| The history of California Raisins |
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1490 B.C. - Where on earth did raisins come from?
We believe that grapes, drying on the vine, were discovered in pre-historic times. |
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Between 120 and 900 B.C - It's all Greek to me!
Commercial markets for raisins developed in Greece and Rome which were supplied by the Phoenicians, growing grapes in Greece and Southern Spain and the Armenians with vineyards in Persia. Neither climate was ideal for drying raisins. Two varieties of grapes were being used at this time, Muscat which were large and full flavoured but contained seeds and another which was used by the farmers of Corinth in Greece which created a tiny, seedless, tangy currant. |
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11th century - Knights of the raisin table
Crusader knights introduced raisins to the rest of Europe when they returned home from the Mediterranean. These were soon being packed and shipped by the growers throughout northern Europe. |
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14th century - I'll swap you two jars of raisins for one slave!
By the 14th century demand and prices for raisins were high in Europe. The English, French and Germans attempted to cash in and grow grapes for raisins, but their climates were too cold for drying the fruit. In the meantime the Spanish were perfecting grape growing, whilst in Rome physicians prescribed raisins
to cure anything from mushroom poisoning to old age (not as mad as it sounds now we know the anti-oxidant properties of raisins). Eventually, they became so valuable that two jars of raisins could be traded for one slave! |
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18th century -
Queen of Raisins
Spain's Queen Isabella sent missionaries to Mexico. While they were preaching and teaching, missionaries also passed on their knowledge of grape growing. The Mexicans used grapes for sacramental wines and also grew muscat grapes for raisins. |
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1851 - Walk like an Egyptian (Raisin)
The missionaries helped farmers grow grapes profitably for wine. But it wasn't until 1851 that a marketable muscat grape for raisins, the Egyptian Muscat, was grown near San Diego. San Diego did not have a sufficient water supply, so farmers began to look elsewhere for better growing conditions. They found a perfect spot in the San Joaquin Valley in Fresno, California - one of the most fertile valleys in the world! |
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1872 - The Highlands merge with the San Joaquin Valley
Scottish immigrant to California, William Thompson imports a Sultanina seedless grape cutting from the Almira & Barry Nursery of Rochester, New York. He was rewarded when the Sultanina was the only vine to survive sudden winter floods. |
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1873 - Mother nature works her magic
Commercial propagation of William Thompson's seedless grapes begins in California. In Fresno County a number of bunches dry by accident, creating the first commercial raisin crop. It is transported to San Francisco and sold as a 'Peruvian delicacy.' |
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1875 - 1st Prize goes to Thompson Seedless!
Thompson enters his Sultanina grapes into a local agricultural competition. Not knowing their formal name, he dubs them 'Thompson seedless.' The moniker sticks, and Thompson seedless grapes become the basis of California's grape and raisin industry. Thin-skinned, without seeds, and loaded with flavour, they make the best raisins. Today, 95% of California Raisins are made from Thompson seedless grapes grown in the San Joaquin Valley. |
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1881 - Move over and let the experts in
The first Armenians arrive in Fresno County, bringing with them long-held expertise in raisin production. |
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1900 - The news spreads
Raisin production spreads widely from the Mediterranean and California, all the way to Australia and Chile. |
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1942 - Attention!
With the demand for high-energy foods and sugar substitutes escalating during World War II, the War Production Board orders California's entire wine grape crop to be made into raisins. |
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1949 - Raisin bombs away!
Children living in the city of Berlin delight in packets of raisins dropped for their benefit by planes participating in the Berlin Airlift. These planes become known as the 'raisin bombers.' |
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1962 - One step for man, one giant step for raisins
Astronaut Scott Carpenter bites into a raisin-filled, granola-type confection, thus becoming the first person to carry and consume California Raisins in outer space. |
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1980s - Raisins come to life
The advertising world was taken by surprise with the popularity of a group of animated singing raisins who pushed the goodness of sweet, juicy California Raisins. Their trademark song "I Heard It Through The Grapevine," (a Marvin Gaye classic) boosted California Raisin sales and instigated a surge of spin-off products such as T-shirts, small rubber figurines, etc. |
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1991 - Steve McRaisin!
Capcom produced a video game for Nintendo titled California Raisins: The Grape Escape, where California Raisins battle various evil fruit and vegetable characters, that have stolen the Raisins' music. The game was completed and critics reviewed it, but it was never released on the open market. |
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Today…to be continued
Today there are over 3,500 growers and 20 packers in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Many of which are recognized as some of the world's most experienced raisin growers. The area now supplies raisins for nearly half the world, making it the largest producing region anywhere. |
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