• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Forager | Chef
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Interviews
  • Partnerships
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Interviews
  • Partnerships
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Interviews
    • Partnerships
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Wild Fruit

    Wild Grape Recipes

    About

    Wild river grapes (Vitis riparia) are one of the easiest wild fruits to identify, harvest and cook. Just don't expect them to be like fruit from a store. If you're new to these, read The Forager's Guide to Wild Grapes.

    Tried and True

    Fruit Scrap Vinegar | Fermented Grape Leaves|

    wild river grapes or Vitis riparia

    Wild varieties are similar to cultivated in that they can be pressed for juice, but are different in that they're small and have large, crunchy seeds that most people won't care for.

    Edible Parts

    The fruit, leaves, and young-growing vine tendrils are all edible.

    Leaves

    Stuffed grape leaves are a tradition in many places of the world. Ferment your own and taste the difference. After you've made them, try my Walnut and Mushroom Sarmasi.

    fermented grape leaves in a jar

    Tendrils

    The young, tender tips of the vines add a nice compliment to salads.

    wild grape vine tips with a basket in the background Tartaric Acid

    The juice contain tartaric acid that can give people upset stomachs if they drink the juice. To remove the tartaric acid from wild grape juice, allow the juice to settle and pour off the juice, discarding any sediment.

    Cooking

    You can use the juice to make all kinds of things. The jelly they make is arguably the best you'll ever have, but there's a lot more.

    stuffed hollyhock leaves on a plate with oil and vinegar.

    Stuffed hollyhock leaves with juice reduction and olive oil.

    In the Middle East and Armenia, fruit juice is often cooked down to a syrup to concentrate and pasteurize it. You can find a method for making your own in my post on Wild Grape Reduction. I also use it to give a tart flavor to braised meat, as in my Bison Braised in Wild Grape Juice.

    • Apples Poached in Wild Grape Juice
    • Wild Berry Wóžapi Sauce
    • Wild Blueberry Molasses (Juice Reduction)
    • Cassis: The Blackcurrant Liqueur
    • Blueberry Panna Cotta with Edible Flowers
    • Pickled Grape Leaves Recipe (Fermented)
    • Sweet and Sour Wild Cherry, Berry or Grape Syrup
    • Fruit Scrap Vinegar
    • Wild Grape, Aronia, or Elderberry BBQ
    • Wild Grape Reduction
    • Bison Braised in Wild Grape Juice

    Primary Sidebar

    Chef Alan Bergo

    HI, I'm Alan: James Beard Award-winning Chef, Author, Show Host and Forager. I've been writing about cooking wild food here for over a decade. Let me show you why foraging is the most delicious thing you'll ever do.

    More about me →

    Get The Book

    the forager chef's book of flora
    The Forager Chefs Book of Flora

    As Seen On

    Footer

    BACK TO TOP

    Privacy

    Subscribe

    Be the first to hear what I'm doing

    Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Forager | Chef®