Yes, this post is about grapes……Mustang Grapes actually, something new for a Virginian living in Texas.
After living on the ranch for 3 years, I finally found out that the little purple berries gracing the vines on the main gate are edible. I had heard about Mustang Grapes and actually had some homemade jelly…..never dawned on me I had them.
So…my husband and I started picking in the early evening (when the temperatures were down to the cooler, mid to high nineties, instead of the sweltering triple digits. The berries on our gate were small, surprising that we had any at all considering the lack of rain. I was told (after several hours of picking) that one should wear gloves, the acid content of the fruit can cause skin irritation and also stain your hands. Guess I was lucky. Picking mustang 
grapes takes time and patience, the fruit is small and attached quite well on the vine, it makes you work for it. Clustered closely together, even when you think an area is picked clean, gently move a leaf and another layer of grapes awaits. The good grapes like height, at least, our grapes did . So we had to position ourselves just right to not get the sun low on the horizon in our eyes. The skin of the grape will also slip off the fruit if twisted or pulled just right. There is an art to this process….
If you pick alone, there is plenty of time to think, if you have a partner, well, that’s even better. Sometimes we picked in silence, sometimes the day’s events were discussed and evaluated or we dusted off dreams and how we might bring them to life. Or sometimes, rotten berries found a mark for a few good laughs. It was a relaxing end to the day even though it was work. It was a satisfying feeling to come down with an empty bucket and go home with quarts of luscious deep purple orbs.
For while these undomesticated grapes, native to this country are too bitter to eat, they make wonderful jams, jellies and wine. Haven’t tried wine yet, have the recipe ready…..but there are many jars of Marvelous Mustang Grape Jam on my shelves. They sit next to the tomatoes, salsas, green beans and other summer goodness…..waiting to be opened some cold winter day. (I always live in hope for cold winter days. If it doesn’t happen, I turn on the AC and pretend) I look at these shelves and think about how we picked grapes, how we started tomatoes and squash and when it was watered, how it was fed, how I could go right to the garden, brush off the dirt and eat, knowing there was nothing to poison my system. I can’t do that in the grocery store. I like this life, this simple, yet demanding, way of living.
So, today..I had a peanut butter and Marvelous Mustang Grape jam sandwich….
and it was good.