The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-12-08
Malaga Raisins.
from Chambers Journal.

prepared for the market may be OF lnteres
to housekeepers, as very many, thougl
constantly using raisins of various sorts
have but little idea of the way in which
they are dried for use.
Malaga, Valencia and Smyrna raisin
derive their names from the places whenc'
they come. Of these, the Smyrna blacl
raisins are the cheapest; the Malaga being
held in the highest estimation and fetching
fully third more than any other descrip
ton of raisin. In Andalucia, in Spain
there are two distinct vines-the Pero
Ximenez, which was imported in the frs
instance from the borders of the Rhine, by
German some two hundred and fifty
years ago and the Muscat, which is In
digenous. Opinion as to the respective
merits of the two vines varies; but then
cultivation is conducted in the same way
manure of great strength being literally
supplied. The growth of the vines is diff:
ferent from those of Southern Italy. In
Andalucia, they creep along the surface Of
the ground, as strawberries do, thus gath
ering all the atmospheric heat the branches
appear like roots, and the grapes, though
white, have golden tinge The vintage
is very carefully conducted, the fruit not
being all gathered at once, but the same
ground gone over three times, SO that all
the grapes are properly ripe when picked
As they are gathered they are placed in
baskets, and carried, either in carts or on
the backs of mules and asses, to the places
where they undergo the process of drying.
The fruit, however, is often much injured
in transit, and as no broken grapes can be
properly dried, the loss from this cause is
considerable
The grapes are prepared for the market
in three different ways, by simply drying
in the sun; by washing, and by steam
drying. In following the first method,
which is the general process in Malaga,
divisions are constructed of either brick or
stone, in an inclined position, exposed to
the suns rays These divisions are built
in at one end with triangle formed of
masonry, and so arranged that the sun
always shines on its contents. The inte-
riors of these compartments are thickly
spread with fine gravel, to absorb the heat.
Directly the grapes are gathered they are
put into these divisions, and are fully ex-
posed to the intense heat of the Andalucian
sun. 1t is stated by experienced cultiya-
vators that during the month of August
they attain temperature of hundred
and forty-fve degrees Fahrenheit. While
drying, the grapes which remain green,
are carefully picked out, as they arespoiled;
the others are turned, each grape singly, so
that the proper uniformity of color is OBJ
served. At night the fruit is protected
from heavy dews or rain by stout canvas
being stretched over the tops of the divi-
sions. Some people put on planking in
stead. Grapes take longer time drying
in this manner than by the scalding plan, as
then they are ready in four days; but dried
only by the suns rays, they take ten days.
This loss of time, however, is fully COM
pensated for by the economy of the pro-
cess.
In drying by washing, the following
method is pursued Furnaces of feeble
draught are built, in which wood only is
ueed for fuel lye is made from the resi-
due or refuse of the grape after pressing,
which is either that obtained from the
present years vintage or what is left over
from the last. The lye is put into a
round kettle, capable of holding from three
to four hundred litres. The grapes are
then put into wire sieves or colanders with
long handles and plunged into the lye,
boiling at temperature OF about two
hundred and twelve degrees Fahrenheit.
After the first immersion, the grapes are
looked over, to see if the skins are shrivell-
ed enough; if not sufficiently done, they
are plunged into the lye second time.
Sometimes third immersion is necessary I;
but this is rarely the case. This process
is very delicate, and requires care and
experience on the part of the operator.
The time of immersion is regulated by the
quality of the skins, as they must not be
allowed to burst or even crack. If the
heat has been too great, those raisins which
are very rich in sugar are liable to mould
after packing
Drying by steam is chiefly followed in
the province of Denia, because there the
heat of the sun cannot be depended upon,
as in Malaga In wet vintage seasons this
plan is also adopted in the south. In car
rying out the process, the grapes are ex-
posed to the suns rays for twenty-four
hours, after which they are placed on
boards, and carried into a building with
shelves in it from six to seven feet high.
Heat is produced by steam, which circu-
lates through the building in an iron tube.
The heat is kept up to one hundred and
sixty degrees Fahrenheit; and valves, which
are placed along the floor, regulate the
temperature, The drying generally takes
about twenty-four hours; but as too great
a change of temperature suddenly expe-
rienced would cause injury to the raisins,
they are allowed to cool gradually in a
room built for this purpose, and adjoining
the steaming apartment. When quite
cool, they are carried to the stores for
packing.
Both these latter methods are inferior to
the simple sun-drying process, because they
are more expensive, involving outlay in
buildings, furnaces and steam pipes; and
the raisins are, moreover, liable to the dan
ger of fermentation during their transpor-
tation Besides, they always have to be
dried in the sun for certain time before
being ready to pack, whatever plan is pur-
sued in curing them other than the sun
drying process,
When the drying is thoroughly accom-
plished, by whatever plan pursued, the
raisins, prior to being packed for exporta-
ton, require to be carefully looked over,
and all the broken and bruised ones re-
moved, as a drop of moisture from such
would very likely damage a whole box.
After this comes the proper classification,
by no means an easy affair, as merchants
and cultivators differ, often very material
ly, on this subject :
The boxes are generally made by con-
tract, and cost about seyenpence or seven
pence halfpenny each. The best are made
from firwood which is imported from Por-
tugal The producer provides and packs
these boxes, which the merchants frequent
ly repack, employing women and girls to
perform this office. The boxes are gener-
ally divided into layers. -Four layers will
be contained in a whole box, representing,
if of full size, about twenty-five pounds of
fruit; the total weight with the filed box
being from twenty-five to twenty nine