I believe it was childhood friend Tom who spoke of muscadine grapes. He saw them while hunting, if memory serves me correctly. People talked about muscadine jelly and wine, although I don’t think I ever had any. When I saw them in the supermarket, curiosity made me buy a pint. I tried one before offering them to David. I’m not sure he will want a second one, so it is up to me to finish them.
There were two or three seeds in each grape, easy enough to separate in the mouth and get rid of. I began with a whole grape and chewed endlessly on the skin. The consistency was something like rubber gloves. Learning by doing, I cut the next one in half and scooped the pulp out with my teeth. By concentrating, I could discern a faint flavor of grape. Was it worth it? I don’t think so.
Has anyone else ever eaten a muscadine grape?
Mehrling Muse 
Never have I ever eaten a muscadine grape, nor drank muscadine wine. It is one of those types of wines that does not appeal to me, like moscato and other sweet wines. I did get a laugh out of the rubber glove skin story!
LikeLike
I read muscadines are native to Texas, but they were really available in West Tennessee.
LikeLike
Of course. It’s a Southern thing. We used to have vines wild on our farm but haven’t seen them in a long while. Some even make a pie with them.
LikeLike
That must have been a very chewy pie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
To be honest I have never had one and not sure if they are “deskined” before making. I might need to look into this….will let you know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When I was a kid the neighbors behind our house grew muscadine grapes, lots of them. It is possible that kids snuck into their yard and gorged on the grapes even though it wasn’t allowed. Not saying who did this, of course.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe making muscadines off limits increased their consumption.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never even heard of them before. I don’t think I’d like to try them.
LikeLike
I read muscadines are native to Texas. They were in the woods in West Tennessee where I grew up.
LikeLike
Sound like concord grapes that we have here. Skin is tough and they have seeds. You suck the meat through the opening where the stem was. I got very good at it. They are sweet so it’s sort of worth it but more as a novelty than on a regular basis. They make wonderful juice and pies. Oh, yes, and wine.
LikeLike
I’ll have to try your technique. Thanks for the tip.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think is the equivalent of the italia uva fragolina,super sweet and you leave the skin out?
LikeLike
Our grapes are not terribly sweet. The skin is tough. I understand that they are used mainly for wine and jelly, so the skin is not used.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’have never even heard of them before. Never i have eaten Muscadine 🍇. Never have I ever test any wine.
But i know some wine flavor. You have take its wine .
LikeLike
These grapes were originally from Texas. Mostly they grow wild and would not normally be in a grocery store.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much! Here is available for black grapes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just 7 or 9 miles from our home is the Richard Childress (of NC racing fame) Vineyards and Winery. It’s quite a beautiful site. Much of the wine in the store, served in the dining facilities is from muscadine. We had wild grape vines in my childhood home in NY. They lined the property between us and the neighbors. The first time I bit into a muscadine grape in Florida my mind immediately flashed back to lying under the wild grape vines with Raymond and Cedo, the neighbor kids. We spent plenty of time under those vines getting too much of a good thing!
LikeLike
What a marvelous account!! Thank you.
LikeLike
I don’t think so. I did buy Concord grapes last year, to my dismay as they have pits and I wanted to bring them to book club
LikeLike
That was a disappointment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I made jelly, which was delicious, but getting the pits out f the grapes?! A nightmare!
LikeLike
Sounds tedious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was
LikeLike
My dad grew up in a rural area and he talked about these grapes. Fruit was so rare and expensive for a large farm family, I guess they were happy with what nature provided.
(Now I’ll have to actively start looking for some in the wilds!)
LikeLike
They are used mainly for wine and for jelly. I don’t think you need to look for them to eat. Many other grapes are better for eating.
LikeLike
Never heard of them. And after reading this, I think I’m okay with that. Yay for experimenting, though!
LikeLike
I hope to finish those grapes in two more days. With luck, a few will go bad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have never had those type of grapes Anne, but I have had green grapes, that were purchased at a big produce market as opposed to the grocery store and the skin was really tough. I’m not a fan of dark grapes for the seeds.
LikeLike
I could live without grape seeds, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rubber gloves made me laugh!
LikeLike
If you were my mother, you would ask, “When did you ever chew rubber gloves?”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahahaha!!! That’s fabulous!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved muscadine grapes. Daddy used to make wine out of it and yes, the skin is not eatable, but discarded. There’s usually only three seeds in each, as I recall. David reminds me of hubby, who never gives anything a chance, if he initially dislikes it. lol. The do tend to be chewy, but best for jelly or wine. The vines will grow wild and on tall trees, if I recall and most of the fruit tends to go to the birds, as it is generally unreachable. Because my father used them to make wine, he had a whole row of them he’d cultivated, though in my opinion, the wine was not my favorite.
I seldom put the whole thing in my mouth but squeezed out the pulp with my fingers and then spit out the seeds. I have to say, I laughed when you said rubber gloves as I’d not even attempt to chew one, so the visual was hilarious. Thanks for the memory recall.
LikeLike
I think if you’ve ever had muscadine grapes, you won’t forget it. I like your way of eating them. That’s the way I’m going to eat the last of them.
LikeLike
I love muscadine grapes. When I was a child, I would climb trees to get to the grapes. The insides should be very intense and sweet, most don’t try to eat the hulls.
LikeLike
I am glad you said most people don’t eat the skins of muscadines. I quit after the first one or two. Today I finally finished eating the bowl of grapes. Whew!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That grape is on most every rural property around here. My grandmother used to make a jelly out of the hulls. They are the worse mess to eat! , . . now you know. haha! love Michele
LikeLike
I finished eating all but one muscadine grape, the one that David ate.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Argh! The 2-3 seeds would turn me off, and all that chewing after that, def’y not worth it. IMHO.
LikeLike
I learned you are not supposed to eat the skin of the grape. One grape taught me that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah!…makes sense!
LikeLiked by 1 person