We can all agree classic bakes featuring California Raisins are wonderful. As an ingredient, though, raisins have so much more to offer. As we learn more about their many attributes, it’s fascinating to see how one seemingly simple ingredient can do so much: enhance flavour, affect consistency, lower food spend and even extend shelf life.
Because raisins are naturally sweet, foodservice operators can use them to replace highly processed or artificial sweeteners in their products. Today’s consumer wants uncomplicated ingredients and they want to trust the nutritional content of their food purchases. Raisins aren’t only sweet — they’re a natural preservative, making them an excellent addition to ambient or fresh ready-to-eat products.
To make things easier for operators, California Raisins are available for purchase in a paste format (which is simply pureed raisins pushed through a fine mesh) and a raisin-juice concentrate.
“The paste is still completely natural, with no added sugar, but it’s able to be used in a number of different ways,” says Tim Kenny, vice-president of Marketing for the Fresno, Calif.-based Raisin Administrative Committee, adding one popular steak sauce on the market uses raisin paste to help with viscosity, act as a preservative and cancel out the need for artificial sweeteners.
Then, there’s the raisin-juice concentrate, which is a pure extract of raisins. Throughout several processing stages, raisins are leached with water to produce raisin juice and the liquid is then evaporated in a vacuum pan to produce a self-preserving concentrate. Raisin-juice concentrate contains a minimum of 70 per cent natural fruit-soluble solids and can be added to a variety of foods, including dairy, confectionery and baking items. It also extends the shelf-life of bread products, is a natural substitute for preservatives and it naturally sweetens and colours baking goods.
“Raisins have many qualities, which make them an excellent addition to prepared foods, and there’s a number of reasons to use them (other than just wanting to add them into your dish),” says Kenny, adding raisins can also act as an emulsifying agent, making them an ideal addition to bottled salad dressings, chutneys and relishes.
“Raisins are 100-per-cent-natural sweeteners — naturally dried in the sun with no added sugar or juice — which is great for foodservice operators and restaurateurs who are looking to make their menu items more natural,” he explains. “Not only are they completely natural, they have added fibre, iron and other nutritional attributes.”
