What Are Cotton Candy Grapes?
An expert fruit breeder explains everything you need to know about this hybrid grape.
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You’ve probably seen Cotton Candy grapes in the produce section of your grocery store and wondered if they’re as sweet as their namesake suggests. But what exactly are they and how are they made? For more info, we consulted Dr. Chris Owens, head plant breeder at Bloom Fresh, a premium fruit-breeding company specializing in table grapes, cherries and raisins.
/BLOOM FRESH
What Are Cotton Candy Grapes?
Cotton Candy grapes are a variety of table grapes with a unique, spun sugar flavor.
Cotton Candy grapes have an oval berry shape with a crisp, firm texture and have a lighter yellow-green in color than green grapes.
“The Cotton Candy grape was first naturally bred in 2003 by horticulturalist, Dr. David Cain, but it took 10 more years before the Cotton Candy grape started to appear in stores,” Owens says. “Currently, Cotton Candy table grapes are grown in 13 countries and sold in a number of countries including the US, UK and Spain, among others.”
What Do Cotton Candy Grapes Taste Like?
Cotton Candy grapes have a distinct sweetness that many say taste like cotton candy. “Cotton Candy grapes are a variety of table grapes with this unique, sweet recognizable flavor,” Owens says. “They have a "pop" when you bite into them, a sweet remembrance of cotton candy’s crispiness, and can taste like spun sugar. “
/BLOOM FRESH
How Are Cotton Candy Grapes Made?
Cotton Candy grapes are a hybrid grape created by cross-pollinating common grocery story variety grapes with Concord grapes.
“The story of the Cotton Candy table grape began in 2003. Researchers from the University of Arkansas's fruit breeding program were showcasing a purple Concord grape that had a certain flavor that intrigued Dr. Cain. Dr. Cain then went to work in cross-pollinating their grapes with a dozen California varieties on his test fields in Delano, California,” Owens says. “A few years later, when seedlings were fruiting, a group of school children touring the facilities were given a chance to taste the grapes and immediately the students said the grapes tasted like “cotton candy”—thus a legendary table grape was born.”
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Are Cotton Candy Grapes Good For You?
“Grapes offer hydration, natural sweetness and lots of vitamins and minerals, making them a great choice for meals and snacking,” says registered dietitian nutritionist Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC. “Nutrition facts compared to traditional grapes are very similar—there are some brand labels that show a slightly higher natural sugar content in cotton candy grapes but consumers don’t have to worry, there is no added sugar in either type.”
Angelo shares that a one cup serving of Cotton Candy grapes contains 100 calories, 0 total fat, 27 grams of carbs, 23 grams of sugar (no added sugar) 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of fiber.
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