Here's How Long You Need To Make The Crunchiest Frozen Grapes

Every recipe in creation — and we're using the word "recipe" very generously here — falls on a difficulty spectrum. On one end, you have something as simple as adding milk to cereal; a sitcom joke about "cooking" if there ever was one. On the other, you have your labor-intensive cassoulets, moles, and pâtés. Then there are outliers that require nearly zero effort, but still just take a long time to be ready to eat. And frozen grapes are primary among them.

While you can literally just throw a bunch of grapes in the freezer and forget about them until you want an icy, sweetish treat, you can do so much better, going so far as to give the frozen fruit a candy-like quality with a few extra ingredients. But know that, however detail-oriented you want to get, they're going to take at least a couple of hours to replicate the popsicle approximation you're trying to achieve, although freezing the fruit overnight is even better. With a few easy preparation steps, you can net the best results with minimal additional effort.

For the best frozen grapes, first pluck them from their stems and place them in a colander to thoroughly rinse under cold water. Washing a whole bunch at once can sometimes loosen up debris and leave a bit of grit. Then, lay the grapes flat on a few layers of paper towels to dry, gently patting them to remove any exterior moisture if necessary. We don't love a salad spinner for this particular task, as the tool is rigorous and grapes are easy to bruise. Once they're as dry as they'd be sun-kissed on the vine, arrange a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Begin checking the frozen fruits for your desired firmness at around the two hour mark.

For a full freeze, you'll want to give your grapes that whole night shift, or the equivalent amount of time. Once solid, you can pour them into an airtight container to stave off freezer burn without much danger that they'll stick together. In terms of long-lasting grape storage, they can last for up to a year at the proper temperature. Besides being delicious on their own, frozen grapes can also add the tiniest little bit of flavor to your otherwise ho-hum tap water or keep mixed drinks or wine cold without diluting them.