Wanda Reeves, age 13, of Dotham, Ala., for her question:
WHAT KIND OF GRAPES ARE USED FOR RAISINS?
A raisin is a sun dried grape. The most common variety of grape used for raisins is the Thompson seedless. This yellow grape is rich in flavor, it has tender skin and its sugar content is especially suited for making raisins.
Actually there are four main varieties of grapes used for raisins: the muscat, sultana and Corinthian, in addition to the Thompson. The Corinthian gives us currants.
Raisins once were extremely expensive and could be enjoyed only by the very wealthy. Today, everyone can enjoy them. They are used in cakes, candies, cookies, bread and puddings. They also are eaten as a special sweet treat.
Ancient Egyptians discovered that drying fruit preserved it, made it sweeter and even improved its flavor. The Bible also mentions that cheese and raisins were used to pay taxes in a special case. We know that Nero had raisins on his feast menu.
The climate and soil of the Mediterranean countries made them right and famous for raisin growing during the Middle Ages. Spain was a leading producer. The raisin industry moved to California when Jesuit friars and Franciscan padres planted grape vines around the missions to help supply thhe Indian settlements with food.
After the Civil War, some of the gold hunters of the central California valleys discovered that the hot, dry summers and mild winters of California made the valleys ideal places for growing raisins. By 1892, California was growing more raisins than Spain.
Today, California is the only state in the Unted States that produces raisins commercially. More than 350 million pounds are produced each year.
In 1879, a man named Thompson brought the first seedless grape cuttings to California.
Seedless grapes are allowed to ripen on the vine. Then they are harvested by hand or by machine and placed on sheets of heavy brown paper between the rows of vines for drying.
The raisins dry in the sun for 10 to 15 days. After drying, the raisins are stacked and dried again. Then they are stored in great bins, called sweat boxes, to equalize their moisture content. Next the fruit is sent to packing houses.
In the packing house, workers stem and grade the raisins by passing them over screens of different sized mesh. Special machines remove stem caps as the fruit passes between revolving screens.
Another machine whirls the raisins through a fine spray of water and gives them a final cleaning. The cleaned raisins are then pressed into packages and sealed.
A process that is slightly different is used on raisins with seeds. Muscat raisins are larger and softer than the seedless variety and they receive additional drying time before they are passseed through the stem removal machine.
After drying, the muscats are softened again and washed in hot water. They are then fed between rubber rollers which press the seeds to the surface. A saw tooth roller catches the seeds between its teeth and removes them. The seeds are taken away while the raisins go to the packing department.
Raisins are well known as a nourishing food.