Important Lounge Poll - Golden raisins or black raisins

[KitchenWitch]

[billyskank]

1. My god, you're right! This IS important!

*drops everything* :)

[KitchenWitch]

2. I am so glad you see the crucial nature of this poll

I wish we could wake up all the sheeple to how critical a situation this is.

:silly:

[MissMillie]

3. Raisins SUCK!!!!

:puke:

[trof]

4. Aren't "golden raisins" called sultanas?

[KitchenWitch]

5. I had never heard that before.

I have a package of Sunmaid Golden Raisins...

[trof]

7. Q. What are sultana raisins, and what can I use if I cannot find them?

A. The short answer, at least in this country, is that sultana raisins are golden raisins and you can find them everywhere. But we seldom go for the short answer, do we?

There appears to be a good deal of imprecision in the raisin arena. There are three common names for raisins in the English-speaking world — sultanas, currants, and raisins. Of course, sutanas and currants are raisins — that is, dried grapes — and among purists the word raisin is supposed to be used for any raisin that is not a sultana or a currant. But that doesn't always happen.

Currants are tiny raisins from the zante grape, and are supposed to have been first grown on the island of Corinth in Greece. Generally, currants are more tart than other raisins.

Sultana raisins were originally the product of the Sultana grape, which grew in Turkey. But in this country, 95% of the grapes used for raisin production are the Thompson Seedless variety, which dry and darken in the sunlight, producing the common raisin. The same variety of grape, however, treated with sulphur dioxide and heated artificially stays lighter, moister, and plumper, and these are what are sold here as golden raisins or sultanas. Theoretically, sultanas are sweeter and less acid than other raisins.
http://www.ochef.com/676.htm

And now I know a lot more than I did before I read your post.
;-)

[KitchenWitch]

8. and I know more than I did before I posted it!

cool!

:yourock:

[kick-ass-bob]

6. I really, really hate raisins.

Mushy crap, that's all they are.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. And speaking of California raisins,

"black" raisins have type names too these days if you look in health food, ethnic, or gourmet food shops. The Sunmaid in a box I believe are Thompson grapes dried. There's a growing availability of Red Flame raisins and if you like raisins, try them. Red Flame grapes are bigger and juicier and so are the raisins. Friends of mine find them in the Boston area so it's not just a California thing.

Just a little random food fact courtesy of my local farmer's market. It's neat to see the grapes for sale in one month and the raisins for sale a few months later.

trof: my mother sent me to the grocery store for Sultanas once and I came home empty-handed because I didn't know that 'golden' was the same thing. That was a lesson learned!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. My dear KitchenWitch!

You get absolutely NO guesses as to which kind of raisin I voted for!

I'll give you a hint though.......my username!

I love the flavor of the California raisins.......

And I adore them in oatmeal raisin cookies!


:loveya: :hug:

[Hugin]

11. The "secret" ingredient in many popular steak sauces...

Is raisins.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

;)

[KitchenWitch]

12. That does not surprise me

As the secret ingredient in Worchestershire sauce is anchovies....

[tjwmason]

13. For what purpose?

I keep sultanas, raisins and currants (see definition of the 3 types) all ready to be used for different things.