Smile Politely. Speak Directly. A Champaign-Urbana Culture Blog

I realized that my childhood came full circle watching my critter run around the U-Pick grapevines at Mackinaw Valley Vineyard in Mackinaw, Ill., yesterday. My mother took me on seemingly endless trips each summer to pick fruit for that year’s jellies and jams. Memories of hours spend romping through Willamette Valley strawberry and blackberry fields still color attitudes about what food and wine ought to be. So standing in a long row of beautiful fruit watching my daughter cram grapes fresh off the vine into her mouth seems appropriate. We picked eight pounds of table grapes, and I was pleased to find subtle flavor differences between each. Store-bought varieties taste pretty much the same, and except for arbitrary childhood biases, I see little reason to buy anything but that week’s flier special. Himrod, a white skinned table grape had a honeyed character with a mild texture while the pink skinned Reliance, gave that classic Welch’s pungent foxy, grapey character. The tartness of the black Mars pleased me, and I plan on using this for the bulk of my weekend baking foray, grape pie with crème fraîche.

Everyone had a great day at the Market on the Square last Saturday. The sun was shining and although it was a little hot later in the day, shoppers packed the aisles and kept farmers and vendors busy throughout. This coming Saturday looks like great weather again and we can expect plenty of watermelons and cantaloupe as well as all of the great grilling vegetables, including zucchini, peppers and eggplant. Corn, heirloom tomatoes, green beans, beets, potatoes, herbs, onions and garlic will all be in good supply, yet greens and lettuces are slim, so you will have to get there early if you so desire.