Muscadine
Vitis rotundifolia · Fruit
Top 10 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 yieldingEveryday bestThe ordinary good punnet, and a sour one stays sour, so buy on taste not hope. Snacking, juice, jelly. Halve them for young children.
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
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 3× longer than the counter.
Over 90%
Humidity
Vented, not sealed
Airflow