Raisins

The grape is best conserved as a raisin. Canning is seldom practiced

with this fruit. A raisin is a dried grape. Tree-fruits are evaporated

as by-products, but the raisin is a primary product. This is a

difference worth noting; for with tree-fruits the cream of the crop

goes to the fresh fruit market, while with the grape the entire crop

of raisin varieties may go into the cured product. The raisin industry

is dependen on a sunny and rainless climate and hence in America is

confined to the grape regions of certain parts of California. In this

state, raisin-making is a rich resource of the grape-grower, the

annual output now averaging well above 200,000 pounds, grown on

120,000 acres of land, and having a market value of $10,000,000.

Fresno County, California, produces nearly 60 per cent of the output

of the state and the city of Fresno is the center of the industry. The

raisin industry does not stand alone in California, as some raisin

grapes, notably Muscat of Alexandria, are good dessert sorts and are

also much used for wine and brandy. Only the first crop of the variety

named is used for raisins, while practically all of the second crop

each season is made into wine and brandy.



Raisins proper are mostly made from the Muscat of Alexandria, although

other large, white, sweet grapes are sometimes used. Sultana raisins,

naturally seedless, are made from Sultanina and the Sultana. The dried

currants of commerce are made from grapes, and of these California

produces small quantities from White Corinth.



The following account of raisin-making is given by Husmann:[20]



"In the raisin districts grapes are ripe by the middle of August, the

season often lasting into November. The average time necessary for

drying and curing a tray of raisins is about three weeks, depending on

the weather, the earliest picked grapes drying in ten days and the

later ones often taking four weeks or more.



"The method of drying is very simple. The bunches are cut from the

vines and placed in shallow trays 2 feet wide, 3 feet long, and 1 inch

high on which the grapes are allowed to sun-dry, being turned from

time to time by simply placing an empty tray upside down on the full

one and then turning both over and taking off the top tray. After the

raisins are dried they are stored away until they are packed and

prepared for shipment. Some of the larger growers, in order not to run

so much risk in drying on account of rain, and also to enable them to

handle the crop fast enough, have curing houses, where the curing is

finished after having been partially done outside."



Dipping and scalding raisins.



"The operation of dipping and scalding is designed to accomplish

several purposes, namely, to cleanse the fruit, to hasten its drying,

and to give the dried fruit a lighter color. In dipping and drying,

the fruit, immediately after being cut from the vines, is either

dipped in clear water to first rinse it of particles of dust and other

foreign matter, or it is taken direct to the scalder and immersed in a

boiling alkaline mixture called 'legia' (lye) until the grapes show an

almost imperceptible cracking of the skin, the operation consuming

perhaps from one-fourth to one-half of a minute. This dipping calls

for skill on the part of the operator, the duration of the emersion

depending on the strength and temperature of the mixture and the

condition of the fruit. Desiccation follows the scalding process,

which is accomplished on trays in the sun, the same as undipped

raisins cured entirely by solar heat. On account of the scald they

cure rapidly, and the fruit is also often of lighter color when cured.



"The following formula has been used for Sultana and Sultanina grapes

at Fresno:



"Fifteen pounds of 'Greenbank's 98-per cent lye' are boiled in 100

gallons of water. This mixture is for grapes containing 25 per

cent of sugar. Should their sugar content be less, enough lye is

added to remove the bloom and open the pores of the skin of the

grapes. After dipping, the grapes are spread on trays and

sulphured for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Observation will show whether it

may be necessary to vary this formula a trifle to suit conditions

of ripeness and influence of temperature. The length of time

required for dipping is ascertained by experience, and differs

with the strength of the lye, the heat of the solution, and the

thickness of the skins of the grapes."



Packing raisins.



"The raisins as received at the packing house are weighed and the

loose raisins and those that are to be shipped as dried grapes are

immediately run through a stemmer and grader which stems, cleans, and

assorts the raisins into three or four different grades, after which

they are packed and shipped to various parts of the country, some also

being exported. Those producing cluster or layer raisins (if they have

not already been equalized) are first stored in the equalizing rooms.

In these rooms the sweat boxes, filled with layers of new raisins, are

stacked and left usually from 10 to 30 days, or long enough for the

overdried berries to absorb moisture from the under-dried ones. This

sweating also properly softens and toughens the stems, which prevents

their breaking and enables them to hold the berries better. In

California, where the climate is so dry, no first class pack could be

made without thus first equalizing the raisins. After having been

equalized the raisins are taken out, assorted into the different

grades, and placed in trays holding 5 pounds each. The trays of the

same grades are then pressed and stacked away in piles ready for

packing.



"Pressing the raisins so that they look well and so none are burst

open is work requiring experience and good judgment. It takes four

pressed trays to fill a 20-pound box. The loose raisins that have

dropped from the cluster through handling before they were equalized

are also graded, the largest, of course, making the choicest pack."



Classes of raisins.



"Previous to the consolidated organization of the packers the three

best grades of raisins on the stems were known as 'Imperial,'

'Dehesia,' and 'Fancy Clusters,' respectively. The California Raisin

Growers Association established classification and grades similar to

those of the Spanish raisin packers, on which the French trade names

are also based. The original Spanish, as well as English terms with

which they correspond, and the different grades in descending order of

quality are shown in the following table:



=========================================================================

SPANISH TERMSFRENCH TERMS ENGLISH TERMS CALIFORNIA TERMS

-------------+---------------+----------------------+--------------------

Imperial Imperiaux ExtraExtra Imperial ClusterSix-Crown Cluster

Imperial BajoImperiaux Imperial Cluster Five-Crown Cluster

Royan Bajo Royaux Royal Cluster Four-Crown Cluster

Cuarta (4a) Surchoix Extra Choicest Three-Crown Cluster

Quinta (5a) Choix Extra Choice Cluster Two-Crown Cluster

=========================================================================



"The grading is optical, as a result of experience, there being no

linear or cubic measurement standard. Thus, a nice cluster with all

berries of large size, would be a 'Six-Crown Cluster,' such being the

very finest raisins on the stem. 'Five-Crown Clusters' were formerly

the 'Dehesia' cluster, and 'Four-Crown Clusters' were formerly 'Fancy

Clusters.' Grades less than 'Four-Crown' on the stems (the

'Three-Crown' and 'Two-Crown') are known as 'Layers,' or 'London

Layers.' These are placed in boxes containing 20 pounds net; in half

boxes of 10 pounds; and quarter boxes of 5 pounds; and in fancy boxes

containing 2-1/2 pounds. Loose raisins, or raisins off the stem, are

graded into Two-Crown, Three-Crown, and Four-Crown raisins by being

run through screens the meshes of which are thirteen thirty-seconds,

seventeen thirty-seconds, and twenty-two thirty-seconds of an inch in

size, respectively. The Sultanina (erroneously called Thompson

Seedless), and the Sultana are packed in 12-ounce cartons, 45 to the

case."



Seeded raisins.



"The invention of a raisin-seeding machine by George E. Pettit in the

early seventies, and its use, has had a wonderful effect on the

industry.



"Seeded raisins were first put on the market by the late Col. William

Forsythe, of Fresno, Cal., who at first found it very difficult to

dispose of 20 tons. The output in the last 15 years has increased from

700 tons to 50,000 tons per annum, and their popularity is constantly

increasing. In 1900 about 14,000 tons were placed on the market, in

1905 about 21,000 tons, in 1910 about 31,000 tons, and in 1913 about

49,000 tons. The seeding machines in present use can turn out 300 tons

per day. Seeded raisins are now the most important branch of the

raisin industry.



"A brief outline of how seeded raisins are prepared will prove

interesting. The raisins are first exposed to a dry temperature of

140 deg. F. for three to five hours, after which they are put through a

chilling process so that the pedicels can be easily removed, and are

then thoroughly cleansed by being passed through cleaning machines.

They are then taken by automatic carriers to another room, spread out

on trays, and exposed to a moist temperature of 130 deg. F. to bring them

back to their normal condition. The raisins pass to the seeding

machine, where they are carried between rubber-faced rollers and the

impaling device of the seeding machine which catches the seeds and

removes them from the fruits as they are flattened between the

surfaces of the rollers. The impaled seeds are removed from the roller

by a whisking device in such a way as to be caught in a separate

receptacle. The seeded raisins pass through chutes to the packing

tables on the floor below.



"The seeded or loose raisins are packed in 50-pound boxes; in 1-pound

cartons, 36 to the case; in 12-ounce cartons, 45 to the case; and some

in bulk in 25-pound boxes.



"Information has recently been sent out to the effect that the

California Associated Raisin Co. is arranging to do away with the

grades in seeded raisins, so there will only be one grade. This

contemplates using all of the Three-Crown, the smallest of the

Four-Crown, and the best of the Two-Crown in one blended grade.



"From the seeds, formerly used as a fuel, a number of by-products are

now made.



"The seeds and pedicels removed from the raisins in seeding vary from

10 to 12 per cent of the original weight of the raisins according to

their conditions and quality.



"The grading, seeding, facing, and packing have become separate

branches of the industry, and the work is nearly all done by

especially trained women, who have become experts at it. The

establishments in which this work is done furnish employment for over

5000 persons. The aggregate pay roll each month during the season is

between $200,000 and $350,000."