The muscadines…are almost ready!!!!
Around this time of year you can find me snooping around my in-laws muscadine vines, patientily waiting. Everyday I ask my husband “have they said anything about the grapes yet?” He usually just looks at me like I’m crazy. He grew up with a bounty of these delicious jewels so his excitement for muscadine season isn’t as strong as mine.
I LOVE muscadines!! Even though they make my mouth itch if I eat too many, which always happens, but they are so worth it. I can go through grocery bags full in a matter of days. And don’t even get me started on muscadine wine!!! Heavenly!!
Sadly, my in-laws vines are not ready yet, although other parts of NC are exploding with them. Well today I just couldn’t wait any longer. I HAD to have me some muscadines. I headed to the grocery store and made a mad dash to those overpriced muscadines. I was like a crackhead on a mission and you wanna know what the sad part is? I didn’t even wait until I got home to start eating them. I popped that carton open and got to snacking right there in the car.
I don’t think I’ve ever done that before with produce, being that I’m a semi-germaphobe, but at that moment I didn’t even care about squirrel piss. They were DELICIOUS, comforting and satisfying!!!!
Sweet, tart, & so juicy! I don’t eat the skins since they are kinda bitter and tough. I do sometimes eat the seeds since they are so small and I get tired of spitting them out.
Well it’s been 2 hours since my muscadine purchase and that whole carton is gone already *sigh* but atleast I got my fix. Hopefully the in-laws vines will be ready by next week. I do plan on planting my own vine…. someday.
Healthy Benefits Of Muscadines: (info from ncagr.gov)
- They contain Resveratrol, a potent cancer-fighting substance, is found in the skin, pulp and only a muscadine grape has it within the seed.
- Muscadines are among the richest sources of antioxidants found in nature.
It’s believed that the assortment of antioxidants found in muscadine grapes and seeds slow the effects of aging and possibly extend life.
- Free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells, are terminated by the antioxidants in muscadines.
- Ellagic acid and resveratrol, the main antioxidants in muscadines, play a key role in preventing heart disease and high cholesterol and assist in treating ailments like arthritis, topical burns and the flu.
Have you ever had muscadine??
I’m from NJ/NY, my husband is from Alabama. In bama they are called scufflings. Interesting, so the real name is muscadines. And yes they do make your mouth itch-:)
YES! I love me some muscadines too!
One question for you Monique, as I stated in my post above about dehydrating these grapes in the oven, I would like to know if this is a safe way to eat these grapes? Have you ever eaten them dehydrated, or pretty much fresh? I really would love it if you could give me some advice about other ways to eat these grapes. I haven’t taken out the seeds and would like to know if that’s safe. Thanks.
I’ve always eaten them fresh. I hear they make great jelly though. I don’t eat the skins and sometimes I’ll eat the seeds.
I’ve never even heard of a muscadine! They appear to be in the grape family, is that right? I’m writing up my grocery list so I may have to pay close attention to whether they have them in my local store in Cleveland. I wonder if they’re regional..
Ha, that’s funny that you ripped right into the grapes. I’ve never heard of them before until 2 days ago. I was shopping at one of the local Ingles stores down here in North Carolina and they have them on sale for $1.98 per container. The best part is that they’re organic. I liked them so much that I bought at least 6 cartons. I’m actually drying some out in my oven as we speak. I’ve never dried fruits in the oven before, but I saw some cool videos online. Is North Carolina the only state where these grapes grow? I’m from Michigan and have never seen such grapes like this before.
I love Ingles and that was a great price because they are usually so expensive! I think they grow all over the south. Let me know how the dried grapes turned out.
only in jelly! but people grow them all over here (TN). i’m not a huge grape person, but maybe muscadines are that much better?!
yeah I like regular grapes but muscadines have something addictive about them.