Long Golden Raisins (Kishmish)

Long golden raisins are dried grapes with a pale amber colour and a slim, elongated shape. They stay soft rather than leathery, and the flavour is a clean fruity sweetness closer to a dried pear than to the dark caramel of an ordinary brown raisin, with a light tartness at the finish.

Within our raisin range this is the long golden grade. Our round golden raisins are plump and berry shaped, while these stay slender and hold that shape through cooking instead of collapsing into the dish, which is why cooks pick them when the fruit is meant to be seen. They are far paler and milder than red or black raisins, and noticeably longer than a standard sultana.

How to use them

Fold them through Kabuli pulao and qabili alongside fried carrot and slivered almond, or into zereshk polo where the pale gold sits well against the barberries. They soften into ash and into slow lamb stews, and they belong on a Nowruz dried fruit platter or in a bowl of noql with green tea. For everyday baking they suit hot cross buns, stollen, oat cookies, granola, trail mix and a cheese board with aged cheddar. Soak them in warm water for ten minutes before they go into a dough or a rice pot, so they do not pull moisture out of it.

Details

Also known as

Long golden raisins, golden raisins, kishmish, kishmish zard, golden dried grapes, dried golden grapes, passas douradas, raisins dorés