It’s really beginning to feel like fall around campus. The leaves are falling, it’s getting colder and the Chapel Hill landscape has begun to fill with beautiful autumnal hues of yellow, orange and red. As October draws to a close, many of us crave a sweet treat! But the dish I’ll be discussing today isn’t your typical Halloween meal– rather, it’s actually quite the unique dish. It’s called Grape Salad!
Grape Salad was introduced to me by Samara Stitt, a senior from Charlotte, North Carolina. Samara is double majoring in environmental studies and economics and is a proud member of the Epsilon Eta environmental honors, gender inclusive fraternity. She’s also involved in the theater scene on campus and will be performing in The Apiary from November 20-24, her debut performance here at Carolina. Samara enjoys being outside in nature and hanging out with friends. Any time she does something she tries to find a way to spread love and brighten people’s days.
Samara is pretty sure that grape salad is a dish unique to her family. She’s never heard of anyone else making it, and she’s only ever had it at family gatherings. Her great aunt came up with the recipe which she then passed down to Samara’s mom, and eventually to Samara and her cousins!
She has fond memories of being in the kitchen with every member of her family during the holidays; everyone crowding in trying to complete their dishes. As her mother dolloped the whipped topping onto the Jell-O base, the final step in making grape salad, she’d call Samara over and ask if she wanted to lick the bowl. Of course, Samara always indulged! But after all those years of watching her mom make grape salad, Samara has become an expert. So, these days she handles making the grape salad for family gatherings while her mother handles the more complicated dishes.
Usually, Samara makes the grape salad base the night before since it needs time to set in the refrigerator. She’ll make grape-flavored Jell-O and pour it into a rectangular dish. While the Jell-O is still in liquid form, she’ll add blueberry pie filling and let that set in the fridge overnight. But that’s easier said than done because the night before Thanksgiving. Samara’s fridge is FULL of food! The next morning, she’ll make the whipped topping, transfer that on top of the grape salad base, and finally lick the bowl! Samara likes to finish hers with some chopped pecans before digging in.
Samara truly loves grape salad partly because she associates it with the holidays. In a world where everyone is always on the go– busy with work, school, or constantly on their phones– Samara relishes the opportunity to slow down during the holidays. She loves having some downtime, eating good food and seeing family members she doesn’t always get to see, like her aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Samara summed it up wonderfully: “I believe our most important experience as humans is to connect, and so many great memories and stories have been shared over a plate of grape salad, which is so beautiful and special to me.”
Grape Salad Recipe
Base:
– Grape Jell-O
– Drained crushed pineapples
– Blueberry pie filling
Topping:
– Sour cream
– Cool whip
– Cream cheese
– Pecan chips
