Coming to grips with the grape.
Do you like grapes? The Romans did. There are endless pictures, immortalised further by movies like Ben Hur , where Roman he-men, and nobles recline languorously against silken cushions, while a nubile wench holds a bunch of luscious grapes over their faces, tempting them to reach out and take a nibble.
ONCE UPON A TIME Grapes, in times of yore, had Hedonistic associations. Besides, thanks to that overactive god, Bacchus, lover of the grape, especially in its distilled forms, the grape had a certain ignominy by association.

Grapes, in India, were till not too long ago, the lure of the exotic. They came in from Kabul or were grown sparsely in the country, and therefore were not only very transitory, seasonal delights, but were also something of a luxury.
All that has changed dramatically of course. The Hyderabad grape revolution, the flooding of markets with the Gulabshahi and Anabshahi varieties and their seedless versions and the emergence of Nasik and other parts of Maharasthra, and parts of Southern India as grape-growing regions, have seen the grape becoming a popular snack, extending itself from being just a means of quenching thirst on a hot summer day, or, more potently, on long party evenings.
GET YOUR GRAPES Grapes have today become something of a regular on tables: They add to the table decor, thanks to their colour and pleasing shape, and the bunches are often used as part of the centrepiece.
Thanks to the fact that India now imports grapes from California, where, thanks to geography, the season comes at a time when our own vines are bereft, Indians can enjoy grapes all through the year.
A HEALTHY SNACK Which is great news for the palate, but greater news for health and fitness freaks. With their natural sugars and high water content, and the right amount of roughage, grapes are a great pick-me-up and full of energising goodness.
According to research conducted by the California table grape industry, the Indian consumer quite loves her imported grapes. Forget the fact that they are top quality and succulent in their freshness and perfection, even as a positioning statement, they work just fine. And though Indians will NOT eat locally grown grapes with seeds, seeds are not such a matter of concern obviously, if the grapes are imported.

Both the seeded and seedless varieties have hit it off with the Indian buyers, and thus encouraged the importers to seek out even more varieties to put on offer, the coming season, beginning November. Let’s take a look at what is commonly called the food of the Gods...
WHY ARE GRAPES SO SPECIAL? Earlier, it was the fact that they were rare. Today, however, nutritionists sing their praises as the com-plete fruit that has phytonutrients that enhance good health and help fight against cancer-causing free radicals. They even help keep the heart healthy.
House proud women love grapes because they look good on the table, and are a great way to dress up a salad, a main course dish, or a dessert. Grapes have found their way into seafood and meat dishes and are used to enhance vegetarian dishes.
And last but not least, is the fact that like wine and grape juice, table grapes have qualities that help protect the heart and blood vessels against oxidative tissue damage. This finding, courtesy research undertaken in the US of A, suggests that you don’t have to imbibe intoxicating liquids dis-tilled from the grape to keep your heart ticking happily (other factors being equal), munching on bunches of grapes will do just as well, thank you.
Table grapes and wine contain many of the same polyphenols, aka disease-fighting phyto-nutrients, and are effective antioxidants. Even after a heart attack, grapes, (in this case the study used California grapes), improved blood flow and heart pumping capacity, and reduced the area of ’tissue death’ that followed a heart attack.
That’s good news — the kind that makes grape eating that much more of a pleasure.
And to add to simple joys, here are some ways of converting the globe of colour into a visual and gastronomic treat.
Recipes