Wild Grapes or Chemistry in My Kitchen

My lips itch. My hands itch too.

I found a beautiful wild grape vine. I saw grape clusters near me. I looked else where and there were more. This vine had produced richly.

I researched what was edible and found that all grapes are. There is a plant called moonseed that has fruit that looks similar to grape. It has a singular moon shaped seed, and is poisonous. The grape seeds are tear shaped and usually are more than one per grape.

The disgusting white of my supermarket bag veiled the purple of the grapes that were quickly filling it. Home I went. At first I used a blender and cloth to grind and strain the grapes. My hands itched. I was anxious that it was the wrong plant or I was reacting allergic. In an hour or so the itching left. I drank the juice will no ill effect.

Today, I pulled the grapes from the vine, my fingers purple. I looked at the white powder coating the grape. I’m told this is yeast. In places it was rubbed off, replaced by the shiny taught skin of the grape. Some of the grapes had bugs in them. These were shriveled or oozed dark juice. I was not living in a glass box. I was not living with industry imposed standards of no bugs. I was experiencing wild grapes. The bug free grapes felt hard with the tension inside. I was freshly experiencing the plant that becomes the drink that Jesus used as a representation of his blood.

This time I used a juicer.

“This grape juice is so acidic,” I thought, “That has to by why my hands itch. I wonder if it is as acidic as vinegar?” I remember the volcano experiment from grade school. The vinegar and baking soda mixed with a bubbling reaction. They were neutralizing each other. Carbon dioxide was produced. Did I remember right?

The little pile of baking soda blended in with the white ceramic bowl. What a stark contrast the grape juice made. It bubbled immediately. Then it turned blue. From purple to blue, I never knew. It really is a mystery. I wanted a drink, it made me think. I’m a part of grape history.