Why are green grapes so expensive?

[Artichoke Lover]

I’ve noticed this for years. Green grapes are always twice the price of the red ones at the store. I’ve tried google but haven’t been able to find out why. It’s frustrating because I prefer green grapes but not enough to constantly pay twice as much for them.

 

[digitS']

Thinking that I might find an answer to that question, I read this about California table grapes:

Where Have All the Great Grapes Gone?

One of California's richest agricultural heritages has been reduced to the bland and seedless.

www.latimes.com

I don't know if an answer was there, or not . It was interesting!

Steve

 

[Marie2020]

No matter what colour the grape in our shop they are inedible. The black from India are tasteless and the green are sour. We do not have anything that remotely tastes like a grape anymore. Plus they are all seedless

 

[flowerbug]

i've not ever much liked green seedless grapes anyways. for me the grapes i've liked best are the Concord like grapes used for jams/jellies/juices which are both tart and sweet and have seeds. rarely can find them at the grocery store.

i tend to not buy things flown in from other countries, it is bad enough to see fruits out of season which come from thousands of miles away and then determining that they are heavily sprayed with pesticides/etc and don't have any taste either. why reward poor agricultural practices for an inferior product? i try not to.

put up things in season that are local, grow your own and as a last resort buy frozen and canned items which have a better chance of being picked when actually ripe and processed more locally to where they're produced.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

i've not ever much liked green seedless grapes anyways. for me the grapes i've liked best are the Concord like grapes used for jams/jellies/juices which are both tart and sweet and have seeds. rarely can find them at the grocery store.

i tend to not buy things flown in from other countries, it is bad enough to see fruits out of season which come from thousands of miles away and then determining that they are heavily sprayed with pesticides/etc and don't have any taste either. why reward poor agricultural practices for an inferior product? i try not to.

put up things in season that are local, grow your own and as a last resort buy frozen and canned items which have a better chance of being picked when actually ripe and processed more locally to where they're produced.

My favorite green grapes are American grown and are actually quite sweet but are seasonal. I’ve never seen locally grown grapes anywhere I think it’s because they are difficult and expensive to grow here in large scale operations. The vast majority of fresh grapes sold in the us come from California. And I have planted a lot of grape vines(too many really) but it will probably be 3 years before they produce.

 

[digitS']

...and as a last resort buy frozen and canned items which have a better chance of being picked when actually ripe ...

I find canned fruit to be variable as to my assessment of if it was ripe when processed. It's somewhat obvious when that seems true with the fruit found in the same can.

Quality? DW doesn't care much for canned anything. Here's some advice: the person shopping shouldn't be the one who doesn't really like the product to be purchased.

It's okay because I'm also of a mind that canned and frozen should be last resort items. Still and yet , I think fruits and vegetables are important for our health, I like variety, and, often, I'm disappointed in soopermarket offerings. Don't say that I should move to the tropics! I.Tell.You, I really need to migrate seasonally to about 49° latitude in both hemispheres. Yeah! Please and Thank You.

Steve

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

They are the same price out west.

 

[heirloomgal]

@Artichoke Lover I love a good green grape too. We have fabulous South African grapes in the stores here. They are so, so delicious! There are a few excellent South African varieties we get here actually; one of them has the faintest flavour of roses . I planted a 'Somerset' grape a few years ago, and it is one of those rare table grapes that will grow well in my climate. The 1st year it made 3 large bunches. It's greenish pink, and quite small, but the taste is out of this world & wonderfully sweet. I find the dark wild purple ones tasty, but you can only eat so many because they are just too sour.

More pertinent to your question though, green skin in grapes is a mutation in that they don't produce anthocyanin like red grapes. I'm not 100% sure, but I think as a result of that red grapes have higher rate of production than greens. Maybe too, because of that mutation the green grapes might be a bit trickier to grow.

 

[Zeedman]

The problem with grapes is that they are all seasonal, and vary widely in quality between different growers. There is less industry standardization in grapes than with most fruits, and cultivars/varieties are seldom named. Locally, with few exceptions, every supermarket chain carries different brands... and brands & growers shift constantly throughout the year. Grapes tend to be grouped by green, red, and black; but the quality within each color ranges from good, to sour, to tough unchewable skins. So whether it is socially acceptable or not, when in doubt, I always taste one grape before buying. The only grape I have found to be reliably good is "Holiday", which is a large globular red variety. I tend to avoid the green ones on principle, because they are nearly always sour.

Like @flowerbug , I used to prefer the seeded grapes, because they were more flavorful (as are seeded watermelons, or seeded oranges). Hard to find those varieties now, the public preference seems to have shifted to "seedless" whenever that choice is available.

Now if they could develop a coreless, seedless apple - THAT would get my interest! If current trends are any indication though, such an apple would probably turn out to be tasteless.

 

[Marie2020]

@Artichoke Lover I love a good green grape too. We have fabulous South African grapes in the stores here. They are so, so delicious! There are a few excellent South African varieties we get here actually; one of them has the faintest flavour of roses . I planted a 'Somerset' grape a few years ago, and it is one of those rare table grapes that will grow well in my climate. The 1st year it made 3 large bunches. It's greenish pink, and quite small, but the taste is out of this world & wonderfully sweet. I find the dark wild purple ones tasty, but you can only eat so many because they are just too sour.

More pertinent to your question though, green skin in grapes is a mutation in that they don't produce anthocyanin like red grapes. I'm not 100% sure, but I think as a result of that red grapes have higher rate of production than greens. Maybe too, because of that mutation the green grapes might be a bit trickier to grow.

I was under the impression that south African fruits were heavily chemicals. Am I wrong? If so this is good to know as I've been avoiding their food for a very long time .
@flowerbug I'm afraid we do not have a lot if choices here, so have no other alternative other to eat imported. Though I will be avoiding oranges of any kind, they are old and taste awful and have very thick pith