The Delawarean., 1900-12-22
NOT DRIED CURRANTS
A LEARNED GROCER COMMENTS UP
ON A COMMON MISTAKE.

The Tiny Fruit Used In Cake, Pud-
dings, Buns and the Like Are Raj
sins Made From Little Grapes That
Are Grown In Greece.
Mother wants pound of dried cur
rants said little girl who came into
the learned grocer's store in Eighth
avenue
Il hain't got a dried currant in the
store and there hain't none in the city,"
replied the learned grocer. "But 1
know what you want, sissy, and I've
got en-
The learned grocer brought forth a
box of the little, sticky, sugary, gritty
currants used in fruit cake, plum pud-
ilings. mince pies, buns and the like.
why, them's 'emv' exclaimed the
little girl
Yes; them's 'em," assented the gro
Ger, "and il the Grecian maiden who
trod this particular lot of 'em into ship
shape had used little water or even a
feather duSter on her feet before she
began there wouldn't be so much grit
In 'em as there is. She must have been
having a regular hoedown on the clas-
sic sands before she began to dance on
this box of fruit. There, sissy; tell
your mother she must bathe 'em in sew
eral waters before she uses 'em, or she
might Just as well.put lot of sandpa-
per in her fruit cake. And tell her that
they amt dried currants either"
whats the reason they amt dried
currants" demanded Il disputative
customer when the girl had gone.
They amt dried currants any more
than they are dried pumpkins" replied
the grocer THE reason they amt
dried currants is that they weren't cur
rants before they were dried. Good
reason enough. amt it?'
Yes" said the customer, less dispu-
tative than he was. But what does
everybody call them dried currants for
then?"
= Cause they don't know any BETTER"
said the learned grocer. They'll 90
right on coming in here and asking for
dried currants just the same after tell
'em why they amt dried currants as
they did before"
"What should they ask for, then?' in
quired the customer.
IF any man should come in here and
ask for dried corinths." replied the
learned grocer, "he would not necessa-
rily be gentleman, but I'd bet on him
being scholar Dried corinths is
what you should ask for when you
want this little sugar coated gritty
raisin, for it's a raisin pure and sim
pie"
"How's that?' the customer wanted
to know
Because it was grape before it
was dricd,' said the grocer, land il raj
sins amt grapes what are they?"
But you said these were dried cor
inths. persisted the customer. 'Wnats
a corinth, anyhow"
"A corinth is the smallest grape that
grows" replied the learned grocer,
'and it lost its name years and years
ago because it was gradually corrupted
into 'currant,' which became also the
name of the acidulated little berry of
our garden, which you might dry from
now until Gabriel sounds his horn
without getting it nearer the condition
of raisin than pea is.
This little grape grows all over the
islands Of the Grecian archipelago and
was first exported from Corinth. and
that's what gave it its proper name
The punches don't grow much bigger
than a stem of red currants and they
are so full of sugar that when they are
picked and dried in the sun they actu-
ally seem to melt and run together like
gumdrops. and lit takes lot Of care
and work to separate them again.
"After they are separated is the time
when the Grecian maiden gets her
work in on 'em, for it is one of her
pleasant duties to jump on a heap of
the sticky stuff with her bare feet until
she has compressed enough of the little
raisins to squeeze three boxes of them
into one. No hydraulic pump could do
it better. If it could we wouldn't have
the sand and grit the maiden's feet
mingle with the fruit, and without that
no dried corinths are genuine
"Still, shall expect folks to come in
here right along and ask for dried cur
rants just the same,' said the learned
grocer as he went to wait on a new Gus
York Press.