I'm not sure if this has been posted before, and if it has, forgive me. But my family has been making homemade raisins for literally my entire life, and it's something I thought I would share with you guys.
It's not really a recipe, per se, because it only involves two things: grapes and sunlight!
It's quite simple, and really does yield a whole new raisin, not like the stuff you get in a box at the store. You simply take a wire baking rack, cover it with either a dishtowel you don't mind ruining, or a paper towel. Then, spread an even layer of fresh grapes over the towel, and cover with another towel. If you want flatter raisins, you can weigh your rack down with another rack on top, or use a can or bottle, whatever works.
Stash that baby outside in direct sunlight, and wait about a week. Here in Texas, we get plenty of that, so it's a relatively quick process.
You can also do this in a food dehydrator, but I personally haven't ever done it this way.
I add these to almost everything; salads, chicken recipes, pork recipes, veggie stir-fry.
The humidity in your climate plays a big role though. Here in the midwest, during much of the year, you'll just end up with moldy grapes.
I now have a dehydrator with a fan, but my old dehydrator had a heating element, but no fan. In central Illinois, the mold was even faster than a dehydrator. Raisins only worked if the grapes were split, but whole grapes or "sun-dried" tomatoes, even in the dehydrator, molded before they dried.
Yeah, the grapes were sad, but the tomatoes were SCARY, with a stinky, slimy foam foaming on top of the tomato slices, Ugh! Humidity is often in the high 90's in the summer.
I wonder if it has to do with they particular types of molds that inhabit cetain areas, because here in central Wisconsin, the humidity seems to about the same, but mold and mildew is much less of a problem. I'm not sure why. I'm very allergic to molds and mildews, and my allergies are much better here in Wisconsin, and I've even noticed that foods like breads, fruit and cheeses seem to take quite a bit longer to gather mold.
Those sound really good and like something I'd like to try. Considering that my mom calls raisins "pesticide pellets," I don't eat them unless I buy organic - but they, are of course, a bit expensive. I'm sure these taste much better, and if the grapes are thoroughly washed - no pesticide!
They really do taste so much different than boxed or processed raisins.
They stay moist and suprisingly juicy, and they really add a lot to many different foods.
We have done them with green as well as red grapes, and both are pretty darn tasty. If you can find organic grapes in season and at a nice price, it's worth it. Or go make friends with someone who has a vineyard!
Homemade raisins!
