History Of Seedless Grapes And Raisins Used In Wine Making
In centuries past, ancient man noticed that grapes hanging on vines lasted for months, and even though seedy, the fruit was sweet to the taste. These grapes dried out in the sun and were called raisins. The raisins could be stored for months to be eaten at a later time, centuries before advanced civilizations learned how to preserve foods artificially by canning and freezing. Other fruit items such as palm tree dates, figs, apricot, prune-plum, pear, and peach could be preserved by sun drying. Today, many additional products can be preserved by vacuum drying, such as strawberry, blueberry, and a host of tropical fruits, such as pineapple, guava, and many other fruits and berries. After many people age, a craving for dried fruit, grapes, and berries intensifies because of the high sugar content (sweetness), and the concentrated flavor.
Basically, all ancient raisins were grown as two types: the regular sized grapes were dried, large in size with large seed, and the raisins that came from Corinth, Greece were called currants (the word is a corruption of the word Corinth). The currants were very small but grew into huge grape clusters on the grapevine, and were extremely sweet with an aromatic, intense flavor. Currants became an international, valuable success, and were sought after, even being grown to be used in trading matters like currency. The word, currency, derived from the word currants.
The mystery remains today about which chemicals in grapes, other than sugar, that are responsible for preserving grapes in the form of raisins or in bottling the liquid aromatic wine, that improves in flavor after being aged for many years. There is a special grape from Hungary called Tokay (Tokaji) that is left on the vine to ripen into raisins. The raisins are pickled and fermented into the famous Tokay wine, that must be aged for many years as an aromatic wine known for its unique and intense flavor. The Tokay wine was named as the wine of Tsars, Kings, and Presidents . Catherine the Great, Tsarina of Russia, stationed Cossack soldiers to guard her treasured cache of Tokay raisin wine. Queen Victoria of England received 972 bottles of Tokay wine on her birthday. King Louis XIV of France pronounced Tokay wine as "the wine of Kings, the King of wines." Gourmets agree that Tokay wine should be assigned to a special named category, since the extra step of aging came from the aging of the grape to the raisin, and is bypassed in normal wine producing.
It is difficult to trace the absolute first appearance of raisin culture in ancient history, but it is known that raisins were written about in the ancient Scriptures of the Hebrew Bible. Raisins were actually written about in the Bible as a forbidden fruit, that was prohibited from the diets of a religious cult called the Nazirites. Members of the cult were Nazirites, such as Aaron, brother of Moses, and all his priestly descendants; Samson, the Judge; John the Baptist of the New Testament, and members of another religious cult, the Rechabites. Numbers 6:14 reads that the Nazirites were forbidden to taste fresh wine, "grape juice or raisins." These Nazirites were not allowed to eat anything from the grapevine, even forbidding the eating of grape skins and grape seeds, and were not even permitted to grow grape vines or to own vineyards. Judges 13:13 prohibited the mother of Samson from allowing her son to eat "raisins or drink any wine."
Even though the Scriptures make no direct prohibition to John the Baptist to abstain from eating raisins, the edict is implicit in acknowledging that John the Baptist was a Nazirite, which was referred to by Jesus in Matthew 11:18 and Luke 5:33.
King David was given "one hundred raisin cakes and 200 fig cakes." 1 Samuel 25:18, after having nothing to eat or drink for three days and nights. David was given "part of a fig cake, two clusters of raisins, and some water" 1 Samuel 30:12. After leaving Jerusalem, King David's donkeys were loaded with one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred bunches of grapes, and a small barrel of wine. At the feast for King David, donkeys brought vast supplies of "fig cakes, raisins, wine" etc for the celebration. 1 Chronicles 12:40
Historically, it is recorded that the Greeks were growing grapes (currants) in Corinth, and the culture of grapes and raisins flourished with the rise of the Roman Empire followed by the Medieval Age of the Catholic church and the Crusades that renewed and redistributed the trade of grapes and raisins. Raisins were used as a reserve food on the ships of Christopher Columbus, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, in 1492. Spanish Missions later grew grapes and produced raisins in the New World, most importantly in California, and were the most important commercial farmers to plant and grow grapevines for raisin production.
Perhaps the most important improvement in raisin marketing came from the vineyard of William Thompson, who renamed the grape he imported as the white "Thompson Seedless" grape, that was, and is, the most significant cultivar in modern grape marketing, and customer demand for a seedless raisin. Many other new seedless grapes have been recently hybridized as candidates for seedless raisin to plant and grow. The pleasure of eating sweet, aromatic raisins is reduced, if the person is required to spit out hard, bitter tasting seed, therefore, seedless raisins dominate the market and the fresh grape fruit market. Recent advances in applications of plant growth hormones assure the total seedless condition of grapes and raisins, because the seed inside the embryonic grape are completely aborted by spraying the flowers of the grapes with gibberillic acid (gibberillin) and the grapes grow into very sweet, big and juicy, and evolve into excellent raisins.
New grape varieties that are useful for raisins are:
Black Beauty seedless grape, the only black seedless grape with a taste like concord grapes.
Flame seedless grape, the second most popular seedless grape, compared to Thompson's seedless, deep red in color, round with a pleasant crunch and a sweet-tart taste balance.
Tokay seedless grape, also called Tokay flame seedless, sweeter version of Flame seedless, orange-red with a crisp texture.
Perlette seedless grape, the frosty-white bloom is atop a crisp green skin, the hardiest seedless grape that ripens earlier than other varieties.
Ruby Seedless grape, deep red skin, juicy and oval shaped.
Thompson's seedless grape, white, crisp, juicy and sweet.
Other seedless grapes are Autumn Royal seedless grape, Canadice Seedless grape, Concord seedless grape, Crimson seedless grape, Princess seedless grape, and Summer Royal seedless grape.
------
Learn more about various plants, or purchase ones mentioned in this article by visiting the author's website: TyTy Nursery
Radio Flyer Pathfinder, RF2700, An Eye On The Future, A Foot In The Past
Radio Flyer have been producing high quality wagons for 90 years. Their durable long lasting toys have gained iconic status in the USA and through the coverage in film and television these wagons have become a familiar site to viewers throughout Europe and beyond.
Radio Flyer has remained an industry leader and trend setting manufacturer by innovating and diversifying whilst retaining their reputation for quality materials and production methods. The introduction of their range of plastic wagons was seen by some as a cheapening of their brand identity as they had traditionally employed metal and wood for wagon production.
However critics and fans alike have come to realize that through the use of highly engineered components and the use of cutting edge technology has created a range of wagons that take the humble pull along wagon to a new level.
Wagons such as the Radio Flyer Pathfinder have redefined the hand pulled wagon by adding numerous features and retaining an amazing load pulling ability. The Pathfinder for example offers the ultimate in safety and refinement with safety harnesses for two children, cup holders, sculpted cabin space and an ergonomically formed handle. However, fold the seatbacks down and the Pathfinder is capable of hauling 200lbs of cargo.
The additional feature of a plastic wagon is the ability to shrug off the normal wear and tear caused by daily usage. Simple hose down your Pathfinder and hey presto she�s as good as new. In addition because the body is made of hard wearing fade resistant plastic the wagon can be left in the back garden through rain and shine without a worry.
The robust build quality of the Pathfinder has made them a favourite on the large European campsites where site owners rent these wagons out to customers. They are ideal for transporting kids, picnics, water, tents and so much more and have become a familiar site to millions of campers.
Naturally whenever a product becomes popular there are many companies who try to manufacture cheap reproductions. These poorly manufactured copies are constructed from cheap plastics with poor hardware and invariably last for months rather than years. It is indeed true that you get what you pay for!
The Radio Flyer Pathfinder represents the core beliefs of the company by manufacturing an amazing wagon with a plethora of features with the inherent build quality of Radio Flyer. As Radio Flyer approaches their centenary they do in a manner that has made them a household name; keeping an eye on the future but a foot in the past.
--
Gary Clay is an expert on Radio Flyer and the Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon and owner of stylish kids store, Monkeyshine, which is one of the few Uk retailers of the Pathfinder Wagon.
Plan the Perfect Surprise Party
Surprise - to make somebody amazed; to cause somebody to feel sudden wonder or amazement, especially at something unexpected.
It’s no surprise…we all like surprises. We all like parties. I guess that’s why surprise parties are so much fun. Throwing a surprise party may seem like a difficult task, but fear not. It’s rather easy to pull off as long as you stick to a solid plan. Follow the steps below…you may be surprised at how easy it really is to catch someone unaware.
Enlist an accomplice
Ask a trustworthy friend to help you on the day of the party. He or she will have the crucial responsibility of getting the guest of honor to the party at the specified time.
Send out invitations
The invitations must thoroughly explain the details of the surprise. Tell guests exactly what time they should arrive and exactly what time the guest of honor will be arriving. Guests should arrive punctually 30 minutes before the guest of honor’s planned arrival time. Tell them where they are to park their cars, and how they are to dress. Encourage them to keep mum about all details of the party.
Decorate
Choose a simple theme. Think about the guest of honor’s hobbies and interests. If he is a golfer, for instance, go with a golfing theme with green streamers and balloons. If she likes Mexican food, make it a fiesta party and have a taco bar. Remember to only decorate the party room…don’t give the surprise away by decorating the entryway.
Plan a few extra surprises
Don’t stop at the main surprise…make it a night of surprises for everyone! Ask guests to dress up like the guest of honor and hand out paper masks of the guest of honor’s face. (Simply print out several copies of a headshot on slick paper and glue craft sticks to the backs. Guests can hold them in front of their faces when the guest of honor enters the party.)
Put surprises on the menu. Bake surprise cupcakes, sticking a chocolate kiss in the center of each one before baking. Sprinkle Pop Rocks candy on top of the cake for a popping surprise. Serve jello shots.
Surprise everybody with some sort of hired entertainment. Maybe a magician or fortune teller could show up after the guest of honor arrives to liven up the party.
Or how about the ultimate surprise?!! Turn the tables on the accomplice. Plan the surprise for him but lead him to believe that he is helping you surprise someone else. Surprise, surprise, surprise!
Give each guest a small surprise as they leave the party…wrap homemade cookies or store-bought truffles in small decorative boxes.
Rehearse the big moment
After guests have arrived, assign everyone a special place to hide when the guest of honor is expected to enter the room. Have a trial run before show time so everyone knows what to do. Arm guests with confetti and noise makers to really surprise the honoree.
In conclusion, as long as each guest arrives on time and the accomplice delivers the guests of honor at the time planned, the surprise should be successful. However, sometimes the hardest part of surprising someone is keeping the secret. Keep on your toes at all times and try not to spill the beans. Make sure the cameras are rolling at the big moment…you’ll want to review the look on the honoree’s face later to determine if he or she was really surprised. I have to ponder how many people have actually faked a look of surprise. (Alright, I’m guilty…I’ve yet to be truly surprised, but if anyone is ever successful at surprising me, I’ll be sure to write about it!)
View more creative party ideas at PartiesComeTrue.