What makes Marian Farms’ raisins unique? Marian Farms raisins are made from the very grapes that make their Biodynamic table grapes so popular – the delicious, juicy Thompson Seedless grapes. “Certified organic safflower oil” is sprayed on the raisins to assist in the “flow ability” – they do not clump together, making for easy pouring and scooping. The attention to detail of Biodynamic agricultural practices, careful handling and quality packing, storage and shipment, serves to produce the sweet tasting raisin our customers have come to expect. Marian Farms raisins have the vital “life forces” that reflect the art of Biodynamics.
The Journey of the Raisins:
Marian Farm grapes are harvested by hand and placed on paper trays in the open space between the rows of grape vines. The grapes are openly exposed to the sun for a period of seven to ten days. When the bunches turn from green to black and the berries’ smooth skins take on the wrinkle of raisins, the trays are rolled into a cigarette configuration by hand. These elongated tubular raisin trays are then allowed to continue drying in direct sunlight for another seven to ten days, the raisins are separated from the paper and stored in wooden bins. The raisins are then left in the wooden bins to “sweat”. The sweat process, which facilitates the natural movement of moisture between individual raisins, takes from ten days to two weeks. The raisins are then run across a shaker that removes dirt, leaves and stems. The raisins are returned to wooden bins with plastic liners, and transported to the packinghouse for USDA receiving and inspection. Following inspection and grading, the bins are sent to cold storage to await processing.
Then Marian Farms’ raisins are scheduled for processing, the bins are returned to the packinghouse. The raisins run through the “de-stemmer”, “airleg” (to remove substandard raisins), sizer and a water bath. The stemmed and washed raisins are then passed across a laser “eye” to remove damaged raisins or ones that still have their stem. “Certified organic vegetable oil” is sprayed on the raisins to assist in the “flow ability”. They are then poured into a carton, weighed, sealed, ink- coded and stacked on a wooden pallet. Prior to sealing the carton, the USDA inspector takes one last sample to see if the packaged fruit meets USDA standards. Once the pallet is completed, it is wrapped in plastic and either shipped out or placed back into cold storage to await future shipment.
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