Why You Should Be Roasting Your Grapes

We roast lots of different fruits in our kitchens. We love to roast plums, pears, and apples, just to name a few. When done properly, roasted fruit should be perfectly caramelized, soft but not mushy, and irresistibly sweet.

But why stop with big fruits? We recently discovered that grapes are the perfect candidate for roasting, transforming them into the perfect sweet topping for meats and salads.

We applied this discovery to two recipes: our Roasted Grape and Cauliflower Salad with Chermoula from The Complete Salad Cookbook and Roasted Chicken Thighs with Grapes and Fennel from Cook’s Country.

In both of these recipes, the whole grapes were tossed with oil or melted butter, and then roasted at 450 or 475 (depending on the recipe) alongside either garlic or onion for 12 to 15 minutes. During the roasting process, the grapes caramelized beautifully, increasing their sweetness and concentrating their flavor. Being roasted with alliums created a complex flavor, with the allium balancing out the sweetness without taking it away.

But the texture of the grape is what makes it so special. It’s jammy and luxurious, and it adds something extra to your dish, without it feeling unnecessary. 

In salads, the sweetness contrasts with the crunchiness of the other components. With ingredients like chicken thighs, the sweet jamminess provides great balance to the heaviness of the meat.

So what are you waiting for? Take those grapes sitting in your fridge and throw them in the oven. You’ll never look at them the same way again.

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