Cotton Candy Grapes Vs. Regular Grapes: Is There A Nutritional Difference?

If cotton candy grapes sound like something out of your childhood fantasies, you're not wrong. This grape variety is the brainchild of horticulturists and scientists in California who set out to make a large, juicy grape hybrid that tastes just like candy. They did not disappoint.

Though engineering fruit to taste even sweeter than it already is might sound like a ploy to get us all eating healthier, the idea behind cotton candy grapes was to help bring grapes to markets more easily. Grapes can be fragile, difficult to ship, and challenging to stock in stores. Though grapes have been made to be a bit more durable, the fruit has lost some flavor along the way.

By combining standard green grapes with notes of vanilla, cotton candy grapes have addressed some of these issues, but how has all of this science impacted the fruit's nutritional content? For fruit to taste this good, surely there's a catch. Spoiler alert: there isn't one.

Yep, that's true. You can eat cotton candy grapes without worry, for the sweetness you taste is natural, and the grapes do not contain any additional amount of sugar when compared to other grape varieties. The same vitamins that regular green grapes deliver are found in the cotton candy version, and cotton candy grapes also contain health-supporting vitamin C and antioxidants.

These sweet grapes can be found in American markets in the late summer and fall and are perfect to enjoy as a stand-alone snack or as an addition to recipes. Cotton candy grapes can be a stellar inclusion for charcuterie boards, can be sliced into fruit salads, or be frozen to flavor water and other beverages.

When you do find these sweet treats at the market, buy the cotton candy grapes in bulk to make your own sorbet for a refreshing after-dinner treat. They do taste like candy, after all.