The kind of raisins that are best for baking are golden raisins.
You can bake with regular raisins but golden raisins are hands down the best raisins to bake with.
The reason you soak raisins in water is to pull more of the vitamins and nutrients out of the raisins which makes them healthier.
The vitamins and minerals present in the outer skin and layer of the raisins dissolve in water.
So the nutrients that would have otherwise passed through your body directly now get ingested through the raisin water.
Additionally, soaking raisins in water also boosts its antioxidant content.
There's no need to wash raisins that you buy in the store as the raisins you buy in the store are actually very clean and ready to eat.
You can wash the raisins if you prefer but you don't have too.
A golden raisin is a raisin that is produced by harvesting green seedless grapes and mechanically drying them in the presence of sulfur dioxide for color retention.
Golden raisins are dried in a dehydrator and contain sulfur dioxide, which is used as a preservative and to prevent their skins from darkening, making them gold in color.
They tend to be a little moister and plumper than regular raisins, which tend to be chewier.
Raisins are not rotten grapes but instead raisins are made from grapes which are dried.
The raisins are essentially dried out grapes.
Raisins are really grapes.
The raisins you eat are just grapes that have been dried an dehydrated to shrink them and wrinkle them.
So when you're eating raisins you are also eating grapes but just dried grapes.
Dry grapes will shrivel and turn to raisins, they won't rot.
What's happening? Drying red grapes in the sunshine turns them into raisins.
The heat from the sun causes the water to evaporate from the grapes.
The major difference between a raw grape and a raisin is the amount of water in the fruit.
A raw grape is on average 80.54% water and a raisin is 15.43%.
If we were looking at nutrition in terms of weight, raisins would be far superior simply because they have much less water in them.
Raisins, sultanas and currants are all popular types of dried fruit.
More specifically, they are different types of dried grapes.
Packed with essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, they're used in different cuisines throughout the world in both sweet and savory dishes.
The formation of crystalline substances on or within raisins is an undesirable post-harvest phenomenon commonly referred to as 'sugaring'.
The crystals are formed from natural grape sugars and acids that are a normal and essential component of all fresh and dried grapes, including non-sugared raisins.
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis.
Grapes can be eaten fresh as table grapes, used for making wine, jam, grape juice, jelly, grape seed extract, vinegar, and grape seed oil, or dried as raisins, currants and sultanas.
The health benefits of grapes include.
Helps your immune system.
Prevents cancer.
Lowers blood pressure.
Protects against heart disease.
Reduces high cholesterol.
Protects against diabetes.
Helps maintain brain health.
Improves bone health.