Wow, those raisins are huge! They look plump and wonderful. Enjoy!

Bri

Sooooo......
Waddya do with fat raisins???

Well Linda, DH uses them in his oatmeal, the grands eat them out of hand and I might chop them a bit for baking. I also put them in the curried chicken salad! The flavor and consistency are so much better and there's none of that grittiness that some raisins have.

You must tell me (or mail) which farmer's market. I will make it my business to get up there. Those raisins appear good enough for even AnnT to elicit a second look (I know she would never want to eat one though).....

The taste difference is appreciable too.

Ellen, you are in charge of tracking down a source!!

Yep, there are raisins and then there are raisins.

And it's not so much a matter of brand.

What you have is almost a case of apples and oranges.

Little dark raisins -- typical raisins -- are dried Thompson Seedless grapes. As they dry, they shrivel up and turn dark. Pretty much as so many other fruits do.

Plump golden raisins also are Thompson Seedless grapes. They're dried using sulfites. And, just as with other dried fruits, they do not shrivel up as much nor turn as dark. They go from green-white to golden rather than purplish brown.

A third type of grape -- Corinth or Zante -- produces tiny raisins, sometimes called "currants" but not to be confused with a bush fruit of the same name.

And good farmers' market growers often dry some of the other grapes, especially the seedless ones such as Flame, which turns wonderful dried colors.

I like all three types for different uses.

Joe

Now....do all "raisin grapes" have to be seedless? or do some growers seed them?
I know there used to be a kitchen gadget called a raisin seeder.
Do raisins have seeds any more?
And, I thought "sulfites" was a bad word? Not???
Linda C

I'd love them, hope you can find us a mail order source Ellen. No pressure or anything....:)) But they would be wonderful in my chocolate and dried fruit fruitcake that I plan on making for the Holidays.

Nancy

Ellen's looks good enough to eat to me!

Beverly

"bottom is Ellen's"

"Ellen's looks good enough to eat to me! "

Hmmmmmmmmmm

I think I'd like to meet Ellen.

Joe

LOL, I love it, but you'd be oh so disappointed! LOL

The difference between 'fresh' raisins & the ones you purchase in grocery stores is amazing.

For my entire life, up until my aunt passed away in 2004 I always used 'fresh' raisins direct from the Sunmaid plant in Selma, CA. You can purchase them from the plant in 50 lb. boxes. The raisins are in a huge plastic bag & plopped inside a large box. My aunt would then ship them to me here in New England.

That's a LOT of raisins so I'd divide them up with friends & freeze whatever I'd use in the course of a year. I don't know if you can still purchase direct from the Selma plant, or not, but I imagine you can.

The raisins direct from the Selma plant are huge, plump, & MOIST...not dried, shriveled, & hard like the ones purchased under the Sunmaid brand name in the stores. They are like the store ones after being soaked for an hour.

There's so much difference that I've basically stopped using raisins since my aunt passed away & my care packages ceased. :( Growing up on 2,000 acres of Thompson seedless that went to Sunmaid after drying in the fields I can attest to the fact that raisins are like many other foods...they are best when fresh!

I'll bet those in the San Joaquin could get a few boxes, divide them up & many of us would gladly pay for 10-25 lbs. each. There's just no comparison in quality. Once you've eaten fresh those shriveled store raisins just won't cut it anymore.

/tricia

P.S. Towards the end of September or first of October is when you want to get them from the plant....right out of the fields.

Linda C - I think in limited quantities sulfites are fine for most people. If they are not fine with you then you might want to reconsider using dried apricots in your apple cake, whole wheat hazelnut apricot bread, chicken salad and green salad with toasted pecans. Because chances are they contain sulfites, as do most dried fruit that maintain their color. ;)

Sulfites are a problem for me. Thankfully I'm only mildly allergic. I can have wine in moderate amounts but will suffer with a stuffed up nose. I can't eat dried apples and the like with sulfites. I have an asthma type reaction.

Those are lovely raisins. Raisins were dried in the field right by the vines on the ground on paper "trays."

I have had raisins of other grape varietals that were more wonderful than the standard raisin. Monukka raisins are my faves. They have a bit of chewiness from a tiny seed.

The Flame Raisins from this store are incredible.... huge and moist. They have all sorts of California grown dried fruits and nuts that are the recent crop... not 2 or 3 years old. It's amazing to use "fresh" dried instead of -- however long it's been in storage and on the shelf of some grocery. I'm spoiled since moving to CA. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Simonian Farms

Thanks for the website Westelle. I placed an order and will report back with product evaluation.

Cathy

Interesting website Westelle, but I didn't see plain ole raisins, just mixes with yogurt covered etc. Did I miss something? I can't make it to the Farmer's Market this Sunday, it's my dad's 85th and Mom's hosting a brunch. I'll make sure to get there next weekend. As I recall the raisins are something like $3.50 -$3.75 a pound.

I just spoke with Sunmaid directly at the plant.

We can still buy freshly processed raisins in bulk. Here's the breakdown:

30 Pounds - $43.99/$1.47 per pound

Shipping (based on CT) - $29.87

Total: $73.86/$2.46 per pound

Even with shipping it's pretty good. I'm going to order 30 lbs. and split them with my DIL. I can see lots of oatmeal/raisin cookies in our future!

/tricia

Good job Tricia,
Send me your address and I'll send you some from the farmer's market to compare!

Good for you Tracia!

Ellen, I finally found a mix of (uncoated) raisins.
Products Ordered:
M138
Raisins-Golden & Natural Thompson & Flame Mix 14 oz.
Quantity : 4
Price : $1.69 @ 14 oz

If they are dried on paper tray right in the fields has anyone tried drying them at home? I have the sun and get so many grapes that I give them away.

DH has a couple of employees that have family that pick grapes in Bakersfield and Delano they give him cases of all kinds. I love the really big red ones that usually just get shipped overseas. I have never seen then in the market so donÂt know what they are called.

I think I will try it on a piece of cardboard covered with parchment paper. Put them in the garage at night so the raccoons donÂt get them and see what happens. So how long do you think it will take to dry them?

Claudia

Claudia, I've never done them in the sun, I make raisins in the dehydrator every time I over-buy grapes (which is every time I buy them). Depending on the size and juiciness of the grapes, mine usually take 6-12 hours. They are great dried just barely all the way through.

I just leave the grapes, stems and all, laying on a plate or tray in the kitchen and they are raisins in no time. I have a tray of Champaign grapes that will soon be tiny raisins for any cookies that might need them.

I have a good recipe from a NY friend for Rugelah Cookies that are outstanding when made with the Flame raisins from Simonian.

Oooh, please share the rugelah recipe! I love it and the ones in the commercial bakeries have chopped nuts too which I can't eat.

In browsing around tonight I discovered Dorie Greenspan's blog and her MIL's rugelah recipe.
I'm linking it here but would still like to see Westelle's too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Dorie's Rugelah

I like Sunmaid Jumbo raisins. I love them on my Grapenuts.

tricia - What is the contact information for the Sunmaid plant? I would like to buy freshly processed raisins in bulk.
Thanks.
Clare

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunmaid products.

I will need to ask my friend for permission to post her family's recipe. I think they are the best I've ever eaten.... especially when made with big, tender raisins.

Sunmaid Raisin: (559) 896-8000.

/tricia

Great looking raisins....

Linda

tricia - Thanks for the phone number. I did a reverse look up and here is the address and email in case someone would like to order that way.
Clare

Postal Address
Corporate Secretary
Sun-Maid Growers of California
13525 S. Bethel Avenue
Kingsburg, CA 93631

E-mail
info@sunmaid.com

Phone Number
559-896-8000

Fax Number
559-897-6209

Jane has given permission to post her recipe for Rugelah.
NOTE: the @ is an example of how the roll should look.
Also, I use my own strained Raspberry Jam and the Flame Raisins from Simonian Farms.

Rugelah

Dough

8 oz. small curd cottage cheese
8 oz. softened sweet (unsalted) butter
2 cups flour

Mix butter and cottage cheese. Add flour. Mix like for pastry using cutter or forks. Form into 6-7" flat square. Refrigerate overnight or at least several hours.

Cut chilled dough square into 3 equal sections. (Re-refrig. other 2 sections.)
Roll out the section between an 18 inch length of wax paper folded in half lengthwise.
Rolling the dough the length only brings the dough to about
4" wide by about 14" long and 1/8th inch thick. (Keep chilled, handles easier.)

Filling

8 oz. seedless raspberry jam
8 oz. raisins
8 oz. walnuts

Chop raisins and walnuts together in food processor (or grind together in meat grinder.)

Spread each rolled-out dough with 2 heaping tsps. of the jam.

Spread 1/3rd of the nut/raisin mixture evenly over dough.

Using the wax paper to help, roll-up dough jellyroll style - about a 1 1/2 roll - @.

Topping

1 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tblsp. sugar


Mix together and sprinkle generously over top of each log.

Roll the log up in the self-same wax paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Baking

Preheat oven to 375º F. Remove one log from frig.; unroll and cut log into one inch pieces; place on parchment covered cookie sheet so turned-under part is down and "roll" is standing upright - @ .

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely .
Repeat for other 2 logs.

Makes about 45 cookies from 3 logs.

Mmmm, sounds wonderful! Thanks to you and Jane too for sharing this with us. I might have time this weekend, but if not, it will be soon!

I received my order from Simonian Farms-this was recommended by Westelle. The raisins look like the ones Ellen sent to me (see picture at top of page) and the taste is almost as good--a tad bit drier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simonian Farms

Mustangs: These were last year's raisins. Order some 2008 ones in November.

They start drying the grapes in September... Raisins in October. Make sure you ask specifically for 2008's crop.

Great tip Westelle!

I will put a fall date on my calendar.

Speaking of raisins...

This winery is a client of mine. I had a meeting at the winery yesterday and was given two containers of these incredible jumbo raisins. Each raisin is an inch long.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunview Raisins at Rutherford Ranch Winery

Eileen, thanks for that link..With as much Organic as I've switched to, these look just right!