No Grapes of Wrath Here

Grapes are believed to have been first cultivated 6,000 to 8,000 years ago and were significant in ancient cultures from Israel to Egypt and across the Mediterranean region, mostly because of their ability to ferment into wine. The Passover ceremony, which commemorates God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, incorporates wine in a powerful way. Four cups of wine are traditionally consumed during the Seder meal, each representing a different aspect of God’s promise of redemption. This ritual use of wine connects the past deliverance with the present celebration and future hope. One of the famous stories involving wine made it into the Bible in the New Testament, where Jesus on the third day of a wedding celebration at Cana is informed by his mother Mary that the hosts have run out of wine. He promptly turns jugs of water into wine. The wine that flowed after the transformation was said to have been better than the earlier wine served by the host. Christians point to this as the first miracle Jesus is known to have performed.

But grapes are good for far more than fermenting into an alcoholic beverage. A solid list of 60 peer-reviewed studies show that while grapes make great wine, they make equally great nutritious noshes.

That’s the conclusion reached by nutrition authors Jessica Cording (The Little Book of Game-Changers) and Keri Gans (The Small Change Diet), whose report in last month’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry is a catalogue of good grape news.

First a few facts. Grapes are born in a multitude of species. Those used for winemaking are aptly named Vitis vinifera, with thicker skins that add color and tannins, compounds also found in coffee and chocolate that add texture, balance, and structure to wine. Wine-making grapes are also packed with seeds and tend to be smaller than eating grapes, which means their sugars are concentrated so that yeasts easily convert them to alcohol. As a result, pinot noir, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling grapes, which lend their names to specific wines, are not meant for munching,

On the other hand (or plant), table grapes, the ones that we could dry into raisins, are larger, with thinner skins and often happily seedless so nothing gets stuck in your teeth when you bite into one. They also generally have more water than wine grapes, which is why they are so refreshing on a warm fall day, either as-is or, as the website WebMD suggests, frozen into a popsicle alternative.

Impress your local produce manager by letting them know you know those green grapes at the grocery store are probably Thompson Seedless, named after William Thompson, the first person to popularize this variety of grape in the US. The common red table grapes in the supermarket are likely Crimson Seedless, developed by folks at the USDA Fruit Genetics and Breeding Research Unit in Fresno, Calif. Red Canadice Seedless can withstand winters, making it perfect for a backyard grapevine or, more Manhattan-ish, an apartment window box. Flame Seedless is mainly a product of the Thompson Seedless and the Cardinal, and Sweet Jubilee is a black, globe-shaped grape big enough to cut in half. There is a central seed (like stone fruit), but it pops out easily and you’re rewarded with a sweet, firm, juice-filled snack. Concords brighten the famously popular Welch’s Grape Juice.

But that’s just the botanical part of the story. As the Journal authors write, grapes are packed with a more-than-whopping 1,600 compounds, including antioxidants that protect body cells from damage. For the record, although dark red and purple grapes are higher in antioxidants than green or white varieties, all grape juice contains much more sugar than whole grapes, so whole grapes make for a healthier choice.

The benefits attributed to all this good stuff includes heart health, reduced inflammation, and–because grapes are rich in insoluble dietary fiber, the kind your body doesn’t dissolve–an assist in moving food through your gastro tract, thus reducing the risk of constipation.

Vitamin- and mineral-wise, grapes add Vitamin C, calcium and iron to your daily diet. Specifically, USDA lists the following stats for a 100-gram/3.5-ounce serving of raw green grapes: 72 calories, 3 mg vitamin C, 10 mg calcium, 0.2 mg iron, 3 mg sodium, 0.9 grams protein, 0.23 grams of fat, and 18.6 grams carbs (including a total 16.1 grams of the natural sugars sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, galactose).

To unlock this goodness, the website WebMD says to start by washing the grapes with cold water, draining in a colander or simply patting them dry. Then separate the grapes into smaller clusters. Add them as is to an appetizer platters. Keep the nutritious skin on if you choose to slice the grapes and toss them into a veggie or chicken salad. Or skewer them on to a fruit and veggie kabob.