Keeping grapes from being mushy

zyxst
zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
Before I bought any, I read a few food sites for advice on how to keep grapes. I know they only keep well for 1-2 weeks, but they're getting soft and mushy before (I think) they should (been 4 days since I bought them). Idk if the type matters, but they're green seedless.

What I'm doing:
- keeping them in a plastic sack that has holes in it (what the bunch was in from the store)
- keeping them in the fridge
- they stay on the vine, so I pick them when I want a snack
- I throw out any loose ones and the soft ones that are on the vine

Am I just going to have mushy grapes/grapes going off before their time? It sucks because I can't buy grapes that weigh less than a kilo/bunch.

Replies

  • unhgoose
    unhgoose Posts: 122 Member
    Mine stay firm longer than that and I treat them the same way you do. I do make a point of looking for ones that aren't close to squishy when I buy them. Maybe you got a bag of some that had already hit their peak?
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited April 2015
    If the grapes are still attached to a stem I would leave them on the stem. Dry them off really well. Get a paper towel and wrap very loose around the bundle of grapes. Poke many large holes (like pea size or larger) in a zip lock bag. Do not set any other food on top of the grapes or crowd them in the fridge (let them breath from being around other food)..

    The paper towel will just absorb moisture from in the bag (sweating and humidity)...
  • Ice_Arrows
    Ice_Arrows Posts: 46 Member
    Maybe it's because of you live? Do you live far from the source of the product? Possible climate is affecting it?
    If your store has those little plastic produce bags you could just buy a handfull of grapes at a time. Open a full bag, take a few and transfer them to the bag.

    I'm in Newfoundland(near everything has to be brought in on boat) and work at a grocery store. I know one of the produce employees very well, he says the time it takes for the food to hit the shelves is crazy. First is the trip from where it was shipped from to the docks, then it has to sit and wait on the boats to come over, then in a warehouse, then finally to the stores and wait to be placed out for people to buy. Could be a couple weeks old already by the time you go to get it.
    The grapes bought just last week are sitting in the fridge and getting squishy already :'(
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    If they start to get mushy, freeze them for a popsicle-like snack. Those were my favorite back when I was in high school :)
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    It starts at the store. Be sure you are buying bunches that are on nice green flexible stems. If they are on dry brown stems they are already very old.

    Otherwise do like you are except don't expect a couple weeks. In season I eat a bunch per day so I buy around ten pounds at a time. I buy about every 1 to 1.5 weeks.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    stoptakingnames wrote: »
    Maybe it's because of you live? Do you live far from the source of the product? Possible climate is affecting it?
    If your store has those little plastic produce bags you could just buy a handfull of grapes at a time. Open a full bag, take a few and transfer them to the bag.

    I'm in Newfoundland(near everything has to be brought in on boat) and work at a grocery store. I know one of the produce employees very well, he says the time it takes for the food to hit the shelves is crazy. First is the trip from where it was shipped from to the docks, then it has to sit and wait on the boats to come over, then in a warehouse, then finally to the stores and wait to be placed out for people to buy. Could be a couple weeks old already by the time you go to get it.
    The grapes bought just last week are sitting in the fridge and getting squishy already :'(

    I'm an idiot. I live in Nfld as well and didn't think about the overnight ferries and week trek across the island.
  • Ice_Arrows
    Ice_Arrows Posts: 46 Member
    It's pretty easy to forget how far things travel here most times. This winter was really bad though, everything stuck in NB and couldn't get across :( We even had to put up signs saying due to lower than usual stock that alot of things were not available.
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