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almond butter, food, food photography, oats, oats and scuppernong bars, photography, recipe, scuppernong, scuppernong bars, Whole Foods
Yesterday I was running an errand at Whole Foods and as always, even if I don’t have much time, I can’t help glancing at what they have in the vegetable and fruit section.
And yesterday I spotted these: scuppernongs.
I had no idea what they were, had never seen them before and a quick check on my WordReference iPhone app returned nothing. That didn’t stop me, of course. I had to try these.
At first, they looked to me like greenish Mirabelles.
Unfortunately, they are not (we like mirabelles, hence the unfortunately) but the scuppernongs are quite original:
North Carolina designated the Scuppernong grape as the official state fruit in 2001. A scuppernong is a large variety of muscadine (a type of grape native to southeastern U.S.). The grape was named after the Scuppernong River of North Carolina, where it was first discovered. The word Scuppernong is from the Algonquian Indian word ascopo which means “sweet bay tree.”
Scuppernong grapes are usually greenish or bronze in color, similar in appearance and texture to a white grape, but rounder and about 50% larger. The skin is very thick and tart and several small green seeds are found in each grape. The pulp is viscous and sweet and the seeds are bitter – the most desirable part of the scuppernong is the sweet juice.
They taste a bit like Muscat grapes, but are bigger.
I saw several recipes on the Internet to make jelly using scuppernong, but I wanted cake. So I looked into some of the recipes I had that could be adapted and here we are.
The following recipe is inspired by and adapted from this recipe over at Clea Cuisine.
So you will need:
– 2 + 1/4 cups of old-fashioned oats
– 1 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
– 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp cane sugar
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– 3 oz almond butter
– 1.8 oz olive oil
– 1/4 cup plain yogurt
– about 1 lb scuppernongs
1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
2. In a big bowl, mix together the oats, the flour and the sugar.
3. Add the almond butter, the oil, the vanilla extract and the yogurt. Mix well.
4. Put 2/3 of the batter in a square or rectangular mold covered with parchment paper.
5. Cut the scuppernongs in half and take away the seeds.
6. Line the scuppernongs on top of the batter, in the mold.
7. Cover the scuppernongs with the batter left.
8. Bake during 35 minutes.
9. Let cool.
10. Cut into bars and enjoy!
The scuppernongs have both a tart and sweet taste that goes well with the almond butter and the oats. The bar is also a little melted-like in the middle, where the grapes are.
MySecretsOfSerenity said:
That looks soo tasty!
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Carine said:
The taste is quite original.
Thanks for your visit :-)
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Terri at Time To Be Inspired said:
Thanks for the scuppernong education. I’ve never heard of them either!
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Carine said:
I’ll have to thank Whole Foods for the opportunity to educate myself too ;-)
Thanks for your visit!
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thecompletecookbook said:
Lovely idea.
:-) Mandy
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Carine said:
Thank you :-)
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Lisa at fLVE said:
I was just at Wholefoods today and didn’t see this. :( I did see some really yummy Bronx Grapes though which I never heard of or had before today. I love that recipe. Looks so good. Bet that taste delish!
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Carine said:
Thanks :-)
I’ll have to loo for those Bronx grapes too!
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janinka1 said:
It’s exciting to find a new fruit, and your recipe is very creative and yummy!
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Carine said:
Thank you!
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Bam's Kitchen said:
Grapes in a baked dish, very interesting idea.
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Carine said:
Thanks!
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yummychunklet said:
I went to undergrad in North Carolina and have never heard of scuppernongs. Thanks for the info!
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Carine said:
Might not be the kind of food we have as students? ;-)
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pixilated2 said:
I have scuppernongs and muscadines in my orchard here in N. Alabama. Being so used to grapes in California, it is taking me a bit to know when they are ready to pick! You certainly can’t go by the color. That said, when they are truly ripe they are wonderful! (Sans the seeds of course!) ;)
I look forward to trying your recipe with some of mine next year!
~ Lynda
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Carine said:
They do have a special taste that I liked a lot!
Thanks for your visit. Let me know what you think of the bars if you get a chance to make them :-)
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pixilated2 said:
Will do! :)
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Margarita said:
These look like they would make great breakfast or snack bars. I like your idea of using the nut butter…and making the yogurt soy would make the dish vegan. I’m saving this for when it cools off enough to turn the oven back on – it’s on summer hiatus! Thanks! xoM
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Carine said:
I have to credit Clea Cuisine for the idea of using nut butter. She uses a lot of them in her recipes and so am I more and more.
Thanks for your comment. Let me know if you try the recipe if you liked it ;-)
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Margarita said:
Will do! :)
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girlinafoodfrenzy said:
Hi Carine, I’m with you!
I’ve never seen these before but most certainly would want to try them somehow if I did! I’m wondering if there might be an Australian equivalent as these are obviously native to the states. Either way your recipe looks very moreish and healthful, I’d never of thought to put grapes into a slice!
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Carine said:
Thank you so much for your visit and comment.
In France we have grapes called Muscat (used to make the wine with the same name) that have pretty much the same taste but the grapes are smaller and they are a little less tart. So maybe there is an equivalent in Australia!
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Jessica GH said:
Scuppernongs (Also called scuppernines) are pretty common here in north florida. My dad has a vine in his yard. All the ones I’ve encountered have thick, tough skins and seeds. To eat, you use your teeth to break the skin, suck out the grapey part and then spit out the seeds. I can’t imagine them working whole in a bar. You didn’t have an issue with the skins or the seeds? Scuppernong jelly and wine are the only other uses I know of.
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