Saturday, October 01, 2005


local grapes

the other day i couldn't help myself: passing the market i was entranced by the perfume of local niagara grapes. despite what wikipedia says, these grapes didn't have any of that "diesel" going on, but were pure and intensely heavy with a jasmine and candied lemon rind thing.

i had to have some. they were flatly enchanting.

there are just some scents that the human nose can't resist; it's as if some wacky remnant of our evolution is lodged in our brains poking us, screaming "eat eat" when we smell intoxicatingly beautiful things. like real, pure vanilla or these perfect milky-jade grapes, as round and lovely as hand-polished beads.

and the little box came with some local concord grapes and a tiny branch of delawares, which mightily resemble the champagne or black corinth grapes, just being a tad larger.

i find these older non-glamorous varieties just so much tastier and more aromatic than the flabby and weirdly elliptical thompson or red emperor grapes you see at the supermarket. yeah, so the niagara grapes have skins you have to slip off, and seeds too.

big deal. they taste delicious -- the marvelous silky flesh bursts with ultra-sweet juice.

i thought i had finished up all of andrew's brazil fazenda esperanca, when i found i had just enough left for one sole americano. so that is now truly that. . .

posted by fortune | 3:02 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 2 comments