# Cotton Candy Grapes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590 "2017-08-24T20:32:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/21 "2017-08-25T20:12:24Z")
I’ve tried them. I think it’s more like an aftertaste hint of spun sugar, after tasting like just a sweet grape. They’re OK but I probably won’t bother buying them again. I’ve seen a limited number of the Moondrops, which I’ve tried before and liked. I certainly haven’t seen them in quantities like I saw the last two summers. I wonder if either demand wasn’t very high or if there was problem with the crop. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/22 "2017-08-25T20:15:04Z")
I wonder if someone set out to make a grape that tasted like cotton candy and did selective breeding to make it happen or a random mutation created it and breeders took advantage. If it was the former, that seems so random. What would make someone make the connection between the two flavors? Let alone work hard to create it? ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/23 "2017-08-25T20:31:35Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > You just HAD to invoke Godwin’s Law, didn’t you? 😛 > > I’m going to use Rule 34 and say that you just know that someone out there has made a porno involving the use of these things in some manner. 😃 > > On a serious note, I haven’t tasted them (yet). You sure as hell don’t want to taste them _after_. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/24 "2017-08-25T20:55:50Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I wonder if someone set out to make a grape that tasted like cotton candy and did selective breeding to make it happen or a random mutation created it and breeders took advantage. If it was the former, that seems so random. What would make someone make the connection between the two flavors? Let alone work hard to create it? I’ve read that it was a random discovery. Since they’ve come up with more than one rather odd variety, I’m guessing that they may be using mutation breeding and then looking for interesting marketable traits. > **[Mutation breeding](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation_breeding)** > > Mutation breeding, sometimes referred to as "variation breeding", is the process of exposing seeds to chemicals, radiation, or enzymes in order to generate mutants with desirable traits to be bred with other cultivars. Plants created using mutagenesis are sometimes called mutagenic plants or mutagenic seeds. > From 1930 to 2014 more than 3200 mutagenic plant varieties were released that have been derived either as direct mutants (70%) or from their progeny (30%). Crop plants account for 75% of re... ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/25 "2017-08-25T21:56:45Z")
> [@plankter](#): > > Good for a novelty at any rate. Yep. A coworker brought them in from Sprouts market last Spring. He said they sell out within a week every year and he felt lucky to get his hands on some. I thought it was very different and quite delicious. However, since eating lots of cotton candy seems to make my teeth hurt, I didn’t feel the desire to acquire my own bunch of those things. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It isn’t like cotton candy is rare or expensive or anything. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Except it is kinda rare. Unless there’s a fair or a carnival in the area, I wouldn’t know where to go out and get some cotton candy right now. > [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I’ve seen it in tubs at Walmart. Cotton candy machines and supplies can be gotten at concession supply businesses (Is Marsh still in San Diego? Is Lapidus still somewhere in Los Angeles?) party supply rental businesses, and business-oriented restaurant supply places (Smart&Final Iris, but not Costco or Sur Le Table). I’ve seen the candy and smaller machines at Walmart, as well (alongside the minature Popcorn vending cart). > [@Biotop](#): > > But if you want a really great grape, try The Grapery Moondrops. They are odd-looking, long black and thin. They are the tastiest grape I have ever eaten. I have not seen them yet on the market this year. Someone at work brought in some tomatoes shaped like long thin tiny red teardrops. He joked that the pear (shaped) tomatoes and BB tomatoes were so popular that someone tried to breed a Jalapeno tomato… I tried two anyway, and they were the most flavorful things I’ve ever eaten! It gave a burst of tomato flavor, like a lightly grilled cherry tomato, but sweeter. I’ve never seen them in stores at all. —G! ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/26 "2017-08-25T23:17:52Z")
I always took it as a metaphor for the satisfactory sweetness and juiciness of the product. Cotton candy is pure sugar. So grapes taste better, obviously. I thought the product name was a guarantee it would be sweet and not be disappointing. And that there was a local connection so that that kind of product control could happen. I’ll keep dreaming. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/27 "2017-08-27T04:45:30Z")
I’m want to see (and eat) grapes that taste like juicy meaty ribs marinated in BBQ sauce. Or bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/28 "2017-08-27T04:54:48Z")
What does it even mean to say that something “tastes like cotton candy”? Cotton candy is pure sugar, and hence its only actual flavor is sweet (which any sort of grape already has). What sets cotton candy apart isn’t its flavor, but its mouthfeel, and I have a hard time seeing how that could be replicated in a dense, moist solid. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/29 "2017-08-27T05:01:25Z")
No, there’s definitely something to cotton candy; I haven’t had these grapes, but I did have cotton candy-flavored Faygo that, apart from an overly quinine aftertaste, was spot on. CC also has a distinct odor too. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/30 "2017-08-27T15:21:22Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I’ve seen it in tubs at Walmart. I’ve seen it there, too, and the price always seems a little steep for what it is. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/31 "2017-08-28T04:59:48Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > Someone at work brought in some tomatoes shaped like long thin tiny red teardrops. He joked that the pear (shaped) tomatoes and BB tomatoes were so popular that someone tried to breed a Jalapeno tomato… > > I tried two anyway, and they were the most flavorful things I’ve ever eaten! It gave a burst of tomato flavor, like a lightly grilled cherry tomato, but sweeter. I’ve never seen them in stores at all. > > —G! There are literally hundreds of heirloom tomato varieties that you will never see at a farmer’s market, let alone a grocery store, because they don’t transport well, and people grow them because they just plain old taste so good. The various Brandywine varieties are the best-known example of this, and they are very thin-skinned and often tear just from being picked. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/32 "2017-08-28T14:27:39Z")
My sister brought some of the cotton candy grapes to a family function a while back. I thought they were good and definitely tasted of cotton candy, but as I don’t regularly buy grapes, I have not had them since. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/33 "2017-08-28T14:35:58Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Except it is kinda rare. Unless there’s a fair or a carnival in the area, I wouldn’t know where to go out and get some cotton candy right now. Really? My store sells it in pint-sized containers at the checkout lanes. And in the candy aisle. Try your local big-box store. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/34 "2017-08-29T00:54:49Z")
The samples lady was handing out Cotton Candy grapes a while ago. I took a bite and spit it out (into a napkin) and said “Nope!” She laughed. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590/35 "2017-08-29T03:18:45Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > But if you want a really great grape, try The Grapery Moondrops. They are odd-looking, long black and thin. They are the tastiest grape I have ever eaten. I have not seen them yet on the market this year. > [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I’ve tried them. I think it’s more like an aftertaste hint of spun sugar, after tasting like just a sweet grape. They’re OK but I probably won’t bother buying them again. > > I’ve seen a limited number of the Moondrops, which I’ve tried before and liked. I certainly haven’t seen them in quantities like I saw the last two summers. I wonder if either demand wasn’t very high or if there was problem with the crop. I just saw Moondrop grapes at my local grocery store this evening. The crop may have just been late this year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cotton-candy-grapes/794590.md?page=1)