The Great Grape Debate

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz

I’m usually talking about silly things here, but today, today it is serious.

Ok. It ain’t serious, but it’s an important topic. In my house.

I love grapes. Red, seedless, crisp, cold grapes. I shared a while ago how I almost choked on a grape; this isn’t a super rare occurrence because I eat grapes. A lot. And you thought I only drank them.

There is NOT one time that I purchase grapes, bring them home, wash them and then put them in a bowl that I don’t remember this incident:

Scene: Our duplex kitchen, circa 1987-88? I’d returned from the grocery store and was cleaning grapes, then placing them in a bowl; the Coach (my boyfriend) said to me:

You know, my Mom takes ALL the grapes off the stems and puts them in a bowl.

I looked down at MY bowl of grapes that were still ON the stem, said nothing and put them in the refrigerator.

That was how many years ago? 33? 34?

I will not de-stem all of my grapes. I refuse.

A few weeks ago the Coach pulled out the bowl of grapes and started to de-stem them.

Me thinking: Has he lost his ever loving mind?

Woooo, Buddy. Watcha doing there? I like them in clumps, with stems. That way I can grab a clump, walk away and snack. There’s a method to my madness.

I mean, really. He has a lot of nerve; I COULD have had my attorney on the line before the bowl was back in the fridge.

So tell me. Do you de-stem your grapes?

Do you think I don’t want to do it because my MIL does? I adore my MIL, so that isn’t the reason, but I will admit the first time he said it, it stung.

I really do like them in little clumps for snacking ease and I don’t want to willy nilly grab at 89 grapes to get a handful.

Your friend Suz who can’t forget silly conversations about grapes on stems for her entire life, but forgot what we had for dinner last night.

28 thoughts on “The Great Grape Debate”

  2. I leave mine on the stem until they get low and then I pull them off the stems and put them in a smaller bowl! If I took them all off of the stems than I would just sit down on the couch with the whole bowl and eat them like potato chips!

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  3. I wonder if they stay fresher one way or the other. Googling now…

    Here you go:

    “Unrinsed stem-on grapes fared best, lasting nearly two weeks before starting to decay. In fact, as long as we periodically inspected the bunches and removed any decaying grapes, most of them—both red and white samples—kept for an entire month.

    In sum: Don’t pull grapes from their stems before refrigeration. Simply discard any that show signs of rotting and hold off on rinsing until just before serving.”

    From Cook’s Illustrated, Storing Grapes.

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    1. YAY. It’s science! I do notice that lately, all my grapes have lasted more than a week in the fridge; that is if I don’t eat them all first.
      Thanks for doing my research. 🙂

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  4. Bijoux

    I love this story because isn’t it so strange what sticks in your mind? I’m normal like you and cut them into clumps so people can grab and go. I’d think that taking them off the stems would make them go bad quicker? Because all the ones that fall off in the bag never look good. We’re the smart ones!

    I actually thought this post would be about how people are trying to make cotton candy grapes a thing and I don’t think they taste any different than regular green grapes.

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  6. This is funny. I grew up disliking grapes, but now I know that is because my mom bought green grapes. Yuck. Not I like them, so long as they are red and on the stem. I appreciate the info Nance shared. I wondered if one way made them last longer.

    This reminds me of when my MIL and FIL came to my condo for dinner. Coach and I were dating and he was still living with them before he got into PT school. This is not grape related, but when you said the removing the grapes from the stem was not a reflection of how much you like your MIL. My MIL looked at the little ceramic items sitting on my end tables that I had made. She commented that it looked like something an inmate would’ve made. “OH, WELCOME. SO GLAD YOU’RE HERE.” The rest is history.

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    1. I DO adore my MIL; she is the bee’s knees.
      I agree though, green grapes just aren’t the same for me either.
      I can’t belive SHE said that to you—-WOW.

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  9. I’m curious if de-stemming them reduces their freshness?
    They must also be refrigerated. I only know this because I had some in a bowl on my kitchen table over the summer and a friend remarked that I “live a fancy life where I can keep grapes on my table.” So either she thought I can keep ornamental grapes or that we eat a pound of grapes per day.

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  10. *raises hand* I’m the weirdo that cleans them, de-stems them and put them in a bowl in the fridge. My reason for doing it is the exact same reason as yours for leaving them on the stem. To me, just grabbing a handful to munch on is easier if I’m not having to deal with the stem.

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    1. I never would have guessed you and I were opposite on this one.
      Did you read where Nance did the research and leaving them on the stems keeps them fresher longer?

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