How to Turn Juicy Grapes Into a Delicious Cheesy Accompaniment
The grapes are excellent, but I like them fresh and strong. The moment they start to soften, I lose interest and let them languish in my refrigerator until they are “bad enough” to be thrown away. However, this terrible cycle has since been interrupted when I discovered roasted grapes.
This is part of the Lifehacker Eating Trash With Claire series in which Claire Lower convinces you to turn your kitchen waste into something edible and tasty.
Rather than throwing the sad little things around, I started to fry them into jams, perfect with cheeses. It is important to understand that these are not raisins. Although raisins are a concentrated form of grapes, they lack the lovely rich and roasted flavor that comes from the non-enzymatic browning in the oven. This browning prevents the grape syrup from becoming too cloying and is downright addictive. All you need to turn the sad and bland grapes into this quirky cheese platter is some butter (oil or olive oil will do), salt and pepper.
If you, like me, are a big fan of butter, simply melt a couple of teaspoons and sprinkle them over the entire bunch of grapes, stirring and adding more if necessary so that they are all lightly coated. Sprinkle with a little salt, grate a little pepper and place in the oven at 425 degrees for half an hour.
The cooking utensils do not matter. I like to use my tiny cast iron skillet, but a rimmed baking sheet, small casserole, or any other oven-safe dish will work.
As soon as the grapes burst and their delicious juice turns into syrup, remove them from the oven, let them cool slightly, and serve with the finest cheeses. Then go out and buy more fresh grapes and repeat the whole process as needed.