- There are hundreds of TikTok videos that claim you can transform the taste of grapes into “natural” Sour Patch Kids with just some lime.
- I tried the hack for myself, comparing a few different methods to see which made the grapes taste most like candy.
- I found that bottled lime juice doesn’t work, nor does just some lime on fresh grapes.
- But the hack worked well with frozen grapes, especially with a sprinkle of sugar on top.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
From dalgona coffee to homemade cookie cereal, there’s been no shortage of sweet treats filling up our TikTok and Instagram feeds.
But it was a healthy hack that recently caught my eye, claiming to transform the taste of grapes into “natural” Sour Patch Kids with just a squeeze of lime.
The simple trick sounded too good to be true, and yet there were hundreds of TikTok videos claiming that it actually worked.
I put the trend to the test and ended up finding my new favorite summer snack.
Hundreds of people have tried the Sour Patch grape hack on TikTok.
The first video of the clever hack appears to have been posted by Mia Wilson, a skin-care blogger from Fort Worth, Texas.
Wilson told me that she first tried the hack after seeing it on Reddit some time ago.
"I tried it and loved it," she said. "I was addicted to candy and Sour Patch were my favorite. I love that these are a healthier alternative with a pretty similar taste."
Wilson's TikTok video sharing the hack with her followers received more than two million views.
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@mianicolewilson7 Healthy Sour Patch Kids Skip too much processed sugar and saveyour skin ##fyp ##wellness ##healthy ##foodhacks ##candy ##beauty ##skincare
I love grapes and Sour Patch Kids, so I knew I had to try the trick for myself.
Over these last few months, I've been testing a variety of TikTok trends to see if they're just as delicious as they look on camera.
So far, the answer has been yes. But as much as I've loved sipping on whipped coffee or eating cookies for breakfast, most of the recipes I've tried have been a little too decadent - or time-consuming - for everyday life.
So when I learned that the Sour Patch hack had only two steps and was healthy, I had high hopes.
But just squeezing some lime seemed too easy, so I tested a few different methods to see which hack made the grapes taste most like candy.
There are many versions of this hack on TikTok. Some people freeze the grapes, some take them out of the fridge. Some people use green grapes, others use red. Some people squeeze fresh limes, some prefer the bottled kind. It was time to experiment.
If science class had involved turning fruit into candy, I probably would've been a bigger fan of biology.
The Sour Patch hack requires just two ingredients.
All you need are grapes and lime juice - fresh or bottled. Since I was turning this hack into my own little science experiment, I got both.
I began my experiment with fresh lime juice and grapes that had been in the fridge.
While the grapes were nice and refreshing, I couldn't actually taste much of the lime. There was barely a hint of its flavor, even though I had squeezed juice right over the fruit.
But like any good scientist, I wanted a second opinion. Seeing as my dad had been snacking on Sour Patch Kids all week, I knew he'd be a good test subject.
"It just tastes like a grape with lemon," he said, unimpressed. "If you put sugar on it, then we can talk."
Then I paired the grapes with bottled lime juice, and the results were even less impressive.
To be honest, this just tasted like a grape. I didn't get even a hint of lime as I bit into the flesh. Another dud.
I decided to put the bottled lime juice away and focus the rest of my experiment solely on the fresh variety.
I was expecting green grapes to provide the best results, so I was surprised to find that red grapes and lime juice worked well together.
While the sourness of the green grapes canceled out most of the lime's flavor, the sweetness of the red grapes seemed to work more in tandem with the juice. It was a sweet bite with a kick - definitely reminiscent of those mischievous Sour Patch Kids.
My dad was a much bigger fan of these than the green grapes, but he wasn't satisfied yet.
"It's nice," he said. "If we put sugar on them it'd be even nicer."
But first I wanted to try the hack on frozen grapes, and quickly realized that freezer time really matters when it comes to taste.
I had thrown some grapes in the freezer the week before I tried the hack, and put another bag of grapes in the day before my test.
The week-old grapes looked so brown and sad. One bite confirmed what I already suspected - they were inedible.
But the day-old grapes weren't exactly fun to eat. They were frozen to the point where it was almost uncomfortable to bite into them.
Unsatisfied, I popped another bag of grapes in the freezer and brought them out two hours later. They were nice and cold, but didn't give me a brain freeze the second I bit into them. Perfection.
I squeezed some lime over the frozen grapes and was definitely impressed. I could really taste it this time around.
The cold definitely tampers down the flavor of the grape, allowing more of the lime to come through and actually make it taste a bit like a Sour Patch Kid.
Did the grape taste exactly like the candy? Of course not, no squeeze of lime is going to replace the effect of 25 grams of sugar. But the juice definitely gave the fruit something extra and the two flavors tasted great together.
It was finally time to pour some sugar onto the grapes, and they were the clear winners of the day.
It probably comes as no surprise that a sprinkle of sugar made the grapes taste a lot like Sour Patch Kids. The sweetness from the sugar and the different sour flavors from the lime and grape all combined for one very delicious bite (OK, the whole bag).
As for whether the sugar version tastes better frozen or fresh, I think that just comes down to personal preference. I loved the frozen grapes while my dad was a bigger fan of the fresh ones, which he said reminded him more of the candy's texture.
After I tried the hack, I found myself popping bags of grapes in the freezer and squeezing lime over them all weekend.
Not only is the hack tasty; it's also super simple and takes almost zero prep time. I'll bring these for a trip to the beach or the pool, where they'll last much longer in the sun than candy (which started melting the minute I took some outside for a few photos).
The fact that the Sour Patch grapes have far less sugar than a handful of the gummies is also a plus, as is the fact that I almost always have the two ingredients on hand.
Read more:
- People on TikTok are squeezing lime juice over their grapes and said it makes them taste just like Sour Patch Kids
- I tried making dalgona coffee, the newest TikTok craze, and it was definitely worth the hype
- I made the cookie cereal that's taking over TikTok, and it tasted better than Cookie Crisps
- I tried Ina Garten's famous cosmopolitan, and now I understand why she makes it at 9 a.m.
- This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).