History of seedless grapes and raisins used in winemaking

In centuries past, ancient man noted that the grapes that hung from the vines lasted for months and, despite having seeds, the fruit was sweet to the palate. These grapes were dried in the sun and were called raisins. Raisins could be stored for months to be eaten later, centuries before advanced civilizations learned to artificially preserve food by canning and freezing. Other fruit products such as palm dates, figs, apricots, plums, pears and peaches could be preserved by drying in the sun. Today, many additional products can be preserved by vacuum drying, such as strawberries, blueberries, and a host of tropical fruits, such as pineapple, guava, and many other fruits and berries. After many people age, the desire for dried fruits, grapes, and berries intensifies due to the high sugar content (sweetness) and the concentrated flavor.

Basically all ancient raisins were grown in two types: regular size grapes dried, large size with large seeds, and raisins that came from Corinth, Greece were called currants (the word is a corruption of the word Corinth) . The gooseberries were very small but they grew into huge bunches of grapes on the vine, and they were extremely sweet with an aromatic and intense flavor. Gooseberries became a valuable international success and were sought after, even cultivated to be used in commercial matters such as currency. The word currency, derived from the word gooseberries.

Today the mystery remains as to which chemicals in the grape, other than sugar, are responsible for preserving the grape in the form of raisins or in the bottling of aromatic liquid wine, which improves in flavor after aging for many years. There is a special grape from Hungary called Tokay (Tokaji) that is left on the vine to ripen into raisins. The grapes are pickled and fermented in the famous Tokay wine, which must be aged for many years as an aromatic wine known for its unique and intense flavor. Tokay wine was named after the wine of the tsars, kings and presidents. Catherine the Great, Tsarina of Russia, posted Cossack soldiers to protect her prized stash of Tokay raisin wine. Queen Victoria of England received 972 bottles of Tokay wine on her birthday. King Louis XIV of France declared Tokay wine “the wine of kings, the king of wines.” Gourmets agree that Tokay wine should be assigned to a specially named category, as the additional aging step comes from grape-to-grape aging and is overlooked in normal wine production.

It is difficult to trace the absolute first appearance of raisin cultivation in ancient history, but raisins are known to have been written down in the ancient scriptures of the Hebrew Bible. In reality, raisins were written in the Bible as a forbidden fruit, which was forbidden in the diets of a religious cult called the Nazarites. The members of the cult were Nazarites, like Aaron, brother of Moisés, and all his priestly descendants; Samson, the judge; John the Baptist of the New Testament and members of another religious cult, the Rechabites. Numbers 6:14 says that the Nazarites were forbidden to taste fresh wine, “grape juice or raisins.” These Nazarites were not allowed to eat anything from the vine, even forbidding eating grape skins and grape seeds, and they were not even allowed to grow grape vines or own vineyards. Judges 13:13 prohibited Samson’s mother from allowing her son to eat “raisins or drink wine.”

Although the Scriptures do not directly prohibit John the Baptist from abstaining from raisins, the edict is implicit in acknowledging that John the Baptist was a Nazarite, which Jesus referred to in Matthew 11:18 and Luke 5:33.

King David received “one hundred raisin cakes and 200 fig cakes.” 1 Samuel 25:18, after eating or drinking nothing for three days and three nights. David was given “part of a fig cake, two bunches of raisins, and a little water” 1 Samuel 30:12. After leaving Jerusalem, King David’s donkeys were loaded with a hundred bunches of grapes, a hundred bunches of grapes, and a small barrel of wine. At King David’s feast, donkeys brought a large quantity of “fig cakes, raisins, wine,” etc. for the celebration. 1 Chronicles 12:40

Historically, it is recorded that the Greeks grew grapes (gooseberries) in Corinth, and the cultivation of grapes and raisins flourished with the rise of the Roman Empire followed by the Middle Ages of the Catholic Church and the Crusades that renewed and redistributed trade. of grapes and raisins. Raisins were used as a reserve food on Christopher Columbus’s ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María, in 1492. Later, Spanish missions grew grapes and produced raisins in the New World, especially California, and they were the most important. major commercial farmers to plant and grow grapevines for raisin production.

Perhaps the most important improvement in the marketing of raisins came from the vineyard of William Thompson, who renamed the grape he imported as the white grape “Thompson Seedless”, which was and is the most important variety in modern marketing of grapes and the demand for the customers of a seedless grape. Many other new seedless grapes have recently been hybridized as candidates for seedless grapes to be planted and grown. The pleasure of eating sweet and aromatic raisins is reduced if the person has to spit out hard and bitter tasting seeds, therefore, seedless raisins dominate the market and the market for fresh grapes. Recent advances in the applications of plant growth hormones ensure the total seedless condition of grapes and raisins, because the seed within the embryonic grape is completely aborted by spraying the flowers of the grapes with gibberilic acid (giberillin) and the grapes become very sweet and large. and juicy, and evolve into excellent raisins.

The new grape varieties that are useful for raisins are:

Black Beauty seedless grape, the only black seedless grape with concord grape flavor.

Flame seedless grape, the second most popular seedless grape, compared to Thompson’s seedless grape, deep red in color, round with a nice crunch and sweet and sour flavor balance.

Tokay Seedless Grape, also called Tokay Seedless Flame, sweeter version of Seedless Flame, orange-red in color with a crunchy texture.

Perlette Seedless Grape, the icy white flower is on a crisp green skin, the tougher seedless grape that ripens earlier than other varieties.

Ruby Seedless grape, deep red skin, juicy and oval in shape.

Thompson seedless grape, white, crisp, juicy and sweet.

Other seedless grapes include Autumn Royal Seedless Grape, Canadice Seedless Grape, Concord Seedless Grape, Crimson Seedless Grape, Princess Seedless Grape, and Summer Royal Seedless Grape.

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