The mustang grape

This is a variety of grape that grows wild where I live. Extremely sour and not very palatable right off the vine. But very edible and delicious in jellies, juices, and wines. The mustang grape ripens towards the end of July and we have a big row of them on our fence bordering the farm to market road which goes in front of our place. Texas heat makes it difficult to get motivated for picking. It is best to go out early in the morning. Once harvested, I wash them and squeeze the seed sack out of the hull. The dark hull is where all the flavor is. I pre-measure my batches and then seal the hulls in bags with my vacuum sealer. After that they go to the freezer where they are ready for cooking at a moment's notice.

 

Mustang grapes grow in Oklahoma and Texas. It is quite common for people to pick them and make mustang grape jelly out of them.

 

Do these wild grapes have any resemblance to the domestic grapes? I would like to know so that if I should see them I could probably use them as you have.

 

Those kind of look more like berries. It's good to have a wide variety of edible plant's that grow wild. I've never seen those where I live it could be because of the climate.

 

Mustang grapes are easy to tell apart by their clearly different leaves from other wild grapes. The topside are dark green and smooth while the undersides are gray and fuzzy like the nose of a horse or a cow. These grapes are the first to ripen in the summer in Texas. Their skins are thick and tough, surrounding a very gelatinous interior containing several small seeds. This acidic taste makes them unpleasant to eat raw and can result in acid burns on your mouth and fingers. However, this acid gives them a complex flavor when made into jam/jelly or wine . Due to their fuzziness, the leaves aren't used in cooking like other grape leaves.

 

The seeds are not edible. They are very hard and could break your teeth. Although I have heard it rumored that the mustang grape seed has the highest antioxidant value of any known food. I have considered running them through my food processer and then sprinkling the broken up seeds on salads.

 

I have some wild grapes growing against my fence line and I have not been able to identify what type they are yet. They are green and very small. They look like tiny, hard, berries. I haven't been able to see what's higher up, but I can tell that the birds eat them because the vines keep growing all over the place. I'm nervous to eat them since I can't tell what they are yet. I've never heard of Mustang grapes before. They do seem to be very good for you, as I've read up about the anti-oxidants that are in them.