VINE FRUITS

Dried vine fruit is a term given to all varieties of dried grape produced and the process of drying fruit in the sun is accredited to the Persians with written references dating back thousands of years.

Sultanas

We source the best quality Sultanas from both Turkey and Iran, having forged relationships with key suppliers over a number of years.

The word Sultana derives from the town of Salt in Western Jordan, an ancient Byzantium settlement. However it is also believed that the first Sultanas originated in Turkey in the Anatolia region. The Hittities (1800-1550BC) grew the vine and used its fruits as an offering to the gods!

Sultanas have a colour scale ranging from light to dark as well as various size options.

The most commonly cultivated grape that produces most of the world’s Sultanas is the Thompson Seedless White Grape. The fruit is cut from the vine and dipped in a solution of Potash and Oil. This solution accelerates the drying process resulting in a relatively light coloured Sultana. It’s the same grape that produces a Raisin...

Raisins

Raisins were discovered accidentally drying on vines many thousands of years ago. Without the dipping process the fruit takes longer to dry. Like you or I, the longer we stay out in the sun the more we darken. This is exactly what happens to grapes, so the same grape with a different drying process leads to a fruit with a different colour and distinctive flavour. The caramelising of the fruits sugars contributes towards producing the distinctive Raisin flavour.

We import Raisins from Iran, Turkey and California. Our Organic Raisins come from California and Turkey.

Currants

Currants are grown in the same way as Raisins and Sultanas although they are a much smaller fruit. A traditional Currant is Greek and from the Corinth grape, however nowadays we are seeing many origins producing Midget Raisins that are marketed as Currants, e.g. Zante Currants (USA), Chillian Currants, Middle Eastern Currants (Turkey, Syria), Red Persian Currants (Iran) and South African Currants.

Western Commodities

VINE FRUITS