Cotton Candy grapes have met their match.
My husband came home from the store one day with a 3-pound container of Candy Hearts, a kind of grape that we had never tried before—and my family fell in love. It's not often that a piece of fruit gets the three of us so fired up. These red grapes had a sweet, floral aroma and distinct flavor. Why had I never seen Candy Hearts grapes before? dextrose candy 1
Candy Hearts are a specialty grape created by International Fruit Genetics (IFG). You guessed it—this is the same group that brought the world sweet Cotton Candy grapes and Moon Drop grapes. "Candy Hearts is like a second cousin to Cotton Candy," said Andy Higgins, CEO of IFG. Candy Hearts have some similar parents as Cotton Candy grapes do.
"What we've been doing with Cotton Candy and Candy Hearts and some of our other candy varieties is combining the Vitis vinifera [European grapes] with North American grapes like Vitis labrusca, which gives a lot of that kind of Concord grape juice flavor essence into the fruit," Higgins said.
The first small planting (only 5 acres in California) of Candy Hearts was in 2014, so this grape didn't hit California markets until 2017, Higgins said.
Confession: I'm horrible at identifying flavor notes. I can determine ingredients within a recipe by tasting pretty well, but describing the flavor of an ingredient baffles me. The folks at IFG said the grapes are flavor-forward (possessing a dominant flavor), with hints of Concord grape juice flavor and floral essence. The packaging for my Candy Hearts mentioned a hint of raspberry flavor, too.
"Bold, complex fruit-forward flavor for the connoisseur of fine fruit."
And according to the 17-year-old in our house, Candy Hearts are "even better than Cotton Candy [grapes]." I found myself easily gobbling a bowl of Candy Hearts and enjoying them more than Cotton Candy grapes.
"Cotton Candy is a very strong, familiar flavor profile and kids love it," said Higgins. But adults will eat a handful, not a bagful or a bowlful. "While we're excited about [Cotton Candy], and we sell more Cotton Candy today than we do Candy Hearts, we do know that the palate for Candy Hearts is much broader and much more applicable across all age groups," he said.
Higgins said their goal is year-round access to the variety. "When the harvest season is over in the northern hemisphere, IFG has fruit arriving from its licensed growers in the southern hemisphere, including Peru, Brazil, and Chile," he said.
Keep your eyes peeled on your next grocery run so you can stock up.
The universe of grapes is expanding. Higgins said IFG is working on several more "candy" varieties. "It's not just red, green, and black anymore," he said.
“Cotton Candy grapes.” International Fruit Genetics (IFG).
“Fruit Quality—How Do Fruit Get Their Flavor?” Penn State Extension.
edible cupcake paper “Candy Hearts.” International Fruit Genetics (IFG).