Live from Japan!

Just a few days ago, Jill-san wrote a post about the Grapple. It made me laugh, because I always wondered about how fruit flavors came about. After all, the artificial grape flavor, purple, tastes nothing like grapes. At least not any grapes I had ever tasted before. Until I got to Japan.

The picture above is of me and some grapes that I purchased at school. One of the women has a family member with a farm, occasionally produce is brought in that is too ripe to sell to market. The fruit and vegetables are absolutely delicious and delightful, so long as they are eaten in the next few days.

These grapes are not cheap. This bunch costs about 750 yen ($7.50), and I had avoided buying them at the grocery store for precisely that reason. But, when they were for sale at school, several teachers went on and on about how delicious they were, and I caved. I bought a bunch because it seemed as though it would be a crime if I didn’t.

Those teachers were right, these grapes were absolutely worth every single yen that I paid for them. They are delicious and sweet and lovely, and they taste like purple. These grapes taste like the grapple smells, they taste like the grape flavor found in soda pop and other manufactured food products. These most have been where the concept for purple came from. Yum!