Black Raisins

Details

Seedless black grapes from the Nashik and Sangli vineyards, dried until they go a deep brown-black, then destemmed, cleaned and size graded. Nothing is applied afterwards, and that really is the whole listing, because almost everything usually applied to a raisin is applied for the seller and not for you. Sulphur dioxide comes first. It is permitted in dried fruit within a limit and the trade leans on it hard, to hold colour and to stretch shelf life, so a raisin that should have darkened stays bright and a lot that should have moved months ago still looks new. Ours carries none, and every lot is tested for residue. Glucose or sugar syrup is second: a dip adds shine and, far more usefully to a packer, adds weight, so you pay raisin prices for syrup. Mineral oil is third, brushed on for the same gloss, which is paraffin on fruit and is caught by MOSH-MOAH.

• No sulphur dioxide, SO2 residue tested per lot
• No glucose or sugar syrup dip, added sugar tested per lot
• No mineral oil, wax or paraffin glaze, MOSH-MOAH tested
• No added colour and no preservative
• Seedless, destemmed and cleaned, stalk and grit sorted out
• They are dark, matte and slightly sticky, and they clump in the pack, because there is nothing on them to keep them loose and glossy
• A drier, more concentrated raisin than a plump syruped one, so the same handful weighs less and tastes stronger