Building a well-balanced charcuterie board is an ever-evolving art form, and one of the golden rules of charcuterie is to include items that hit each part of the palate, channeling sweet, salty, sour, and bitter notes. One of the easiest ways to check the sour and salty box is to add a pickled element to your centerpiece. Cornichons and pickled vegetables often play the part here, but why not try a surprising and easy upgrade with pickled grapes?
Pickled grapes look visually striking on a charcuterie board and are a particularly appealing contrast to rich, creamy cheeses like Brie or Camembert for the bouncy bite and pleasing sweet and sour notes they bring to the party. They also make a great conversation point, as the juicy and briny pop of the pickled grape flesh may be a flavor first for your guests. For the best texture and taste, it is important to start with super fresh grapes for pickling.
Homemade pickled grape prep in less than 30 minutes
Once you’ve procured the grapes, the rest of the pickling ingredients might already be in your pantry. Vinegar, sugar, water, and spices are the four broad items you will need to make pickling work. Apple cider vinegar is a great choice, but feel free to grab any other vinegar such as champagne or white wine vinegar that you have on hand. Fill a pan on the stovetop with equal amounts of sugar and water and roughly one and a half parts vinegar. Then add spices that suit — a cinnamon stick, bay leaf, mustard seeds, a clove or two, allspice, a few peppercorns, star anise, or even a vanilla bean. Small slivers of fresh red onion also add an extra flavor and color boost.
Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes, which will be enough time to soften the red onion if you added it. Then, turn off the burner and let the liquid cool. While you wait, wash the grapes, remove the stems, and discard any that feel soft or less desirable. Add the cleaned grapes to a Mason jar or other glass vessel with a tight-fitting lid and once the pickling liquid has cooled, simply pour it over the fruit, seal it, and store in the fridge.
After about 24 hours, the pickled grapes will be ready. Drain a serving of the grapes from the pickling liquid, arrange in a shallow dish, and nestle into your charcuterie board. The grapes will keep in the refrigerator for many weeks so you can enjoy them with more than one charcuterie experience. Bonus, they also make a fun and unexpected side note to other foods that sing with pickles like barbecue.
