Are all raisins created equally?

[Terri-Lynn2]

I have seen many recipes that call for raisins and I was wondering what kind of raisins were best for baking. We buy the Sun Rype ones (red bag) for the kids to eat. Can these be used for baking or is it better to buy them from the baking aisle, there seems to be many choices out there like golden and so forth. What is the best kind of raisin to use in baking? Christmas is just around the corner and there is some great recipes out there. I have only used them once for baking and that was in a raisin bread in my bread machine, which turned out to be a disaster and we never did get to try it!!

Thanks

Terri

[lorilei]

Actually, you're welcome to use any type of raisins for baking (although we each have our preferences, mine incidentally being sultananas)

However, there is a trick I would recommend which guarantees you large, plump raisins with a good moisture content... Put them in the microwave with a smidge of water. Heat until "plumped".

[MaryH]

Being in Fresno, CA (which incidently is about 10 min north of Selma, CA "the raisin capitol of the world" and home to SunMaid raisins) the "grape" harvest is going on right now. Most of the grapes grown here are dried into raisins (apparently all that sun and 100+ temperatures aren't quite conducive to wine making but I digress) we have quite a selection. In my experience if you've tried a brand and like the taste, use it. We have an abundance at the local farmer's market so you might check there. Golden raisins can be susbtituted although a recipe usually specifies golden. My baking suggestion is to coat the raisins in a little flour before adding them to any type of dough. It will keep them separated better.

mary