FoodFood InformationFruitGrapes
The Exotic is a variety that is well named for its appearance
but not for its flavor. It is the first blue-skinned variety to arrive in
market, with a season from June to August. It features very large, colorful
berries and a mild, not too sweet, flavor. It is fairly fragile. It looks
like, and is often mistaken for, the later arriving but superior flavored
Ribier variety.
The Ribier is the best blue-skinned variety. It features very large
dark-blue berries. It has a crisp texture, a tender skin, and a sweet, full-bodied
flavor. The Ribiers arrive in August and wind up in February. Note the August
arrival date. Any blue grape purchased in June and July is of the less-flavored,
look-alike Exotic variety. Ribiers are also imported from Chile during the
winter months.
The Niabell is a American-European hybrid. Slips its skin and tastes
like a Concord. August & September.
The most common American variety is the blue-skinned Concord. There
is also the red Catawba, the white (amber) Niagara, and the pink Delaware.
Most of the Labrusca grapes are produced in the Northeast and Midwest, but
some are also grown in the Pacific Northwest.
These slip-skin grapes have a fine aroma, a musky, semisweet flavor, and
are pulpy in texture. Only a small portion of the slip-skin varieties is
sold as table grapes. Nearly all of the supply is sold to commercial processors
of jelly, jam, grape juice, and sacramental wine. The American grapes are
in season for only two or three months during the fall and they are quite
fragile. At one time, when putting up homemade jelly was in vogue, a fair
supply of Concord grapes was sold to consumers. Today, only a limited amount
reaches the retail marketplace. As yet, none of the American-type grapes
are imported from the Southern Hemisphere in the off-season.
Deamer 5/97