Raisin help

[Lunar*Fey]

ok, I'm sure this has come up many times...but I searched and didn't find anything. How can you know if raisins are raw...or any dried fruit for that matter? Do you have to buy them specially raw? Or how would you know? I suppose I could call the company...but I have stopped buying raisins as I could just tell the ones we bought were not raw...I can live without raisins but I do really like them...so I was just curious

thanks :)

[Brianna]

You would have to either call the company or order them from a place you know is reputable.

[Pailani]

Raisins aren't raw? I had no idea, I've been eating Sunmaid organic raisins.

<<I have stopped buying raisins as I could just tell the ones we bought were not raw>>

How can you tell??

[lissomllama]

I did a search here for Sunmaid raisins, they are supposed be raw "dried on large trays in the sun" but the golden raisins are not raw, they are oven dried and preserved with some chemical. The only problem is that non-organic raisins have VERY high concentrations of pesticides, I had no idea that there were organic Sunmaid brand raisins, I'll look around and try to get more info.

[lissomllama]

I went to the Sun-Maid website and got this info. Sounds good to me!:
http://www.sun-maid.com/healthyliving/grapes_and_sunshine
However, I found nothing on the website about them having an organic type.


I've been eating Sunmaid organic raisins.

Where did you find these? the website sells all the products they make and it says nothing about certified organic raisins. I'd love to know where to find them.

[juliebove]

Dried fruit may or may not be raw. It depends on how it was dried and the temperature used to dry it.

[Pailani]

I just started seeing them in Walmart a couple weeks ago. Let me see if I can upload a picture of them:

[rawfigure]

I dry my own fruit, no question then !

[Sharon in Colorado]

It should say "sun dried" on the package.

This is also helpful when looking for sun-dried tomatoes. Some "dried" tomatoes are not dried in the sun.

Most fruit are dried with high heat, and usually raisins are sun-dried, but it needs to say that on the package for you to be sure.

[rawpriestess]

we dry our own fruit too, but the sundried raisins that are dark are dried in the sun, the golden ones are not, we have grapes, so we have plenty of super delicious raisins all year long.

That is the only fruit that we buy dried ever, all other fruit we like fresh, like figs, and dates, and such.

Although Costco is now carrying massive dried fruits, mangos, raisins, dates, cherries, etc, I prefer to eat my fruit fresh if at all possible. although I do like raisins, and we buy them in the winter and summer, when ours are still babies.

Dragggon eats them with nuts almost every night as a snack.

[lissomllama]

I just started seeing them in Walmart a couple weeks ago. Let me see if I can upload a picture of them:

Awesome! I can't understand why I didn't see them on the website. I'll check again. I love sunmaid raisins so if I can find them organic I'll be enjoying those everyday! Thankyou!

[scott]

Rawfigure and RP,

You guys have it right. No question then. I bow to you both. Good job.

Scott

[Pailani]

Awesome! I can't understand why I didn't see them on the website. I'll check again.

I didn't see them on their website, which is why I took my own picture. Maybe they're so new that they aren't listed yet??

[Sharon in Colorado]

I am not sure if Sun Maid is sun-dried or not. I recall looking at the package to see, but didn't find the words sun-dried on it.

Although once I saw a segment on how they make their raisins, they put them out in the sun in huge bunches. They may or may not do that anymore, due to profits. It may be faster and easier for them to high heat dry them these days.

The best way to find out anything is simply to contact the manufacturer, or visit the processing plant.

[RowanC]

I think, like previous posters said, you need to contact each company,.

What I CAN tell you is that in the San Joaquin Valley, where a lot of grapes are grown, you can drive down the road and see millions of trays of grapes drying into raisins in the summer sun...

[Nancysgoingraw]

Ok, maybe a dumb question, but is a raisin just a dried grape and can you dry any kind of grape into a raisin? Green, purple, red, does it matter? My parents house where we grew up had a grape vine. We actually heard that the guy who farmed the area over 100 years ago had a whole vineyard and our vine is the surviving vine. Pretty cool. Anyway, my dad used to make homemade jelly from them so I wonder if I can make raisins from them?

[Spectatrix]

I am not sure if Sun Maid is sun-dried or not. I recall looking at the package to see, but didn't find the words sun-dried on it.

Although once I saw a segment on how they make their raisins, they put them out in the sun in huge bunches. They may or may not do that anymore, due to profits. It may be faster and easier for them to high heat dry them these days.

The best way to find out anything is simply to contact the manufacturer, or visit the processing plant.
Their website says that they sun-dry. http://www.sun-maid.com/healthyliving/grapes_and_sunshine

[RowanC]

A raisin is simply a dried grape.
If your parents have grapes, put them in a mesh dryer in the shade in hot weather and soon you will have raisins!

[rawpriestess]

yes, raisins are dried grapes, like prunes are a certain kind of dried plum, and you can certainly dry any grape you like, some are better than others, and they all must be sweet, with the seeds removed, we dry our own grapes all the time, we have 6 kinds, and each has a unique grape flavor and raisin flavor.mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


you can actually dry just about anything, except lettuce dissapears. LOL