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zone10aridgardener

Lychee like grapes

zone10aridgardener
12 years ago

I just sat down reading some of the forum posts with a bowl of grapes. I tried one and it is practically identical to the taste of a lychee. Does anyone know what variety of grape it is?

Comments (44)

  • samuelforest
    12 years ago

    Lychees already taste a little like grapes ,but I don't what kind it could be?Do you have any pictures?It should be a grape that doesn't taste a lot with more water taste in it like watermelons...

    Sam

  • zone10aridgardener
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    It looks just like the regular red grapes that are usually sold at grocery stores. But it was identcal to a lychee apart from a sour after taste.

  • bsbullie
    12 years ago

    Guys, don't mean to disappoint, be rude or burst your bubble but lychees taste nothing like grapes, no matter what color or variety of grape (I have tasted some rambutan from Chinese markets that taste similar to a grape but that is not a lychee). Lychees taste like lychees. They have their own distinct, tropical flavor that really compares to nothing else. I wish I could describe what the flavor is like but I would say you would have to taste a well grown, ripe, fresh picked lychee to understand. Also, a good, ripe lychee should not be sour.

  • samuelforest
    12 years ago

    I taste several lychees but here in Canada the quality the same is not as yours and it is not as fresh as yours too...You might be right.

  • bradflorida
    12 years ago

    I miss lychee season already!!!

    This year, I went to Pine Island (Bokeelia, FL) about once a week, and got at least 5 or 6 pounds of lychees each time (Kaimana and Hak Ip were our favorites). We liked the taste of the Kaimana the best, and liked the flesh to seed ratio of the Hak Ip.

    I'd love to try the Sweetheart variety though, with even more flesh and smaller seeds.

    Brad
    Port Charlotte, FL

  • popeal
    11 years ago

    This is very strange that exactly one year after this post, I took had the exact same experience. We purchased fresh organic red grapes at Whole Foods in New York City, Houston St and 2nd Ave. I tested this batch of grapes on 7 people and all agreed that they tasted very much like lychee. I have tasted ripe lychee in singapore, and this flavor was similar. They still tasted like grape, but with a strong lychee flavor. They were delicious, but I have to wonder if they are GMO. I do not think it is legal to label GMO food "organic", is it?

  • Doglips
    11 years ago

    I would guess that if you did an actual side-by-side taste comparison, you wouldn't think that they tasted the same.
    The memory isn't always accurate.
    Just a hunch.

  • popeal
    11 years ago

    Correct, they were grapes, they tasted like grapes, but there was a distinctive difference with this bunch. They had a subtle taste or perhaps scent of lychee.
    If you sat there and ate one of these grapes, and then ate a lychee, you would not say they taste the same; one is a grape and one is a lychee, they are totally different.
    My main reason for posting is to see if others have had this experience. Everyone that I gave these grapes to agreed that they did contain a flavor or scent reminiscent of lychee. I suspected that there was some kind of genetic modification going on, and I wondered if anyone had heard of anything like that. Are there GMO grapes? Is it possible?

  • knlim000
    11 years ago

    Yes, I have eaten the similar grapes but white color that taste really good like lychee in Japan. I brought seeds back and planted them and 5 years later I got fruit that tastes exactly like that. Other regular grape don't taste like it at all. I gave one grape to a friend and she wants more. It was really sweet. No trace of sourness period.

  • j-grow
    11 years ago

    It would be a stretch so don't laugh but I could make a pitch that my bronze muscadine grapes could be describes as lychee......ish

  • ashok_ncal
    11 years ago

    Most of the grapes commonly available in U.S. markets have what is sometimes described as a "neutral" flavor -- which is to say, not much flavor at all. "Flame Seedless" would be a good example of the type -- sweet, somewhat crisp-textured, quite pleasing, really, but not distinctly-flavored. If I recall correctly, the loss of flavor had to do with the breeding lines that were used to develop seedless grapes.

    But there are grapes -- notably muscat types -- that have intense, perfumed flavors. Some are so aromatic that eating them is like inhaling perfume. (I'm not kidding.) Some of these definitely have rose or lychee-like components in their scent/flavor profile. (Labrusca-type grapes like "Concord" are also perfumed, but in an entirely different direction -- the "foxy" aroma.)

    From what I've read, the hybridizers working in the commercial industry have, in recent years, been working on re-introducing the muscat flavors into commercial, seedless grape cultivars. My guess is that those commenting on "lychee-like" grapes have tasted some of these (relatively) new introductions. My understanding is that, in general, these muscat-flavored seedless grapes have relatively mild flavor compared to the old, seeded varieties.

    In terms of sweetness/aroma, the very best muscat grapes are easily a match for lychees (which I also love) -- although, as some have observed, I'm sure that they wouldn't taste *exactly* the same if eaten side-by-side.

    Muscadines are not easy to come by in my vicinity, and I've only tasted them a few times, so I'm not sure how they compare.

  • skeech
    11 years ago

    I have muscadine and scuppernong (vitus rotundifolia) and I find this interesting, because I have said many times while eating the bronz scuppernongs, I can't grow Lyche, but thankfully I have scuppernongs.
    Skeech

  • launchcodemexico
    10 years ago

    i've also had the grapes mentioned by the OP here. they are red, with a thin almost crunchy-firm skin, and they have a mild but sweet, distinctive lychee-like tone in its flavor.

  • aertahm
    9 years ago

    Hey

    I ate grapes that tasted like lychee which my friends got from the Mountain View, Ca farmers market. They were exactly as described by zone10aridgardener . They had hint of lychee and tasted amazing.
    After eating them I googled "grapes that taste like lychee" and found this post. Created this account just for that!

    Amit

  • John Sanders
    9 years ago

    I found a red grape with the label Valeriana Grapes that taste like lychee. It said product of Peru. valerianagrapes dot com is their website,

  • dan8_gw (Northern California Zone 9A)
    9 years ago


    I had this exact same experience with grapes I bought at the Asian Grocery. They have a clear sweet Lychee taste without much acid. They were labeled as US grown, often available very late in the year, very large, elongated and black. I'm thinking that it may be Autumn Royal which is a late harvest black grape. I can only find these at this Asian Grocery, and interesting enough this video Autumn Royal grapes on youtube say they are popular in Asian groceries and to me they look identical to the ones I thought tasted like Lychee.

  • shane11
    8 years ago

    I think the variety 'jupiter' tastes very much like lychee, so much so that I had to track down a vine to plant in my garden. If you love lychee then you will love this grape for sure. Rolling River nursery in CA carries this grape for anyone interested.

  • Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
    8 years ago

    Lychees taste like sweet perfume to me. They have the TEXTURE of a grape. Completely different taste.


  • occhris
    8 years ago

    Yes, I think that particular type of grape is called a "Grychee". They are, in fact, delicious. ;)

    Chris

  • Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
    8 years ago

    I googled Grychee with no results. Jupiter is sold as a wine grape. Interesting.


  • shane11
    8 years ago

    If you like lychee fruit I guarantee you will like 'jupiter' grape. I did not know that 'jupiter' was sold as a wine grape. Most places I have seen selling the vines have it listed as a table grape. I think it was developed by the University of Arkansas, but I could be wrong about that.

  • Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
    8 years ago

    Double A Vineyards carries it. We will be replacing some vines in our vineyard early 2016, so I'll put that one in the order. Thanks for the tip shane11! I assumed it was sold as a wine grape because doubleavineyards.com carries it, and we buy grafted wine grapes from them, but I just looked at it and they list it as table grape.


  • shane11
    8 years ago

    Edible Landscaping in VA used to carry this variety but no longer do. I have to say 'jupiter' is one of the most unique and delicious grapes I have ever tasted. I am also a fan of 'mars' and 'golden muscat'.

  • shane11
    8 years ago

    I also meant to say that I just spoke with the lady that owns Whitman Farms and she will have potted 'jupiter' grapes available for shipping in about a month.



  • jessica4b
    8 years ago

    We now have the "Muscat grapes" (seedless table grapes) in grocery stores, here, in Canada. I put "muscat grapes" in quotes because that the very simple name that they gave to these grapes, on their packages. They are delicious! Taste like Gewurztraminer wine.. maybe that's what they are?

  • Azamul Haque
    7 years ago

    I grew up in the Indian subcontinent and know very well how lychees taste. No doubt I found grapes tasting like lychees. I Googled and found this site.. I am not the only one who had this distinct experience

  • jessica4b
    7 years ago

    Hi Parker. Please des robe the texture of Jupiter. Crunchy? Soft? Melting... Slipskin? Thick/thin skin? Fiber? Thanks!

  • parker25mv
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    texture delicate, juicy, kind of soft, it was not crunchy. the outer skin felt just a little rough chewing them. dark black-purple color

    Typically I would describe lychee as having the aroma of rose, or at least a strong rose-like note to it. I would not say the same thing about Jupiter, yet it really does taste like lychee (or at least strongly reminiscent of lychee).

  • muniratyabji
    7 years ago

    I lived in Canada and for the second time in the last few months I opened a new package of Green Seedless Grapes and this time it dawned on me what they tasted like. The taste was exactly the same as lychees that I remembered eating when I lived in India. The grapes came from Peru and the name on the package is TERRA SURA. PLU #4022


    I hope this answers some of the questions posted earlier.

  • Mohammad Al-Lawati
    7 years ago

    Okay guys I am geowing grapes that taste just like Lychees and googled this topic to see if its normal for the variety. Its name is Moscato d'amburgo.

  • muniratyabji
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    There appears to be a large number of grapes of this variety (same name) in various colours from white to purple. Which colour are you growing?

  • Mohammad Al-Lawati
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I am growing the black one. It produces pink juice. Maybe Muscat of Hamburg or Black Muscat would be the same variety but with different names.

  • jessica4b
    7 years ago

    There is now "Sable grapes" in grocery stores around here. Definetly got the muscat/Lychee flavour, very crisp and sweet: delicious! Check it out: http://www.presidentschoice.ca/en_CA/products/productlisting/pc-flavour-burst-sable-seedless-black-seedless-grapes.html

  • Annie Strong
    7 years ago

    I have just tasted lychee-like grapes in uk, the label says variety - sugra 16 (sable). They are deep black with a slightly tough skin. They come from South Africa, the perfume is intense (not when you smell them, when you eat them)

  • jessica4b
    7 years ago

    Annie, I guess they were probably the same I tasted... Very good!

  • Brendan Moyle
    6 years ago

    The ones I tasted were a very strong flavour of lychee. They are called Mayabelle and are sold in Aldi stores, maybe others.

  • Claire Bradshaw
    6 years ago

    I'm not the only one yay!!! These are sable grapes black and they definitely taste like lychee's x

  • Kristie Tran
    5 years ago

    I ate a lychee flavored grape too! It was a green grape that wasn't very crunchy, so it tasted like lychee to me even more. The shape was almost an exact sphere, and it wasn't the biggest grape in the world, too. We bought it at Walmart and the company was Pretty Lady.

  • socalnolympia
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I planted this variety



    was very hard to find, not a common variety

  • eminishi321
    4 years ago

    I just bought some grapes and yes it tasted like lychee. A bit lighter in color than the red ones, and smaller. I bought them from Costco.

  • Sonia Raheja
    4 years ago

    The variety of those grapes are called “candy heart grapes”

  • summersrhythm_z6a
    4 years ago

    Thanks to this thread, I just ordered a few 'jupiter'! :-)

    Happy New Year everyone!

  • Jonathan Betz
    last year

    I just ate lychee tasting grapes and still have the packaging. It's the variety 'Sweet Nectar'. By looking it up, I only found the description of flavour as muscat, melony and floral. But I definetely taste lychee ;)

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