Nonfat Milk With Grape Juice In It

What better way to follow up a piece about The Georgian's monumentally classy three course meal than to report upon my own vulgar breakfast at home, this restful Saturday morning.

Earlier, to compliment some slices of room-temperature pizza left over from last night, I decided to find out what would happen if I poured some grape juice into my glass of nonfat milk. The results were both delicious and tolerable. (My husband's overreaction of revulsion? Priceless. Sometimes I feel like I live in an old comedy movie.)

The Culprits:

Nonfat milk from Costco

Welch's Concord Grape Juice

The Results:

Beverages always look pretty when viewed from the top down.

Purple!

The Conclusion:

I will certainly do this again, and not just because I like having Odd Couple moments with my husband. Mixing a fruit-flavored sweetener with a dairy base is not so unusual. Italian cream sodas and many frozen desserts already do this.

I normally don't buy grape juice because I try to stick to low-sugar beverages (like water, milk or unsweetened tea) in an attempt to balance out my significant candy habit and shameful, lifelong affair with white flour. But I came into possession of this carton of grape juice under unusual circumstances, and now that it's mine I want to find ways to consume the entire carton of juice without throwing myself totally off. This milk mixture suits me, and I'll likely have a few more glasses of it today.

I wonder how else I can use grape juice as a sweetener?

Shaved ice and homemade popsicles are the first things to pop into my head, but if I have time I might also try to reduce and thicken it to make a heavy syrup.

I wonder if that syrup would compliment baked apples or dry cake? I wonder if the syrup would make a welcome, unexpected addition to a salad vinaigrette? (I like mixing salad greens with sweet flavors--I prefer sweetness to acidity.)

If grape juice doesn't curdle melting chocolate (I'm pleased to discover that it didn't curdle the milk), I see the possibility of an unusual ice cream sauce in my future.

It's all worth trying, but who knows what the weekend will bring?