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Hydroponic and modern horticultural crops are often accused of being artificial, unnatural, or engineered for flavour. One of the most common claims is that modern fruits, especially viral sensations like cotton candy grapes, are artificially flavoured.
But is that actually true?
In this blog we break down the science behind cotton candy grapes, flavour breeding, and why modern fruit flavours are the result of traditional plant breeding, not artificial additives or genetic modification.
A persistent misconception, especially among vocal critics of hydroponics, is that soilless crops are “artificially flavoured.” This idea resurfaces whenever a novel fruit variety becomes popular.
Cotton candy grapes are a prime example. Many consumers assume the flavour must come from:
In reality, none of these are involved.
Cotton candy grapes are a naturally bred table grape variety that tastes remarkably similar to cotton candy (or candy floss, depending on where you live).
They were developed by International Fruit Genetics (IFG), a breeding company based in California, led by horticulturalist David Cain.
Crucially, these grapes are:
Cotton candy grapes were created using traditional cross-pollination, the same process used in plant breeding for centuries.
The process involved:
Only vines with:
were selected.
From first cross to commercial release, the process took over a decade.
The flavour does not come from vanilla or artificial additives.
Instead, it comes from naturally occurring flavour compounds, primarily ethyl maltol, that already exist in grapes at low levels.
Through selective breeding, these compounds were:
This is a critical point: breeders can only work with genes that already exist. You can’t breed a banana that tastes like a potato if the genes aren’t there.
Taste is subjective.
Some people swear they taste exactly like cotton candy. Others, like our colleague Jake from the Eutrema factory, aren’t convinced and prefer regular grapes.
That doesn’t change the science:
Cotton candy grapes are just one example of flavour-forward breeding.
At the University of Florida, researchers are actively breeding strawberries specifically for flavour, not just yield and disease resistance.
Their work involves:
This approach could lead to:
Novel flavours pair especially well with hydroponic and vertical farming systems, where consistency and quality are critical.
A standout example is Oishii, the market leader in premium vertically farmed strawberries. Their success shows how flavour, branding, and controlled-environment agriculture can create entirely new market niches.
Modern plant breeding isn’t about “fake flavour”—it’s about:
Hydroponics doesn’t remove flavour. If anything, it allows growers to express genetic flavour potential more consistently.
Cotton candy grapes, and other novel-flavoured fruits, are:
They are not artificial, not genetically modified, and not a trick.
Sometimes, plants just taste amazing, because we finally bred them to be.
Article by Dr Russell Sharp
If you would like to keep up to date with subjects just like this, you can listen to both our podcasts! Links can be found bellow:
Hydroponics Daily Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hydroponics-daily/id1788172771
Cereal Killers Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cereal-killers/id1695783663