twist on green grapes with a different set of flavors. You can toss them into salad, top cheese and crackers, or add them to creamy chicken salad lettuce wraps with sliced almonds. But, let me be honest and admit that I just eat them straight from the jar.
Toss them into a Caesar salad, top cheese and crackers for your next potluck, or add them to creamy chicken salad lettuce wraps with sliced almonds.
Be sure to completely cool the pickling liquid before adding the grapes to ensure they retain their firm texture.
Pickled Green Grapes
Yield: 2 cups
1 whole dried pasilla ancho chili
½ cup filtered water
½ cup white wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 tsp dried orange peel
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
1 whole clove
½ star anise
1 thin cinnamon stick
1 ½ cup green grapes
In a large bowl, fill 1/3 of the way with ice and water to make an ice bath. Set aside.
2. Break dried chili into 4-6 pieces, removing the seeds.
3. In a small pot combine the chili with the water, vinegar, sugar, orange peel, fennel seeds, clove, star anise, and cinnamon stick. Over a medium flame heat mixture until sugar has melted. Stir every so often, no need to bring to a boil.
4. While the mixture is heating, slice the grapes in half and set aside.
5. When the sugar has melted, take the small pot with the mixture and set into the ice bath to cool the pot and its contents.
6. When the contents are at room temperature, add the grapes and stir to combine.
7. Transfer grapes and mixture to a mason jar and store in the fridge for at least a week so grapes can take on all the flavors.
8. Grapes will take on more flavor as it sits and will be good for a couple of months in the fridge.
