How long does it take to make raisins???

[nmb]

Anyone done it? I've had grapes in the dehydrator all day, and they still look like, well, grapes.... ? Just like if they were straight out of the fridge.

[kaybee]

never tried it...makes me wonder if you might have to cut them in half to expose more of the internal moisture to the surface so the dehydrator can get at it...i know they dont do this with commercial raisinsthat you buy in the store though; i mean, theyre whole..... so i dunno...

[PixieLed]

I don't have a concrete answer for you. But all I know is that commercial raisins tend to be sun-dried, so the sun might have something to do with it?

Hope that helps!

[mel_s12]

I haven't tried grapes but I tried cranberries one time and I had to poke holes in them so the insides would dry out.

Maybe this would help with the grapes?

[raweater]

I don't have a concrete answer for you. But all I know is that commercial raisins tend to be sun-dried, so the sun might have something to do with it?

Hope that helps!
Why would they really sun dry? Wouldn't it be cheaper and faster to use commercial dehydrators? Or does the energy savings make up for the time savings? And what about rain?

What about sun dried tomatoes? I'd have a hard time believing those are really sun dried (I always make my own sun dried tomatoes, most I find have so much salt they'd more accurately be described as tomato flavored salt, and even still... you can barely taste the tomato).

[subbacultcha]

Whenever I dry fruit like grapes I poke a hole in them with a toothpick. Otherwise there's nowhere for the moisture to go :p

[juliebove]

Mine took about three days and that was with blanching them first. So not raw. The blanching breaks down the skin and speeds up the process. If you don't want to blanch you'd have to either cut them in half and/or poke holes or cut slits in them.

[beppa66]

I recently emailed an organic raisin company to see what temperatures they were exposed to and this was the reply:

30 hrs of 145 -150 degrees dehydration.

So I guess if they don't say sun dried we shouldn't assume. This was a surprise to me...

[Carlsbad]

I make my own raisins, and it takes a week in the dehydrator at 110 degrees. I don't poke them with anything though. They are amazing, and so much better than store bought raisins. I just make huge batches whenever grapes are on sale, and then I have them whenever I need them.

[beppa66]

Hi Carlsbad, do you use red or green grapes???
Seedless, right? ( : A whole week...???

[Cinnamon]

I've tried several times and they have always started to mildew before they were even close to being done. I was so sad having to throw them out.

[juliebove]

I make my own raisins, and it takes a week in the dehydrator at 110 degrees. I don't poke them with anything though. They are amazing, and so much better than store bought raisins. I just make huge batches whenever grapes are on sale, and then I have them whenever I need them.

Were they super sweet? Mine were so sweet people could only eat one or two. They were not well liked.

[blix]

Why would they really sun dry? Wouldn't it be cheaper and faster to use commercial dehydrators? Or does the energy savings make up for the time savings? And what about rain?

What about sun dried tomatoes? I'd have a hard time believing those are really sun dried (I always make my own sun dried tomatoes, most I find have so much salt they'd more accurately be described as tomato flavored salt, and even still... you can barely taste the tomato).

Tomatoes are sun dried. Just beautiful natural sun. I saw a programme on television about it. There were loads and loads of tomatoes drying in the sun.:)

[RAW]

Whenever we dry grapes, we cut them in half. They are SO much better than store raisins. They have as tang and a flavor that is not found in the Thompson seedless raisins.