Grappa Grapes Recipe

This is the perfect grappa grapes recipe. Mainly due to the good whack of sugar and alcohol used. Grappa by itself really isn’t all that pleasant, thus the addition of cognac. Grappa is a fiery and potent Italian liquor made from distilled grapes, their stalks and seeds. It will knock you on your ear quicker than Mike Tyson.

There are two big bottles of grappa tucked in the back corner of our liquor cabinet. We just don’t drink it as a stand alone drink. One bottle is destined to become limoncello, has been since we got it 20 years ago, the other has been slowly used in cooking.

Unlike the not very often touched grappa, this household devours its fair share of grapes. During grape season there will be a bowl of them in the fridge. Crunchy sweet chilled grapes easy for the picking. Much healthier for you than reaching in and grabbing some chocolate for a sugar hit. Even Sally loves them.

In fact Sally is quite adamant that I share my grapes with her. The scenario usually plays out that I have one grape, a second, then a third, if I’m lucky a fourht. It is then that I get the stink eye stare from her and from that moment it is a sharing event. I bite a grape in half and she gets the other half, until my handful of grapes have been happily demolished by the two of us.

Wanting to make something a little different to my usual baking repertoire using grapes. It dawned on me that grapes and grappa would to be the perfect match for boozy grape preserving. The cognac was thrown in for some flavour. The sugar added to make it all palatable, plus aid in the preserving of these babies, as they soaked up the booze to become little alcoholic bursts of grape goodness. Let’s face the hard truth here, the amount of alcohol used in this recipe would preserve anything. Warning, don’t eat these guys and drive.

The grapes are a perfect accompaniment to ice cream, butter cake, used in a trifle, served with sweetened ricotta or mascarpone, you could even add them to a cheese platter.

The alcoholic liquid shouldn’t go to waste either. Perfect to use in cocktails, be sure to add a few of the grapes too. Or just drizzle it over the grapes and their accompaniment.

I now have two jars of these beauties, as you will if you make this recipe. Feel free to half the ingredients if you want, it will still work. We have been eating them as is, but a bit like the bottle of grappa I have other plans for the second jar. Stay tuned for some boozy grape baking.

Is your family a grape munching family like mine? If so how do you like to eat your grapes?

Sara xxx

Belly Rumbles would like to acknowledge its partnership Australian Grapes for this post. This recipe was created, developed and photographed by Sara McCleary.

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