Chilean Fruit, BOOYAH!!!

Can't believe it's gotten to this point, but I can actually tell where a grape has been grown just by taste alone! Or, more specifically, red seedless grapes, which are the only grapes I eat. Today I walked into Whole Foods and--lo and behold!--they finally switched over to seasonal Chilean grapes. WOO-HOO!!!

Depending on the time of year, NYC gets most of its grapes from either California (summer time) or from Chile (winter time). Which makes sense given the different hemispheres and all. But lately I've been noticing that we get tremendous tasting grapes here from January until July, and then the quality goes downhill the months following.

So, in other words, the grapes from Chile during our winter taste AWESOME, while the ones from California taste awful. Why this is so, I have no idea. All I can say is that the red seedless grapes from Cali have a much more muted and less full taste and body. There's no tartness, no crunchiness to the skin--nothing! Not even the color is all that red.

Yet the Chilean grapes? Different story altogether! I know this pic I took with my iPhone doesn't do it justice, but trust me . . . those grapes right there are packed with taste. And they are a gorgeous, robust red, too! The type of grapes you just need to look at and already know they're delicious.

Of course, there are in fact different variety of red seedless grapes which I won't go into. Universally, though, I notice the disparity between the two regions of the world immediately now. My palate has adjusted enough over the years, I guess, to know.

Anyway, I'm a very happy camper. I have six months of yummy grapeness to look forward to. That plus all the red wine I drink, I think the red grape might be my next favorite fruit after pineapple. Whoa!