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Raisins, Sultanas, Currants: This is How Dried Grapes Differ

Raisins, sultanas or currants? Dried grapes hide behind the terms. Here you can find out what connects the designations and where the differences lie.

Raisins and sultanas are from the same grape variety – differences in drying

Sultanas and raisins have one important thing in common: both are made from the Sultana grape, so they’re the same grape. The difference between the designations is due to the different drying methods.

Raisins are dried in the sun for about five to seven days. This is how they get their typical dark color.
Sultanas owe their uniqueness and their light color to an important drying step: if the grapes are first dipped, they lose the wax layer on the outer skin. This makes the fruit permeable to water, so the drying time is only three to five days.
Currants are also dried grapes and therefore a type of raisin. However, they are obtained from the Greek grape variety Korinthiaki. They are also characterized by their dark color and are usually smaller than sultanas.

Treatment with sulfur makes fruit keep longer

To make the fruit last longer, raisins and sultanas are treated with sulfur dioxide during production. This is at the expense of various vitamins: explains that this primarily destroys vitamin B1 and folic acid.

The chemical treatment of the fruit can also have health consequences for humans, such as headaches or stomach problems. In this case, it is therefore advisable to use higher-quality or organic products, because sulfurization is not used here. Incidentally, currants are always treated without sulfur dioxide.

Conclusion: The varieties of raisins and sultanas differ in the drying process, but come from the same grape variety. Currants come from the Korinthiaki grape variety, but are also dried grapes. In order to make the fruits last longer, they are often sulphurized, which is why organic goods should be used.

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Food

Are Raisins Healthy? Ingredients of The Dried Grapes

Raisins are ubiquitous in muesli and trail mix – but are they healthy?

Raisins are nothing more than dried grapes: the grapes are harvested when ripe and hung up to dry until they hardly contain any water. There are different varieties, from the light sultanas to the small, dark currants.

Rock fruits like raisins are often recommended as healthy snack alternatives to sweets. In the following sections you will learn whether raisins are really healthy.

Are Raisins Healthy? These are their ingredients

Like all dried fruits, raisins mainly contain: Sugar – a full 60 percent. Therefore, it is already clear that raisins are only healthy as long as you eat them in moderation. The advantage over other sweets, however, is that the sugar from raisins does not get into your blood as quickly because raisins contain a lot of fiber (four to five percent). That means: raisins fill you up longer than other sweet snacks and make you less prone to cravings.

Above all, raisins are healthy because they contain valuable minerals and vitamins. The proportion of these nutrients is particularly high:
B vitamins: The B vitamins from B1 to B12 are irreplaceable in our body, especially for the numerous metabolic processes. Raisins contain several B vitamins, specifically B1, B3, B5, and B6.
Potassium: This mineral is especially important for muscles. Raisins contain 780 milligrams of potassium per 100 grams, which is about 20 percent of the recommended daily allowance.
Iron: Iron fulfills important tasks in the body, in particular it ensures that the cells are sufficiently supplied with oxygen. We need to consume around ten to 15 milligrams of iron every day – 100 grams of raisins already contain around 20 percent of this. Important: Your body can only absorb this large amount of iron together with vitamin C. Since raisins contain very little vitamin C, you should eat them with something containing vitamin C. How about a delicious couscous salad with peppers, raisins and a lemon dressing, for example?
By the way: Unlike fresh grapes or wine, raisins contain hardly any of the notorious secondary plant substance resveratrol, which is found in grapes and is said to have a cell-protecting effect in our body, among other things.

Are Raisins Healthy? Quality matters

Raisins have a long shelf life thanks to their sugar content – but sultanas in particular are often sulphurised. The sulphurisation should make them even more durable and ensure that the raisins do not discolour.

Attention: A sulphurization must only be declared on the packaging as soon as ten milligrams of sulphites or more are used for one kilo of raisins. You can only completely avoid sulphites if you explicitly buy unsulphured fruit. But what is the problem with sulfites? On the one hand some people do not tolerate them well, on the other hand they reduce the vitamin B1 content of the raisins.

With organic raisins, you have the best chance that they are unsulphured. By choosing to use raisins made from organically grown grapes, you also avoid using pesticides. Since grapes are susceptible to many germs and fungi, they are often heavily treated with pesticides in conventional cultivation.

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Food

Grapes Are Healthy: But You Should Pay Attention to That

How healthy are grapes really? They are a popular snack, especially in the summer heat. We’ll show you what you should know about the fruity vitamin bombs.

They are definitely delicious, but are grapes healthy? The first local grapes are harvested in Germany in late summer. Sweet and juicy, the grapes have many fans, especially in hot temperatures. Nevertheless, the fructose they contain has the bad reputation of being fattening. Let’s see what’s up with this image.

These ingredients make grapes healthy

The main component of grapes is water. That is why they are also an excellent source of water in summer. The fruits also contain a relatively large amount of fructose and fruit acid. Other nutrients included are:
Vitamin B6: Your body needs it to process proteins in the metabolism and for a strong immune system.
Folic acid: It plays an important role in the metabolism of amino acids and also supports the formation of new blood.
Ellagic acid: This vegetable acid is also found in grapes and is said to reduce the growth and formation of fat cells and boost sugar metabolism.
Resveratrol: This substance is found in the skin of the grapes and is said to have an antioxidant effect.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C actively supports the immune system.

Fructose as a fattening agent?

If you like eating grapes, you should be aware that the fructose they contain can have some disadvantages. As a guide: the sweeter a grape tastes, the more fructose it contains. The negative effects of too much fructose are:
an increased feeling of hunger, which encourages you to eat more
causes the blood sugar level to rise
If you have fructose intolerance, it is best to be careful and not eat too much of the grapes, as they contain a lot of fructose. Consumed in moderation, fructose does not pose a major threat to your slim line, as long as you pay attention to a healthy diet overall.

Caloric content of grapes

A serving of grapes (100 grams) has 65 calories. That’s why you can eat a little more of it with a clear conscience. In comparison, 100 grams of chocolate have 550 calories. Grapes are therefore very suitable as a healthy snack in between meals.

You can also use grapes in many different ways. In another article you will find out, for example, how to make your own grape juice. Other delicious ways to process grapes include:

The classic cheese platter with grapes: All you have to do is dice some cheese and arrange it on a plate together with the grapes. The perfect snack is ready!
Fruit salads aren’t the same without grapes. The small green fruits can be combined with all your favorite fruits.

Are grapes also healthy for diabetics?

Even if you have diabetes, you don’t have to give up grapes. In small amounts, your body can still metabolize the fructose it contains on its own. So a handful of grapes won’t directly spike your blood sugar. But you should keep a close eye on him after you’ve eaten grapes.

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Cooking Tips

Process Grapes: These 3 Ways are Easy and Delicious

Grapes are in season in midsummer. 3 delicious recipes to process grapes.

Our grape season begins in July. Maybe you are lucky enough to have vines in the garden or on the balcony yourself, which will give you a rich harvest. Perhaps you have also received grapes as a gift and do not want to eat them all pure. The sweet fruits can be processed in many different ways and can be preserved for a long time – for example as grape juice. But there are other delicious recipes:

1. Process grapes into jam

Another classic is grape jam. It tastes so much better when you make it yourself than from the supermarket. You can make grape jam in large quantities without hesitation – if stored airtight and protected from light, it will keep for several months. Grape jam is also suitable as a gift for friends and family.

For three to four jars of grape jam you will need:
800 g grapes, with or without seeds
1 vanilla bean
2 tsp cinnamon
1 packet of preserving sugar – alternatively you can also use agar agar. Then you should always store the jam in a cool place. It also has a slightly shorter shelf life.
Clean, sterile jam jars.
That’s how it’s done:
Wash and hull your grapes and place them in a large enough pot.
Mash them gently with a large spoon and then let them boil in their own juice for about five to ten minutes.
Then pass the crushed grapes through a sieve, catching any seeds and coarse scraps of skin.
Then return the grapes to the pot and warm them up. Then add the pulp of the vanilla and the cinnamon.
Then stir in jam sugar or agar agar and let everything simmer for a few minutes.
Depending on the type of gelling sugar or agar agar, it takes a different amount of time for the mass to set. Test the firmness by putting some of the jam on a plate and waiting a moment. If it is nice and firm, your jam is ready and you can take it off the stove.
Pour equal parts of the mixture into your jam jars, screw them on tightly and turn them upside down. After 5 minutes, turn them right side up.
Tip: You can refine grape jam with other fruits of your choice. Plums or apples, for example, go particularly well with it. Chop these into small pieces before adding them to the grapes and then proceed as described.

2. Process grapes into jelly

If you like it a bit lighter, you can also process your fruit into grape jelly. It goes well on bread or as a delicious dip, for example with a hearty cheese board.

For three to four glasses of jelly you will need:
1 kg of grapes
500 grams of jam sugar or agar agar
fresh ginger (to taste)
freshly squeezed lemon juice
a clean cotton cloth
Jelly or jam jars (sterile)
That’s how it’s done:
Wash the grapes and put them in a large pot.
Pour in enough water to just barely cover the grapes.
Let everything simmer for about 30 minutes.
Then put everything in a permeable cotton cloth and place this in a large sieve over a collecting bowl.
Allow the grape pulp to strain through the cloth for at least 12 hours.
Finally, press the remaining fruit pulp out of the cloth by twisting it.
Now put the juice with the preserving sugar and a few dashes of lemon juice in a saucepan. If you like, you can also add some finely grated ginger. Let everything simmer for about five minutes.
Finally, pour the still warm jelly into jars that have been rinsed hot, screw them tightly and place them on the lid. After five minutes you can turn them over.
Tip: If you like it exotic, you can refine your jelly with tart spices. Cardamom, for example, tastes great as a spicy contrast in sweet jelly. Add about half a teaspoon of cardamom powder to the grape juice for boiling, or let some dried cardamom seeds boil with the jelly.

3. Process grapes into compote

A savory and sweet compote can also be made from grapes. For example, you can serve grape compote with whole grapes as an alternative to cranberries with hearty autumn dishes.

You need:
1 kg of grapes
500ml white wine
400ml of water
150 grams of sugar
1 vanilla bean
4-5 cloves
coarse peppercorns
mustard seeds
That’s how it’s done:
For your grape compote, put all the ingredients except the grapes in a large saucepan and let them cook for about 15 minutes.
You can add vanilla pods to the brew for a vanilla taste. You should scrape them out first though.
Meanwhile, wash the grapes, stir them into the boiling quantity and let everything boil down for another five to ten minutes.
Then remove the vanilla bean and cloves from the broth and let the compote cool down.
If you don’t have any grapes in your garden, make sure you only buy local fruit. Grapes grow in large quantities here in summer. It is therefore unnecessary to buy grapes from abroad that have been transported long distances.

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