Raisin | Definition, History, Drying, & Uses (2024)

raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapes. Raisin grapes were grown as early as 2000 bce in Persia and Egypt, and dried grapes are mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 6:3) during the time of Moses. David (Israel’s future king) was presented with “a hundred clusters of raisins” (1 Samuel 25:18), probably sometime during the period 1110–1070 bce. Early Greeks and Romans adorned places of worship with raisins, and raisins were awarded as prizes in sporting events. Today’s chief raisin producers include Turkey and the United States, which together account for about 80 percent of the world’s raisin production. Other important raisin-producing countries include Iran, Greece, Chile, and South Africa. The U.S. raisin industry is located mainly in California, where the first raisin grapes were planted in 1851.

The most important varieties of raisin grapes are the Thompson Seedless, a pale yellow seedless grape also known as Sultanina (California); Muscat, or Alexandria, a large-seeded variety also known as Gordo Blanco (Australia); White Hanepoot (South Africa); and the Black Corinth, a small black seedless type, also called Zante currant, Staphis (Greece), and panariti. Other varieties of raisins of local importance include the Round Kishmish, Rosaki, Dattier, Monukka, and Cape Currant.

Raisins also may be designated by the method of drying (natural, golden-bleached, lexia), the form in which marketed (seeded, loose, layers), the principal place of origin (Aíyion, Smyrna, Málaga), the size grades, or the quality grades. Natural raisins are dried in the sun in their natural condition; they are grayish black or grayish brown, with the natural bloom intact and a rather tough skin. Golden-bleached raisins are produced from Thompson Seedless grapes dipped in 0.5 percent lye and exposed to sulfur dioxide after drying. They are lemon-yellow to golden yellow in colour and are used chiefly in baked goods. Sulfur-bleached raisins are pretreated the same as golden-bleached, put on trays, and left in the sun for three to four hours. The trays are then stacked, and the drying is continued for several weeks in the shade. The finished product appears waxy and creamy and faintly reddish yellow in colour.

Soda-dipped or soda-bleached raisins derive from Thompson Seedless grapes hot-dipped in dilute lye but not sulfured, then dried in the sun or in a dehydrator. If dried rapidly, they are light amber to medium brown, moderately tender, and mild-flavoured. Oil-dipped raisins and lexias are dipped in a dilute solution of lye upon which a thin film of olive oil is floated; they are dried on trays in direct sunlight and are medium to dark brown, tender, and mild in flavour. Raisins provide an excellent source of iron for the diet. See also grape.