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Summertime weather and county fairs may feel like they’re a long way off but Cotton Candy Grapes are back in season!
For the unluckily uninitiated, Cotton Candy Grapes are a variety of green grapes that taste just like that spun-sugar treat you find at carnivals and amusement parks. If it sounds like the kind of thing Willy Wonka would’ve cranked out of his whimsical sweets factory, you’re only partly right.
Thankfully, the taste of Cotton Candy Grapes is achieved via natural means and a painstaking cross-breeding process, not via artificial flavoring or added junk.
Due to these careful breeding requirements, these designer fruits aren’t widely grown and are only available for a limited time each year.
While many brands make Cotton Candy Grapes only during the warmer months, some packages have recently been spotted on grocery shelves during the frigid days. On Jan. 26, Hip2Save reported that it had seen Cotton Candy Grapes in abundance at Aldi.
So this might be the time to make a quick run to Aldi before they sell out. This is one of those food items that has a rabid fanbase.
Two of the main purveyors of Cotton Candy Grapes, Arizona-based Divine Flavor and California-based Grapery, each have different in-season dates. Grapery’s Cotton Candy grapes are generally available between Aug. 10 and Sept. 20, while Divine Farms’ Cotton Candy grapes are often available in May and June.
The latter variety can commonly be found at Costco.
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Divine Flavor sells its Cotton Candy Grapes in 2-, 3- and 16-pound packages. Depending on your location, you can also find the brand’s grapes at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Publix, Kroger, Safeway, Raley’s Supermarkets, Fresh Market and some Target locations.
Other Designer Grape Varieties
Along with Cotton Candy grapes, Divine Flavor also produces other grape varietals, including Wow! Sweet Grapes (grapes painstakingly picked at a time when they will be most sweet and scrumptious), Gummyberries(bright red grapes that taste like gummy snacks) and Jellyberries (dark purple grapes that are rumored to taste exactly like Concord-grape jam).
The Grapery also grows Gum Drops, which are small purple grapes that are supposed to have a “luscious candy-sweet flavor.” Those are available Sept. 1 – Sept. 30. Meanwhile, Moon Drops, also from The Grapery, are deep-purple, uniquely shaped grapes that have “a flavor that eclipses almost any other grape,” according to the grower. Those are available July 20 – Nov. 1.
When fruit tastes this good, who needs candy? What a perfectly wholesome and healthy way to make summer even sweeter.
RELATED: This video of a raccoon eating grapes is the best thing you’ll see all week:
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