Fresh Farms Frozen Cotton Candy Snack Grapes

Some of my family members like to eat frozen grapes as a snack. They’re healthy and refreshing, and it’s a great option if I buy more fresh grapes than my family can eat before they spoil. We’re also currently in the midst of a severe and long-lasting heat wave, and we’ll take any relief we can get, including indulging in frozen sweets.

My family will eat any type of table grape, and we have also come to enjoy cotton candy grapes in recent years. Cotton candy grapes are bred to be sweeter than the grocery store grapes most of us grew up eating, with about 12% more sugar than regular grapes. They really do have a cotton candy-like flavor. I find them to be a flavorful changeup from traditional table grapes, which are often bred more for their ability to withstand shipping than for their flavor.

I regularly find cotton candy grapes in the produce aisle at Aldi. Then, Aldi decided to sell frozen cotton candy grapes. I’m perfectly capable of buying fresh cotton candy grapes and freezing them myself, but I had to pick up a bag of these already-frozen cotton candy grapes just to see what they’re all about.

Fresh Farms Frozen Cotton Candy Snack Grapes are an Aldi Find, which means they’re only in Aldi stores for a short time. Each store gets one shipment, and after that sells out, they’re gone unless Aldi decides to bring them back at some point. Aldi does not offer online ordering for products that are not currently in stock at your local store.

This cost $3.99 for a 16-ounce bag at the time of publication. You can buy certain varieties of fresh grapes for less than that, but the idea is you’re paying for convenience with these. You don’t have to rinse or wash these, and you don’t have to pluck them off their stems. For some busy families, the fact that these are completely ready to serve — or to drop into a cooler on the way to a picnic or a weekend youth soccer game — is valuable. This also fits in part with one of the goals Aldi expressed a few years ago, which was to offer more fresh and healthy convenience foods.

The grapes are a product of Mexico. They’re distributed by Fresh Farms with offices in Rico Rico, Arizona; Kingsburg, California; and Hermosillo, Mexico. Fresh Farms is owned by the Molina family, who are long-time farmers in Mexico. I’ve also seen Aldi sell regular, nonfrozen Fresh Farms cotton candy grapes in the produce section, but I don’t know if they’re the only supplier of cotton candy grapes for Aldi.

The package says the grapes are picked ripe from their farms and then frozen fresh to capture natural flavor.

Nutrition information. (Click to enlarge.)

The package states to keep these frozen until you’re ready to use them. Do not refreeze after thawing. After thawing, use as soon as possible. Serve fruit slightly frozen for best results. The bag features a QR code you can scan for recipes. The bag also warns that these may contain a “traceable seed.”

One serving is about 3/4 of a cup, and that will net you 90 calories, no fat or cholesterol, 15 mg of sodium (1% DV), 23 grams of total carbohydrates (8% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber, and 20 grams of (natural) sugars. One serving also has 25% of your daily requirement of vitamin K and vitamin C, along with 2% of your daily requirement of calcium.

Grapes ready to eat. I left mine out of the freezer for a few minutes before enjoying.

As for how these taste, they’re grapes. I let mine sit out for a few minutes so they weren’t rock solid, as my teeth can be sensitive when it comes to eating frozen grapes. I don’t think these taste quite as sweet as the cotton candy grapes I’m accustomed to buying in the Aldi produce aisle. Maybe the fact that they’re frozen takes something away from the sweet flavor, or they could be so cold that my taste buds are simply numbed. Still, these taste fine. I don’t expect them to last long in the freezer once my family gets a hold of them.

I’ll probably stick with buying grapes in the produce aisle and freezing them myself, but these were fun to try.

The Verdict:

Fresh Farms Frozen Cotton Candy Snack Grapes are a great way to enjoy a sweet, frozen snack without all the unhealthy ingredients and extra sugar of a traditional dessert such as ice cream or popsicles. Our family has long been a fan of frozen grapes, although we usually just buy a regular bag of grapes, pluck them off the stems, and freeze them ourselves. Buying them already frozen in a bag adds a level of convenience. Some people may not want to pay a bit extra for that convenience, but it may be worth it to others.