Grapes-to-Raisins Musings

I rarely eat raisins. Had not baked anything having them until last week. I made several detours to the result, not something to write about at this time. Let's say my recipe title has "globbylar clusters" in its future. Anyway, back to raisins. I'd always thought of them as dehydrated and wrinkled grapes.

I had bought a 12-ounce box of Sun-Maid raisins to use in my recipe. The image shows green grapes and dark raisins. To my puzzlement, the list of ingredients was "raisins". Hmm, I'd have thought "grapes". Sunmaid.com declares, "Made with nothing but grapes and California sunshine, ...".

I wondered how much shrinkage occurred from grapes to raisins. Also got curious about the process.

Overview of Raisins

"Grapes to Raisins Time Lapse - 50 Days【4K】" shows drying using a fan, from different angles. The transition from firm green grapes to wrinkled brown raisins is eye-catching.

"6 Different Types Of Raisins You Can Find In A Grocery Store" provides overview--richly showing images and describing these raisin types. Apparently, method of drying, temperature, and humidity affect the final raisin colorations, which processors use for creating the desired results.

"Sun-Maid Sun-Dried California Raisins" explains the terrain, climate, harvesting, and 14 to 20 days of sun-drying.

"Video: Raisin Processing and Packaging - How It Works" takes up the grapes-to-raisins process from truck deliveries to manufacturing facility. A few clips of mechanization are impressive, a well-oiled machine. Sun-Maid does show products besides raisins, a testament to their versatility over time.

DIY Grapes to Raisins

Some sites mention two to four days for grapes to become raisins, much shorter than sun-drying or fan-blowing. You can DIY grapes-to-raisins processing.

"How to Make Raisins" explains three methods, with detailed steps and pix in sections titled "Drying Grapes in the Sun", "Making Raisins in the Oven", and "Using a Dehydrator". An unusual feature in the article is that each subtopic title "travels" with its respective method.

"Here’s a Grape Idea – Make Your Own Raisins!" is a short article, but explicit with explanations and steps for the methods (dehydrator, oven). Overview excerpt:

the red and purple grapes will yield a darker raisin, the green grapes a lighter version. Homemade raisins can come out plumper and juicier with a flavor that's truer to that of the original fresh grape, only more intense. Grapes are 80% water so it takes time to turn them into raisins. ... The traditional way to make raisins is for them to dry in the sun. The weather needs to be hot and dry. This takes 3 to 4 days, turning them frequently.

Grape and Raisin Water Content

The "Grape Idea" article, which mentions grapes being 80% water, nudged my curiosity about density.

"How Do You Raise a Raisin?" states "about four and one-half pounds of fresh grapes to make one pound of raisins." BTW, the article has engaging info and illustrations that look intended for younger audiences, but appealing enough for grownups. Look for explanation about raisins drying in the sun. It actually complements the Sun-Maid video about harvesting and drying the grapes.

"Comparing the nutritional content of Grapes and Raisins" states "A raw grape is on average 80.54% water and a raisin is 15.43%." This article is detail-heavy about nutrients and comparisons between grapes and raisins. Let's say it makes for dry reading. A factoid correlates with the Sun-Maid video WRT grape type--"Typically it is of the green seedless variety grown mainly in California."

"Why Grapes Cost More Than Raisins. What Eats Jellyfish." has grapes/raisins info. Ignore the jellyfish segment, although the article writer might have thought a tie-in about water percentages made sense. More reiteration about types of grapes, grape/raisin ratios, with a mention about regulation.

From four to four-and-a-half pounds of raisin grapes make a pound of raisins. There’s actually a raisin commission in California that keeps track of the size of the harvest and the number of boxed raisins held in storage. They control the number of boxes released to market, again, to avoid droughts and gluts on the shelves.

California Raisin Advisory Board (CALRAB)

The California raisin commission mentioned in the previous subtopic greatly influenced the popularity of raisins in the 1980s.

"The Story of The California Raisins" describes the Board's role with promoting raisins with claymation

It all began in the mid-80s when the California Raisin Advisory Board (CALRAB) started to look for a way to make raisins a cool thing to eat. After few failed attempts, the CALRAB called Oscar-winner Will Vinton [who passed away in 2018] to create clay animation figures for a commercial using Marvin Gaye’s 86 hit “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”.

Plumping Raisins

While Googling about raisins, I ran across topics for "plumping" (rehydrating) raisins for recipes. I had visualized maybe fewer or smoother wrinkles, maybe the raisins becoming bigger. Nothing like trying a process or two to see end results.

"How to Plump Raisins" intrigued me for seeming ease of the microwave technique of 1 cup of raisins and 1 tablespoon of water. After a couple of two-minute bouts of microwaving, using tight-resting lid to single-layer raisins on plate, I wasn't impressed. Not only did the raisins look unchanged, they weighted slightly less, indicating evaporation.

Later, I tried microwaving a different batch, immersing some raisins with plenty of water for a couple of minutes. The weight increased by about 17%. A few hours later, I gave those raisins another zap session, with additional water. Ultimately, they weighed more by another 18%. (Initial weight: 2 oz; second weight, 2.37 oz; final weight: 2.75 oz)

Comparing one ounce of out-of-box raisins to equivalent of plumped raisins (half of initial 2 ounces), the image shows size difference. Eh,.the time and effort hardly seems worth the effort. Also, I infer that some flavor and nutrients floated out in the microwaved water, maybe suitable for breads or muffins, maybe not for no-water cooky recipes.

Circling Back to DIY Raisins

Considering the yield of raisins after DIY drying, and the time, effort, and watchfulness required, it seems reasonable to leave the drying process to the pros (grape growers, harvesters, and raisin-product facilities). They have the infrastructure

Fresh Fruit Lineup Between Store Trek Cycles

My store trek expedition cycle used to be seven days, usually Sunday. Since about mid-March 2020, about the same time of SXSW cancellation and nearing Spring Break, the cycle has approached two weeks. It was one way to reduce trips to the store and also reduce risk to coronavirus. Plans for obtaining vittles became more focused for types of items.

Nod to Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables became more of focus for healthful eating. Frozen vegetables were appealing for easy buying and preparation: canned have lots of water, and fresh are more labor-intensive. As for fruits, frozen seem to have less variation or taste than fresh. Canned tends to include lots of fluid (syrup), with varying quality (mushiness to woodiness). For fruit, fresh has become the primary choice, with canned as secondary for some variety or fill-in before a subsequent store trek.

My lineup of fruits per store trek cycle: grapes (usually red or black), bananas, pears, cantaloupes, and honeydews. I have learned that scheduling them in for consumption requires awareness of when they're edible or require additional ripening, portions yields, and how long they might last in storage. (See table farther down for guide. Consider creating a similar table for the fruits you consume.)

Grapeful

I didn't get on board with grapes until the last couple of years, maybe. Best thing about grapes is ease of rinsing and storing. And they're ready to eat the first day—no ripening time needed like pears and melons.

Though We Have Some Bananas

We tend to pick very green ones and have them turn yellow and ripen for a few consecutive days' eatings. Tastiness seems to extend about 4 days. Then it's a rush to finish them before they get too mushy.

Pearish the Thoughts

Google results for "ripen pears" show that many pears in stores are not yet ripened, how many days till ripe, and how to speed up the process. They tend to feel apple-hard. I've waited about three days, rotating end to end to sense the fruit is slightly softened.

Melon Calleez

In the distant past, I'd had great luck with honeydew melons. For awhile afterward, I kept thinking they didn't taste right. Gave up on them for several years. Was ho-hum about cantaloupes. Have gotten better at sensing ripeness for consumption timeliness.

"When and How to Harvest Cantaloupe, the Sweetest Garden Candy" provides good info about ripeness, although I myself am not inclined to growing any myself. View lots of pix to see what cut ripe cantaloupes look like.

"How to pick a PERFECT Honeydew!" is a nice video. Unfortunately for me, my store's honeydews resemble the unripe one. For some time, the ripening time seems to be around 9 days. (Good to pick as unblemished melon as possible.) This most recent time was 16 days. I wouldn't have normally waited so long, but winter power outages, boil-water status, and aftermath nudged me to reprioritize. Results were great! BTW, not necessary to take the video's advice on cutting it; try different cutting methods.

Cleaning Preparation for Fruits

Yep, gotta get rid of stuff that hitchhikes on fruit, which can make you unwell. Clean appropriate areas before cleaning the fruit. Running water is your friend. Start off with surfaces and support items (strainers and similar), then the appropriate fruits.

 

1. Clean sink before placing fruits in them.
2. Peel off product stickers if any.
3. Have a clean strainer or upper dishwasher rack (recommended) handy to place washed/scrubbed fruits.
4. Rub bananas under running water and place between rack tines for draining.
5. Scrub melons with vegetable or nail brush under running water and place atop rack tines for draining.
6. Scrub pears similarly to melons.
7. Use towel(s) to finish drying fruits and place them in fruit bowl(s).

Grapes, Different Preparation

Bagged grapes require plucking. A strainer is a better washing and draining container than dishwasher rack.

1. Pluck grapes into a clean strainer atop cleaned sink.
2. Rinse them under running water, lightly tossing them.
3. Pour into container that you can drain excess water, or place a holey drainer or inverted smaller lid.
4. Refrigerate. (They're ready to eat immediately.)

Fresh Fruit Lineup Table (YMMV)

Because the fruits have differing edibility/ripeness, you can knosh on different fruits. If you run out of fresh fruit, or want to vary flavors, you can also eat canned fruits or applesauce. Note that much of processed fruits come with liquids that reduce the amount of actual fruit—possibly less nutrition and economy. Frozen fruits are another option to supplement fresh fruit.

Note: I rotate the waiting-for-ripening pears and melons end to end daily until time to "harvest". In a weird way, I'm familiarizing myself with the fruits, looking for possible emerging/expanding defects and emerging soft spots ("give") as cues. Before cutting, I scrub them again.

Fruits Skipped in the Fresh Fruit Lineup Table

• Apples
  Though I didn't mention them, I think rinse, wipe, and eat are 'nuff said.
• Strawberries
  I used to buy them when they were $2/pound box, but wearied of more labor-intensiveness for little yield.
• Peaches
  They've been occasionally fun, but ripeness is short-lived. Messy eating, too.
• Watermelons
  Love them, but currently impractical because its size would compete with other fridge items. Had bought seedless ones, could last a month. Visit "Watermelon Pick N Cut" (article, video). A friend warned me about her experience with "personal size", so I've not tried any.
• Pineapples
  Really like pineapples, but have concluded that canned pineapple chunks are way more economical (price, yield/can) and less labor-intensive than fresh. In any case, feel free to visit "Pineapple Slicing/Coring Gadget--Beyond Use Recs" (article, video).
  
• Plums
  Have not eaten any in many years. Might retry soon.
• Citruses
  Not in consciousness recently. Rinds don't appeal (grin) much to me.

May your meals be fresh-fruitful and healthful.