Raisins and Munakka: Grape season is going on these days. Sweet and juicy grapes taste very tasty. Raisins and raisins are formed by drying grapes. Both these dry fruits are prepared by drying grapes, but there is a lot of difference between the two. Raisins are light green, yellow or golden in color and do not have seeds. Whereas raisins are dark brown in colour. Munakka contains seeds. In such a situation, a question arises in people’s mind that when both are made from grapes, then how come one has seeds and the other without seeds? Let us understand the difference found between raisins and dry grapes.

How are raisins made?
Raisins are prepared by drying small sized grapes. Seedless grapes are used to make raisins. Common raisins are made from green and yellow grapes. The grapes are put in a cloth or tray and dried in the sun. Grapes turn into raisins in 2-4 weeks. To make raisins, Thompson seedless or green/golden variety of grapes is used. The color of raisins is light brown, golden or light green. Its taste is sweet and sour. However, raisins of different colors are also prepared by drying black and other colored grapes. Raisins are used as dry fruit.

How is Munakka made?
To make Munakka, large sized thick grapes are selected. Munakka is mostly made from black or red grapes which have seeds inside. Munakka is made by drying these grapes in a special way. To make Munakka, grapes are dried slowly. So that the raisins remain sweeter and a little hard. For this, grapes can be dried in the shade or in some controlled manner by applying some sunlight.

The color of raisins is dark brown or black. Raisins are harder than raisins. They are used as medicine in Ayurveda. Raisins are considered good for increasing blood and relieving constipation.

What is the difference between raisins and dry grapes?
Size and color- Raisins are small. Its color is light whereas Munakka is bigger and darker in colour.
Seeds- Raisins do not have seeds whereas Munakka has seeds.
Taste- The taste of raisins is sweet and sour, whereas raisins are mostly sweet in taste.
Nutrition- Iron, fiber and antioxidants are found in both raisins and raisins, but iron is more in raisins.