Muscadine - Definition and Overview

Some muscadines in a bowl; the green ones are scuppernongs

Muscadines (Vitis rotundifolia), and the closely related scuppernongs, are table grape varieties native to the present-day southeastern United States that have been extensively cultivated. They are well adapted to their native warm and humid climate; they need less chilling hours than better known varieties and they thrive on summer heat.

Muscadines range from golden to dark purple to black in color when ripe. The skins are usually considered too tough to be edible. To eat the fruit raw, bite a small hole in the skin, then suck the thick gelatinous insides into your mouth, taking care to spit out the seeds embedded in it. Though mostly used fresh, muscadines have also been locally used in making a home-brewed wine, and jelly.

Scuppernongs are a large green type of muscadine originally grown in North Carolina.

References

• California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. article on MUSCADINE GRAPE (http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/muscadinegrape.html)

Example Usage of Muscadine