Have you been craving crack grapes, but you are worried about the time it will take to make them? Then this guide will show you how you can prepare your crack grapes recipes in under one hour.
These Grapes are a fun snack with a crisp sugar shell that is coated with Jolly Ranchers. The inside of the grapes is nice and juicy with an overall sweet flavor.
Moreover, candied grapes are a fun project to make with the kids. Kids love them because they are coated in candy syrup and dipped in crushed Jolly Rancher candies.
In addition to that, these grapes are rolled in crushed green apple, purple grape, blue raspberry, and pink watermelon-flavored Jolly Rancher hard candies.
Therefore, let’s look at the fun ways to make crack grapes in less than an hour.
In this guide, we will discuss what crack grapes are, the ingredients and recipes, how to make them, and the health and storage tips.
What are Crack Grapes?
Frank Ronzoni, who in his quest to create an inexpensive candy that could be sold at their supermarket chain came up with this recipe invented crack grapes in the late 1950s.
They are typically a fruit-flavored type of candy that is soft, chewy, and sweet. They come in different shapes, such as classic pineapple or strawberry.
These candies were originally made from gelatin, sugar, corn syrup, and citric acid, and flavored with orange.
However, there are over 5 different flavors available for this candy, including chocolate, strawberry, grape, and vanilla.
Ingredients for making Crack Grapes
For your homemade crack grapes recipes, get:
- 7 cups of grapes
- 6 cups of sugar
- 2 cups of water
- 1.5 cups of light corn syrup
- 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 300 toothpicks or skewers
- Food coloring
How to Make
- Get your grapes by rinsing and inserting toothpicks or skewers into the stem end of the grape.
- Set on a paper towel and dry the grapes before dipping them in the syrup.
- Place your candy flavors into heavy-duty freezer storage bags
- Crush them using a meat mallet/tenderizer. You can also use a rolling pin or a heavy unbreakable object.
- Transfer them to a bowl for coating the grapes.
- Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a heavy-bottom saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Stir frequently to maintain the best rolling boil that you can without letting the syrup boil over.
- Boil for about 5 minutes to reach the right temperature.
- You can use a candy thermometer to confirm whether the syrup has reached 300-305ºF (148-152ºC).
- Prepare parchment paper to place coated crack grapes to allow them to dry
- Mix the vanilla extract into the syrup.
- Carefully dip each grape into the hot syrup
- Ensure you’re fast enough to get the syrup covering the entirety of the grapes.
- Sprinkle the coated grapes with the crushed Jolly Rancher flavors. You can also roll in a bowl that is tipped sideways for easy coating.
- Arrange your coated crack grapes on the parchment paper to allow them to dry for about 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove the toothpicks from the grapes and serve within a few hours.
Cooking information
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 5 minutes
- Drying Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Nutrition Information Per Serving
- Calories: 133kcal (7%)
- Carbohydrates: 35g (12%)
- Protein: 1g (2%)
- Fat: 1g (2%)
- Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)
- Sodium: 7mg
- Potassium: 87mg (2%)
- Fiber: 1g (4%)
- Sugar: 34g (38%)
- Vitamin A: 30IU (1%)
- Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)
- Calcium: 6mg (1%)
- Iron: 1mg (6%)
Storage Information
Candy grapes are best stored in:
- An airtight container at room temperature and away from any hot or cold sources.
- Room temperature
- Refrigerator. However, the rock candy-coated grapes are better when they are less sticky.
- Freezer. However, they need to be eaten pretty much as soon as thawed.
Expert Tips
- Use a digital meat thermometer that can read up to 300 degrees F (148 degrees C) if do not have a candy thermometer.
- Use a spoon or spatula to drop the molten hot syrup into a bowl or cup of cold water to know if your syrup has reached the hard crack stage,
- At this stage, it should have formed hard threads that break and do not bend.
- Place two or more grapes on each skewer to coat simultaneously, this will help move through the candy coating process quickly, while the syrup is soft and workable.
- Do not use 100% sweet grape juice to help it set up properly.
Also, you should have some of that 30% grape concentrate to make your hard candy.
- Do not overheat or boil your liquid to avoid it losing flavor which is the key component of making homemade recipes.
Health Benefits of Crack Grapes
Using these recipes, Crack Grapes have been exhibited to help reduce inflammation in the body.
This is because it contains Quentin, which is a phytonutrient and has antioxidant properties that can help neutralize free radicals.
These phytonutrients also prevent oxidative damage caused by free radicals in the body.
As such, this recipe isn’t a threat to any health issues and it is totally healthy to take.
Conclusion
This recipe was first made 60 years ago by Frank Ronzoni who wanted to make less expensive candies for consumption.
It has since been one of the best and easiest to make candies. It can also be fun making this candy with kids.
With the recipe and preparation method analyzes in this guide, you can make your crack grapes in less than an hour.
In addition, this recipe contains 133 kcal (7%) of Calories, 35g (12%) of Carbohydrates, 1g (2%) of Protein, 1g (2%) of Fat, 1g (6%)
of Saturated Fat, 7 mg of Sodium, 87 mg (2%) of Potassium, 1g (4%) of Fiber, 34g (38%) of Sugar, 30IU (1%) of Vitamin A, 1mg (1%) of Vitamin C, 6mg (1%) of Calcium, and also 1mg (6%) of Iron per serving.
As such, it is completely healthy to consume as it contains phytonutrients that fight against oxidative damage caused by free radicals in the body.
We hope you have fun making your crack grapes.