Spiced Grapes

The recipe for spiced grapes that appears in Charleston Receipts is found throughout the South in cookbooks that antedate the Lowcountry classic. The tradition of serving spiced fruits with meats goes back to medieval England, with its spiced barberries. Without the cranberries of northern bogs, it is far more likely that early Charleston settlers served local grapes with their fall harvest feasts of venison and wild fowl. I make spiced grapes in much smaller batches than called for