Had to laugh!!!...but does anyone actually know?...

[Nicos]

I was looking up the difference between raisins, sultanas and currants as I always presumed raisins were from black /red grapes, sultanas were from white, and currants were from smalL black grapes( as opposed to black/ red/white currants.....gets complicated doesn't it?)

I spotted this reply in the Guardian.....



"It's easy to tell the difference - just use the nostril test: how many can you get up one nostril? Currants are smallest, raisins larger and sultanas largest of all. So, if you only manage a few, they are sultanas, lots and it's currants. Somewhere in between and you've got raisins."

(not that I'm suggesting you try that!)

...but does anyone actually know the answer to my question?

[Thelma Sanders]

LOL

It's explained here.........
What is the Difference Between Raisins, Sultanas and Currants?

[roitelet]

Just don't let. The kids try the test!!!!!!!!

[Nicos]

LD...I'd read that link but then when I started to read other links, it became a lot more complicated!

Apparently sultanas can be rolled in oil and potash or other 'things' to stop them sticking and to preserve them for longer .

I'd just like to understand how 'pure' the basic ingredients of food is that I'm cooking with and eating!....just out of interest.
And of course how a simple thing like a bunch of grapes can be preserved.
If it's easily done, I might try making my own raisins/ sultanas/ currants!
Has anyone tried drying them intentionally?

[Bren In Pots]

Out of them all I prefer the taste of sultanas in cakes and buns.

[bearded bloke]

And of course how a simple thing like a bunch of grapes can be preserved.

Rum, whiskey, gin, port, any good quality spirit in a large quantity should do it








Sorry that's pickled not preserved, gosh this is getting complicated

[bearded bloke]

Seriously though it does seem to be about grape colour & in one case specific variety

A bit of digging gets us ..........


A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia the word
"raisin" is reserved for the dark-coloured dried large grape,
with "sultana" being a golden-coloured dried grape,
and "currant" being a dried small Black Corinth grape


HTH taken from (Raisin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[bearded bloke]

Further to the currant, it is known differently in the USA .......

Zante currants (in the United States), or currants (in other English-speaking countries), or Corinthian raisins, are dried berries of the small, sweet, seedless grape cultivar 'Black Corinth' (Vitis vinifera). The name comes from the Anglo-French phrase "raisins de Corinthe" (grapes of Corinth) and the Ionian island of Zakynthos (Zante), which was once the major producer and exporter. It is not related to black, red or white currants, which are berries of shrubs in the Ribes genus and not usually prepared in dried form.

So to answer your original point, if you want to try your hand a currant drying you will need some Vitis vinifera plants

[bearded bloke]

Getting there

For sultanas you need plant varieties Thompson Seedless (originally called Lady de Coverly) or oval-fruited Kishmish.


Thompson Seedless, are the most grown variety in California, while the Krishmish go back to the Ottoman Empire


The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Kishmish

(Turkish and Tadzhik), a group of grape varieties with small seedless fruits. The best-known varieties are the white oval (ak-kishmish) and black (kara-kishmish). In the USSR, kishmish is widely grown in the Central Asian repubics, Azerbaijan SSR, Kazakh SSR, and southern regions of the RSFSR. The ak-kishmish ripens in an average number of days and is highly productive (20–30 tons per hectare). The fruits, which are small, white, and seedless, are tasty and very sugary. They are dried (bindana, sabza, soiagi), used to make wine and vacuum-obtained must, and eaten fresh. Kara-kishmish is an early, heavy-producing variety (about 30 tons per hectare). The fruits, which are medium size, black, and oval, have a juicy and meaty pulp; the seeds are not fully developed. Kara-kishmish is used dry (shigani), for wine-making, and in fresh form. The fruits of similar sun-dried grape varieties are also called kishmish.

Kishmish contains (in percent of dry substance) 76–78 percent sugar, 2.1 percent nitrogenous substances, and 2.1 percent acid. The yield of dried kishmish is 24–30 percent of the fruit mass.

[bearded bloke]

Should have found this site first .......


Ideal Dried Fruits & Vegetables, Seeds, Herbs and Spices

[Nicos]

Nice bit of info there BB!

There are so many things to eat this time of the year containing these dried fruits, I thought it was about time to understand what I'm actually eating!

(We have neighbours who have white grapes growing who let them go to waste cos they don't taste nice straight from the Vine...and I had a thought about suggesting they dry them and use them in baking something festive!)

Funny to admit I never understood the differences and just ate them without question!

[ancee]

On holiday, I told my two little uns to beware of the current. In the sea.... Later I heard my small son tell my smaller daughter that there were small black things in the sea ready to pull you under "they look like raisins Madeleine" he said seriously, she nodded seriously and told him she would be careful of them, and they carried on with their sandcastle while I cracked up laughing at their little worried faces!

[Nicos]

That is soooo funny and sweet ancee!

[ancee]

Hehehe! It's amazing what you say to them and what they actually think you are saying!