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Sultanas

The sultana is a soft, juicy, amber coloured fruit. It is largely produced from a seedless white grape and varies in shape from round to oval according to variety.

As well as serving as a snack food without further processing, sultana raisins are used in a variety of dishes such as currys, rice and puddings, often prepared by soaking in water, fruit juice, or alcohol. The sultana grape is also used to make scones and even white wine, in which capacity it is known for sweet blandness.

Sultana raisins have a delicate and unique flavor and are especially noted for their sweetness and golden colour.

Sultanas are Traditionally grown in the Mediterranean area and some middle eastern countries, Australia, South Africa and California are now also major producers.

In 1872, British born William Thompson who emigrated to the US, introduced seedless grape cuttings to California. Today, Thompson Seedless is the most widely used grape variety for making sultanas.