Sweeten Your Springtime Salads With Healthy Chilean Grapes

(NewsUSA) - Spring is here, so it’s time to bid farewell to winter soups and stews, and welcome fresh and festive salads.

Take your salads to the next level this spring with the color, flavor, and crunch of fresh Chilean grapes. Domestic grapes are available in summer, but spring is the peak season for grapes from Chile, available in your local grocery store through April and into May. Grapes from Chile come in different colors and varieties; most supermarkets carry at least one red and one green. Check out the signage in your local grocery store and try several to find your favorites.

Regardless of the variety, fresh grapes from Chile pack a powerful nutritional punch. Grapes are high in vitamin C, which helps the body fight infections, and they contain various phytonutrients that can help strengthen the immune system. Chilean grapes are a great source of potassium, as well as bone-building vitamin K, and a standard ¾-cup serving is just 90 calories.

For a true taste of springtime, try a Grape, Quinoa, Pecan, and Watercress Salad, a recipe created by Frutas de Chile.  Combine room-temperature quinoa, grape halves, toasted pecans, celery, and watercress in a large bowl and toss with a dressing made of minced shallot, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil. “The nuttiness of the quinoa, combined with the peppery flavor of watercress and the juiciness of grapes makes for a fantastic explosion of flavor, and this salad is also hearty enough to be served as a main course,” says Karen Brux, managing director for Frutas de Chile North America.

For another fresh twist on a family-friendly main course salad, just add grapes, rotisserie chicken, and broccoli to your favorite cooked pasta, toss with an Italian vinaigrette, and savor the flavors of spring!

Remember, when storing grapes at home, don’t wash them until you are ready to eat them or add them to a recipe, and then only wash what you will use then and there. Washing adds moisture that can cause the grapes to start to decompose faster than they normally would. That white film you see on grapes is called “bloom,” a waxy coating produced by the plant itself to protect the fruit, and it does not need to be washed off while the grapes are waiting to be used.

For recipes and more information, visit fruitsfromchile.com/recipes.