Talking about the benefits of raisins is unnecessary.
This product is very popular and has only positive aspects. If the vineyard is pleased with the harvest, then you can prepare raisins for the future.
At home, this is not difficult. There are a lot of ways and, contrary to popular belief, not only raisins are used for drying. Grape varieties with seeds can also be prepared. They are wonderfully suitable for compotes, they will certainly please you in winter and spring, when the body especially needs vitamins.
How to make raisins from grapes at home - general principles
For the preparation of raisins, you can use any grapes, but preferably ripe. From acidic and unripe berries, a low-grade product is obtained.
Fundamental rules:
1. Grapes should be harvested only in dry weather. If the berries are saturated with moisture, then the raisins will not only dry out for a long time, but the quality of the product will also suffer.
2. Before harvesting, it is advisable not to water the vineyards for 10 days. It will also reduce the moisture of the product.
3. You do not need to wash the crop. Grapes are peeled off by hands, if not dried with brushes. The web, rubbish and other garbage just shake off. An exception is wet processing, which is carried out to accelerate the ripening and drying of raisins.
To prepare raisins you will need mesh trays or ordinary baking sheets. If the grapes are brought to readiness in an electric dryer, then the pallets from the kit are enough. Often the product is dried in clusters. In this case, clothesline is needed, on which the brushes will be suspended.
Cloth bags are best for storing raisins. But they do not protect the product sufficiently; there is a chance that bugs will get into it. Therefore, more and more housewives prefer sealed banks. Periodically, dry grapes need to be poured onto a baking sheet, ventilated in air.
How to make raisins from grapes at home in the sun
The easiest and cheapest way to make raisins at home. But this method is only suitable for sunny regions. If a cooling is expected by the time the grapes ripen, the rainy season is on, then the product will not dry out naturally.
Ingredients
• grapes.
You will also need trays with a net at the bottom or regular baking sheets.
Cooking
1. Sort the grapes, remove visible debris, spread them in an even layer on a baking sheet. It is good if there are trays with a mesh bottom through which air will be ventilated.
2. Place baking sheets in the sun.
3. Once the berries have withered, they need to be turned on the other side.
4. Dry the product for 15 to 30 days, depending on its humidity and weather.
5. Raisins prepared using this technology will turn out to be hard, dry, but very well stored, not moldy.
How to make raisins from grapes at home in the shade
This method differs from the previous one in the quality of the finished raisins. The product is softer, wetter. For drying, you need a dry, ventilated room, a pile or an attic is suitable. The process is long, it may take 2-3 months.
Ingredients
• any grapes.
Cooking
1. Pull the clothesline indoors if you are drying the grapes in bunches.
2. Hang the brushes on the ropes, fix with clothespins and wait for drying. You can tie the brushes with a strong thread in two things, then just throw it over the clothesline.
3. If you will dry on baking sheets, then sprinkle the berries and also leave for a while. But faster raisins are obtained in limbo.
How to make raisins from grapes at home in an accelerated way with soda
An interesting way to cook raisins at home, for which you need soda. Contrary to the rules, here the berries are wetted with water. But due to the addition of baking soda, the skin softens, microcracks appear on it, grapes give away moisture faster.
Ingredients
• grapes;
• baking soda.
Cooking
1. Prepare the solution. Add 0.5 tsp to a liter of water. drinking soda. If grapes with a thick skin, then put a full spoon. Stir until dissolved.
2. Immerse in a solution of grapes, leave for ten minutes. You can immerse the whole brush if you dry it on twigs.
3. Take out the grapes. Separated berries can be drained into a colander. Then spread on a soft cloth, let dry. Sprinkle on baking sheets, send to dry in the sun or in the oven.
4. If the whole bunch is soaked, you can immediately hang them on a rope in a ventilated room.
5. Leave the raisins to dry completely. It is not necessary to rinse the soda layer, since before use the product will be washed in any case.
How to make raisins from grapes at home in the oven
Drying grapes in the oven is not very convenient, the process is quite lengthy, it can take up to 30 hours. It will also entail the consumption of electricity or gas. But sometimes this is the only way to determine the yield, especially if the weather is not good, high humidity, there is no way to purchase an electric dryer.
Ingredients
• 1 kg of grapes;
• 1 tsp with a mountain of soda;
• litere of water.
Cooking
1. You can cook raisins without first soaking in a solution with soda. But this technique will reduce time. Soak the berries in the solution for ten minutes, rinse, dry.
2. Put on baking sheets, it is advisable to cover the sheets with parchment.
3. Install in the oven. You can put several baking sheets at a time.
4. Set the temperature to 90 degrees. Dry for about five hours. The oven door must be ajar, moisture will come out through it.
5. Remove the baking sheets, mix the berries so that the water evaporates evenly.
6. Return the grapes to the oven, reduce the temperature to 70 degrees, dry until tender.
7. Remove the raisins and take them out into the air with the baking sheets. The product has dried out, it has become scarce, you can pour it on one sheet. Let the raisins ventilate well for several hours, and store.
How to make raisins from grapes at home in a dryer
If at home there is an electric dryer, then the preparation of raisins is simplified. He does not need close attention, just load the berries on the trays, turn on the device. Despite its compactness, it fits quite a lot. Unwashed grapes can be placed in the dryer or the product can be soaked in soda solution, which in this case will also shorten the cooking time.
For uniform drying, it is recommended to periodically swap trays. If the grapes have dried well, you can put them on a baking sheet, leave them to “ripen” in a ventilated room, and fill the device with a new portion of berries. The exact drying time of raisins depends on the power and capabilities of the device, the grape variety, but rarely exceeds 48 hours.
How to make raisins from grapes at home with boiling water and soda
Another berry processing technology. At the production, grapes are fumigated with sulfur. At home, this is difficult to do. But there is another way, simple and harmless. When processing in boiling water, the grape skins are thinned, the wax coating is removed, the drying time is significantly reduced.
Ingredients
• grapes;
• soda;
• boiling water.
Cooking
1. Pour 5 liters of water into a large pot. Take the tank with a margin, preferably at least eight liters.
2. Put the pot on the stove, bring to a boil.
3. While you can cook grapes. Since it will still get wet, you can rinse the brush, you do not need to pinch off the berries.
4. Pour soda into boiling water. But not all at once. Water will hiss, foam will go. Sprinkle in small portions.
5. Now take one bunch by the tip quickly dip into a boiling soda solution and immediately remove, just a second treatment. If the skin on the berries is thick, you can hold it for up to three seconds.
6. Take out the bunches, let the water drain.
7. Now the brushes can be hung to dry. Or take the berries apart, place them on pallets or baking sheets, cook raisins in any other way.
How to make raisins from grapes at home in halves
This method is suitable for large grapes with seeds. Halves are also perfectly stored, dry much faster, but can be tougher. In this case, the product will need to be soaked before use.
Cooking
1. Remove grapes from the brushes, remove rubbish from them.
2. Each berry cut along with a knife. If there is a desire, then take out large bones. Get grape "boats".
3. Lay the halves upside down on the mesh trays or on baking trays; you can use the dryer trays if the product will be cooked in it.
4. It remains only to bring the raisins to readiness. In the sun it will take about 7-10 days, in the dryer and in the oven drying will happen much faster.
Grapes raisins - useful tips and tricks
• Often acquiring raisins, housewives prefer golden grapes of light yellow color. But in fact, sulfur dioxide or sulfites, which are used to process grapes, gives such a color. Without them, neither at home, nor in production, this color can not be achieved.
• Wet raisins are tastier than dry raisins. But it’s harder to keep. If you use the product immediately, then you can not finish a little. If you are harvesting for future use, it is important to evaporate all excess moisture.
• You can check the quality of raisins in a very simple way. Throw a few grapes, they should fall with a soft knock.
• The grapes are of different sizes, small berries will dry much faster than large ones. You can immediately sort the product into different trays.
