Food - Drink
Why Grocery Store Grapes Taste So Different Than Those From The Farm
By ERICA MARTINEZ
Your local supermarket probably displays piles of plump grapes ranging in color from light green to purplish black, and such appealing-looking fruit may find its way into your cart. However, when you finally try your grapes, you might find them terribly sour, a flaw that is even more glaring if you've ever tried grapes at a farm or farmer's market.
Supermarket grapes can taste sour because markets care about making profits and not throwing any stock away. When growing and shipping produce to supermarkets, farmers pick fruits and veggies as soon as they look appetizing, but before they are truly ripe, giving them a much longer shelf life but a disappointing underripe flavor.
On the other hand, grapes sold at farm stands and farmer's markets are picked when ripe, so they have a superior flavor, even if they look bruised or imperfect. Farmer's markets also focus on selling produce that is local and in season, so there's no pressure regarding its shelf life and whether or not it can travel long distances.
However, this is not to say that every large-scale grape producer sells inferior products. Some companies, like The Grapery in California, sell their grapes nationwide at large-scale markets and even big-box stores, but do not harvest their grapes until they are completely ripe, resulting in a product with a shorter shelf life but a great flavor.