MUSCADINE DREAMS

By: Nayka Vaughn

Growing up before 2000 in the south I've had the privilege of spending majority of my childhood outside. My whole entire life was outside, well at least I thought it was. My friends, ice cream man, my bike, candy lady, cook outs, pool parties, the fence you jumped to get to another neighborhood. There was no reason for me to be in the house other than taking a bath and sleeping. I often ate my lunch and dinner outside just because I didn't want to leave my friends or the cutie down the street (teehee). We knew that once we were in the house we stayed in the house, and it was a totally different world than what's outside. Outside was freedom for kids and we prolonged that freedom for as long as we could until we were asked to come back in the house. So if we were to get hungry and need extra fuel, we didn't go back inside the house, we ate what was available to us, what grew outside for free.

Foraging was introduced to most of us as children, without even knowing! We would see our elders picking fruit directly from source that no one planted, it just became. For those who may not know, foraging is the act of searching for and harvesting wild foods. Foraging is one of the ways we reconnect with nature and is a key element to survival in the wild. Native Americans would eat from the land and use medicinal shrubs and herbs to heal themselves.

Tons of wild berries grew near my childhood home in East Atlanta, but there is one wild fruit that grew in the south I will never forget, Muscadines.

The muscadine is America's first known grape species. The southeast of the United States is where the first of these grapevines were discovered. Native Americans used this wild grape in many ways for thousands of years, way before the colonization of the Americas. Some allowed the grapes to ripen and dry directly on the vine to get some of the sweetest uniquely flavored raisins, while others simply enjoyed the fresh fruit. We later began to cultivate Muscadine Wine, Jams, etc. from this wild grape. Muscadines are also known as a superfruit! Muscadines are known to be a great source of fiber and is packed with antioxidants like resveratrol and ellagic acid. Resveratrol is known for slowing the effects of aging and has been known to add 10 years to your life span when paired with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Muscadines are also known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.

My first encounter with the strange grape was in my family's hometown, Cuthbert Georgia, which is in the southern region of Georgia. This very small town is where majority of my Native American ancestors are from and where a lot of my father's side of the family still resides to this day. Visiting Cuthbert when I was younger was on of my fondest memories growing up. I knew i would get to see my grandmama Ollie Mae and a lot of my cousins, uncles and aunts. The area is mostly dirt roads, plantations and sacred native grounds. Fields and fields of beautiful greenery everywhere and cotton fields for miles is what i would see as we got closer to Cuthbert on our family road trips. Most of our time was spent outside in my grandmama's yard or walking to another family member's house. One afternoon, my cousin and I were walking next to a slightly wooded area and noticed grapevines cascading down the street. My cousin told me that they were good and to peel back the skin of the grape and eat the inside fruit. I had a moment........

It was full of favor and was extremely sweet. My best way to describe it back then was "It taste like black pepper and grapes!" Ha! I fell in love after a few more and since then I have experienced muscadines I quite a few ways. One way was watching my father make large batches of muscadine wine, which he still has tucked away at home btw. Since I was a kid, my dad has kept a large container of muscadine wine fermenting in a shaded area and my family members love it! I knew that when certain family would come over, they wanted a bottle of my daddy's muscadine wine. I have heard through the "grapevine" that his concoction is a very strong one and not everyone is fit to try. I have also had jams and have seen the strange fruit at a few wine tastings as an adult, but my favorite way to consume is straight from source.

WHATS YOUR FAVORITE MUSCADINE STORY???