Muscadine

Vitis rotundifolia · Fruit

40 pairings

The muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) is a thick-skinned grape native to the warm, humid southeastern United States, where it has been gathered and grown for centuries. Borne in loose clusters rather than tight bunches, it has a tough, slip-skin hull and a deep, musky-sweet, almost wild flavour quite unlike the familiar European table grape.

Picking a good onedrag

Firm, full-coloured, dry scarSoft, wet-scarred or fermenting

Just yieldingThe ordinary good punnet, and a sour one stays sour, so buy on taste not hope. Snacking, juice, jelly. Halve them for young children.Everyday best

SkinColour good, the shine rubbed off in handling

Stem scarScar dry, a short stub of green stem left on some

SqueezePlump, gives a little under the thumb

SmellSweet and grapey, quieter than that

What to look for, from firm, full-coloured, dry scar to soft, wet-scarred or fermenting.

Keeping ittap a band

A domestic fridge holds it about 3× longer than the counter.

Humidity

Over 90%

Over 90% RH, but no condensation: a wet berry moulds. Leave them loose in the vented punnet and wash only what you are about to eat.

Airflow

Vented, not sealed

They ship in vented clamshells for a reason. Sealed in a bag they sweat, and grey mould and ripe rot travel berry to berry across the box.

Will not ripen, but will rot sooner

Non-climacteric: muscadines give off almost no ethylene and never sweeten from it. What ethylene does do is speed grey mould on berry and scar.

Preparing