Rice with or without raisins? Discover the production of the fruit that generates discord at Christmas dinner

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Brazil needs to import the food, as it does not have an ideal climate for drying in the open air. Furthermore, dehydration in ovens uses a lot of energy, says an Embrapa expert. Raisins Andreas Haslinger/Unplash Rice, panettone, farofa, sausage. At Christmas, almost all dishes contain raisins, which, as they don’t please everyone, tend to cause discord at dinner time. In Brazil, its production is almost non-existent and, therefore, the country needs to import practically everything that is consumed. The climate and the high costs of dehydrating the grapes make production difficult here. “We only have small productions carried out by a few people”, comments Reginaldo Teodoro de Souza, researcher at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). The ideal climate for drying grapes is the desert, which has very strong heat and very low humidity. The Brazilian Northeast is dry, but has more humidity than the desert climate; Drying in ovens requires high electricity costs. Most come from Argentina From January to November 2023, Brazil purchased millions of tons of raisins, worth US$48.5 million, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The agency does not have data on internal production. Of the total imported, 67% came from Argentina, which, according to Embrapa, is more justified by the ease of transport and tariff exemptions established by Mercosur (both countries are part of this bloc). The neighboring country is the 10th largest producer of raisins in the world, behind Turkey, the United States, Iran, Greece, Chile, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Australia. Harvest at the right point Grapes need to be harvested ripe for the raisins to have quality. TV TEM One of the secrets for raisins to reach the consumer’s table with quality is their harvest point. “You need to harvest the ripe grape, as if you were going to consume it for the table. This guarantees the quality, the sweetness, the flavor. If you harvest it before, for example, it becomes acidic”, says Souza. He explains that raisins have the same properties and nutritional benefits as those of a fresh grape. “The only difference is that it is dehydrated, it loses water”, he explains. After drying, the raisin remains with only 33% of its initial weight, explains the researcher. How grapes are dried There are basically two ways to dry grapes. One of them is to leave them exposed to the sun, as happens when drying coffee on a patio. The other option is oven drying. According to Souza, from Embrapa, Brazil has disadvantages when it comes to producing on a large scale through these two forms, compared to the main producing countries. Drying grapes on a property in the Aconcagua Valley, Chile. Reproduction/Globo Rural As for natural drying, he states that the ideal climatic condition is desert, which has a very high temperature and very low humidity, which guarantees good and quick drying of the grapes. It is this climate, in fact, that makes Turkey one of the largest producers in the world. “Although there is a dry climate in the Northeast of Brazil, it is not desert. Here we have more humidity,” he says. To dry, the grapes are placed on mats or platforms and they need to be turned over from time to time so that they dry on all sides. Drying in ovens Another alternative is to dry the grapes in ovens, however the high cost of electricity in Brazil makes this option practically unfeasible, for now, in Souza’s opinion. “What happens is that imported raisins arrive much cheaper here. If we put the cost of drying in the price [da uva-passa], it is much more expensive than buying from abroad. Turkey, for example, can produce in large quantities and at a low cost”, says the researcher. Ovens used to dry the grapes. Reproduction/Embrapa One of the advantages is that, in this model, the grapes do not darken, like those that are exposed to the sun. Before entering the equipment, the grapes are washed and receive a product that removes the oil from the skin. The objective is to make the fruit dehydrate faster. After that, the grapes are placed on trays and sent to the ovens. In some factories, the fruits receive, before going into the machines, a substance called sulfurous anhydride so that the color is fixed. During heating, the chemical evaporates. The drying process in the oven takes about 90 days. After In this process, both raisins dried in the sun and those dehydrated in ovens are washed, centrifuged and selected. SEE ALSO: Peach turns into cosmetics and even beer What is the white powder used in planting mangoes (spoiler: it is not pesticide); see video Star of Halloween, pumpkin is not exclusive to the USA and the celebration was not created by North Americans Where do peach come from? Where does mango come from? Ice cream day: does Brazil consume a lot of ice cream? And what is the difference between gelato and sorbet?

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