Raisins are a type of dried out fruit that is made by drying out grapes in the sun. Most often, we think of raisins being made from seedless grapes. Before seedless grapes, however, raisins were even made with seed-in grapes.
Citizens of Armenia were the first to make raisins in 4000 B.C. The trend continued into other countries such as Greece and Spain. Grapes and raisins became trade items due to their delicious nature and medicinal properties. These people groups were able to make raisins with seed-in grapes too!
It is important to note that there are currants which are seedless grapes that were made to make raisins in 75 A.D. These grapes were primarily found in Greece, and the United Kingdom imported large quantities of them as well. Besides these, most ancient people groups used seed-in grapes.
Most of the grapes utilized to make raisins in ancient times were Muscat grapes. These grapes are very large with large seeds as well. The seed would be popped out through the skin of the grape. The leftover result would be an extremely sweet raisin as the sugar would be brought to the top.
There were many methods that were utilized to pop out the seeds. The first was to cut them after heating the grapes in water. Other individuals who had more money would utilize kitchen tools to get the seeds out.
One device was called a hopper. The individual making the raisins would put the fruit through the top of the machine and crank the handle. The two rollers would force the seed out on one side, and they would force the raisin through the other side. Either way required a lot of hard work and effort.
These grapes did really stop being utilize in the 1800s after seedless grapes became more popular. As aforementioned, currants were already being utilized for smaller raisins. In the 1870s ion America, another seedless grape was made called “Thompson’s Seedless.”
This new seedless grape became the most popular method for making raisins. John Onstott, a neighbor of Thompson, began the trend of turning these grapes into raisins. They were sweeter, seedless and quick to ripen. The name later changed to Sultanina grapes.
Sultanina grapes continue to be utilized across the world for most raisin production. Most of the grapes utilized in this variety come from California vineyards. Muscat raisins are more difficult to find today in supermarkets as they are more expensive to make due to having to remove the seed.
Muscat raisins do remain significantly tastier, however. They are much sweeter and have a wonderful taste. They can still be rarely found in some supermarkets. It is important to note, however, that Muscat has recently developed a seedless grape to help keep costs down of making raisins. Further development and research is needed, however.
