Raisins are dried grapes. Raisins can be eaten raw or used in cooking and baking. Raisins are very sweet due to the high concentration of their sugars, and if they are stored for a long period the sugar crystallises inside the fruit. This makes the fruit gritty, but does not affect their usability. To decrystalise raisins, they can be soaked in liquid (alcohol, fruit juice, or boiling water) for a short period, dissolving the sugar.

In the United States, the term raisin refers to any form of dried grape. California raisins – both the sun-dried dark naturals and the goldens – are made by drying Thompson Seedless grapes; dark naturals are sun dried, while goldens are treated with sulphur then flame dried. Another variety of seedless grape, the Black Corinth, is also sun dried to produce Zante currants, mini raisins that are much darker in colour and have a tart, tangy flavour. In Australia and other countries specific varieties are given separate names. In particular, in Australia raisins are largest, sultanas are intermediate, while currants are smallest. Alternately, sultanas are assumed to come from white or green grapes while raisins are believed to be produced from the red counterparts.

Raisins are also produced in Greece, especially in the areas of Peloponessus, Crete and smaller islands. The main variety used in the Greek raisin is the sultana. The grapes are mostly sun-dried thus producing seedless raisins of average size and golden color. A notable exception to this rule is the grape variety cultivated especially for the purpose of raisin production in Corinthia that give darker and smaller type of raisin named Corinthian. Corinthian raisins are not seedless.

The Victorian parlour game called Snap-dragon involved raisins being plucked from a bowl of burning brandy.

Etymology

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The word raisin dates back to Middle English and is a loanword from Old French; in Old French and French, raisin means "grape", while a raisin in French is called a raisin sec, a "dry grape". The Old French word in turn developed from Latin racemus, "a bunch of grapes". The origin of the Latin word is unclear.

Nutritional value

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Raisins consist for about 60% by weight of sugars, of which about half is fructose and half is glucose. Raisins are also high in antioxidants, and are comparable to prunes and apricots.

Raisins and tooth decay

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Dentists and dental hygienists have long recommended not eating raisins as it was believed that the combinations of sugars and stickiness in them would promote tooth decay and gum disease. However, research indicates that the stickiness of a food is not an indicator of its effects on oral health. Additionally, raisins have been found to contain several chemical compounds that may assist in fighting oral bacteria. In a laboratory, extracts from raisins were found to slow the growth of Streptococcus mutans, the main bacteria behind tooth decay. Five chemicals in raisins — oleanolic acid, oleanolic aldehyde, betulin, betulinic acid, and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural — seem to be responsible for slowing the bacteria. In addition, oleanic acid prevents S. mutans from sticking to tooth enamel. (Wu, et al., 2005)

References

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• Abstract

See also

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• Blackcurrant
• Currant
• Redcurrant
• Sultana

External links

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• Natural Benefits and Curative Properties
• The World's Healthiest Foods: Raisins
• A close-up photo of a raisin

Fruit | Dried foods

Pansa | Rosin | Rosine | Pasa | Raisin sec | Uva sultanina | Rozijn | レーズン | Rosin | Rosin | Rodzynki | Passa | Изюм | Rozine | Rusina | Russin | 葡萄乾