My FYP on TikTok is flooded with videos of candied grapes coated in Jolly Ranchers and Nerds that look like something from Willy Wonka’s factory. Their glossy, marbled appearance and crunchy, colorful, candy coating looked enticing but I was hesitant. I thought coating them with extra sugar would make the grapes too sweet, so I had no interest in trying the trend out.
However, my curiosity lingered as the candied grape trend continued to monopolize my TikTok feed, but in the form of enthusiastic reaction videos from customers who purchased candy grapes from small businesses.
Fortunately, I found an easy-to-make and less sweet version of the trend: Jello grapes. Jello grapes are made by coating grapes with Jell-O powder and freezing them. Growing up, I used to eat Jello cups with fruit inside of them, so I thought maybe coating the fruit with colorful gelatin powder would remind me of my favorite childhood snack.
My Experience
I roughly followed the recipe from the TikTok above, subbing candied-flavor gelatin powder for the berry flavor from the Jell-O brand and using red grapes instead of green.
To start, I washed the grapes and placed them in two separate bowls. I coated the grapes with powder, which filled my kitchen with a sugary aroma that brought me back to my childhood days of eating Sour Patch Kids at the movie theater. Then, I stuck them in the freezer for a couple hours.
When I took the grapes out, the powder created a candy-like coating around the frozen grape. The texture of the Jello outside was somewhere in between fun-dip powder and pop rocks. When I took a bite, the slightly crunchy and sweet texture of the coating melted in my mouth. Then came the cold and smooth texture of the grape’s interior. It was a sensorial experience.
On their own, grapes are so naturally sweet, so I was afraid adding Jello would make them turn sickly sweet. But instead, it transformed the grapes into a sour and sweet candy like a Sour Patch Kid. This was such a fun recipe to make with tons of fun variations.
Although the recipe is simple, there are an abundance of gelatin flavors outside of Jell-O to experiment with like Starburst, Sonic, and Skittles. You could also try using cotton candy grapes, as come TikTok commenters recommended.