Abundance of coronation grapes -- suggestions?

Question

My neighbour is not harvesting most of his 10 acres of sovereign coronation grapes (similar to concords, but seedless). Any thoughts/suggestions at what I could do with some of them? I don't have a lot of experience cooking or baking with grapes. I'd rather not make a pie or jam.

Answer

If you have fika you can make the blackberry cake but use grapes instead. I've done it. Or Google grape cake,lots of recipes

Answer

Grape cornmeal cake, Grape flat bread, pickled grapes, grape sorbet, use them as crostini toppings, add them to chicken salad, add them to your favourite salad, grape syrup, grape compote, add them to sangria, smoothies, how about adding peanut butter ice cream and macerated, compote, or roasted grapes for a milk shake? Stuff them between bread and make french toast? Make gelled candies.

Answer

Grape juice needs a lot of grapes but that doesn't sound like a problem...! ;) it's really amazing, and tasty with a splash of seltzer water. 
If you have the space freezer jam is great, no fussing with any canning process at all. Something like this
http://www.herbangardener.com/2011/09/29/incredible-homemade-wild-grape-freezer-jam-sugar-free-pectin-free/

I bet they would make awesome raisins...! 
http://www.seriouseats.com/2017/02/how-to-oven-dry-grapes-diy-raisins.html

Answer

I use chutney to produce spectacularly good eating in two of my favorite go-to recipes: Mature Cheddar & Chutney sandwich and Chutney-topped Curried Cheese Spread. I've never used grape chutney in these dishes, but there are plenty of recipes on the internet. (Below)

I discovered the sandwich combination in London at a branch of Pret a Manger. On the London signboards, the word "pickle" is used instead of chutney, but the ingredient is definitely chutney. (The Pret Pickle is a mixture of a vegetable chutney and a fruit chutney, but grape chutney would work just fine.) Otherwise, the ingredients are easily accessible and this delicious sandwich is easy to reproduce on this side of the Atlantic.

Sandwich ingredients: 
Multi-grain bread
arugula
paper thin slices of red onion
slices of tomato
chutney
quality mature cheddar cheese

Not a fan of cheddar cheese? Use the same combination but substitute sliced chicken or turkey or ham.

I've been serving Chutney-topped Curried Cheese spread with wine/cocktails for decades. Apparently, others have, too since I discovered a link to the recipe in Food 52.

https://food52.com/recipes/2138-curry-cheese-chutney-dip

Finally, here are some links to recipes for grape chutney. Also, one summer when I didn't want to bother with canning, I simply froze the batches of chutney and relishes I had made and it worked fine.

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/grape-chutney/4836/

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2604637/apple-and-grape-chutney?amp

http://www.food.com/recipe/fresh-grape-chutney-159861

Answer

All good suggestions so far! I love grape focaccia and grape upside down cake. Pie is one of the fastest (and most delicious) ways to use a good amount, but since you don't want to do that, I would probably do juice. You can use it to make grape mousse and grape gelee. 
If you have an ice cream maker, grape sorbet is amazing. 
Roasted grapes make a great accompaniment to chicken, pork, or duck.
Going on the crostini idea, roasted grapes or pickled oven-dried grapes, or a chutney, would be great on chicken liver crostini.

Answer

Wowza, thanks, everyone -- I love all the ideas here!

I think some freezer jam, a grape cake variant of the blackberry cake, grape sorbet, and grape chutney are my starting hit list.

Answer

I made a coronation grape pate de fruit one and it was amazing! I've just checked the link I used and it's no longer working, but I think it was pretty basic. Ended up with cubes of concentrated very grape-y candy. :)

Answer

Hi everyone! Phase 1 of Project Grape complete: freezer jam and grape cake. I've literally never made jam before, so I did some quick reading to understand the role of sugar and acid in thickening, then winged it. It was fun and the end result is nice and tart, rather than sickly sweet. For the grape cake, I used galleygirl's famous pear tart (but really, it's a cake) recipe that's been knocking around chowhound for years now. Turns out that grapes are delicious in a buttery, moist cake!

I gave away about 40 lbs of grapes yesterday. After de-stemming my 9 pounds today, I'm not sure I'm ready for Phase 2 just yet. But we shall see. Thanks again for all the inspiration!

Answer

It appears that things to do with grapes is on food writer's minds, too. Here's a link to a column that appeared in yesterday's WASHINGTON POST food section.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/7-ways-to-make-the-most-of-a-good-grape/2017/09/20/218b09ac-9cbd-11e7-9083-fbfddf6804c2_story.html?utm_term=.35c7ea703f16

Among the more predictable suggestions, are some really unusual recipes for using grapes. My favorite: roasting red grapes with a splash of vinegar to produce a topping for cheese. I guess the high sugar content makes the grapes stick so parchment paper is recommended. If you don't already have parchment paper, that's the only thing about the recipe that requires doing anything beyond the most minimal effort.

Answer

Phase 2 of Project Grape complete: a double batch of grape chutney is now in the freezer, waiting for Thanksgiving as a substitute for cranberry sauce. I forgot to take a picture before freezing it, but it's the gorgeous deep purple colour you would imagine it to be. 

I have about a pound of de-stemmed grapes left that I'm going to try juicing in my Instant Pot. A friend told me about a Finnish steam juicer, I did some research and discovered that I could rig my Instant Pot to do the same thing:

https://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooked-blackberry-italian-sodamaking-fruit-extracts-or-steam-juicing-under-pressure/

The really good news is that my neighbour was able to sell the rest of his harvest to Costco at the last minute, so my endless source of grapes is gone. I'm very happy for him!

Thanks again, everyone! I'll be referring back to this thread come harvest time next year. :)

Answer

Grapes marinated in red wine: https://www.melissas.com/Articles.asp?ID=1815

They're wonderful added to a green salad with some goat cheese. Topping for toast. Base of a sauce for pork chops. Lots of uses, and maybe the best is just eating them out straight out of the jar.

They keep for months.

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