Talk:Sultana (grape)

Sultanas, raisins, currants
This is an unhelpful article. It fails to clarify the difference between dried grapes adequately, it is US-centric,especially as sultanas are a staple food throughout the Middle East and Asian countries, and omits processing and nutritional data.

Please someone, rewrite or delete. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.138.23.137 (talk) 14:13, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

Here in the UK, I can go to any supermarket's home-baking section and buy three generic types of dried grape: raisins, currants and sultanas. Clearly, these three are all distinct from a UK perspective. However, I've seen currants called sultanas, sultanas called raisins, raisins called currants and so on. A clear distinction needs to be made, and a systematic, unambigous listing of what people worldwide are referring to when they say "sultana", "currant" or "raisin" in reference to dried grapes. Some example sources:
 * Kew Gardens (UK)
 * Fruit reseller (New Zealand)

195.173.23.111 11:43, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Also here in Denmark, the sultana raisins do not look the same, nor have the same taste as the Thompson raisins, which causes a bit of a confusion because the Thompson_seedless article redirects to here, plus it is mentioned that they are the same. I agree with the previous user, that a clear destinction should be made because the information we have now seems only to add to the confusion.

I'll take this on if I find the time - but I agree with you both and with the worldview tag. I've just redirected Thompson Seedless and Thompson Seedless grape to Grape. However, no doubt a helpful American will have reverted that by now. Dybeck 15:59, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

I'm reverting my earlier comments, as I aborted the edit I was working on. I hate to be what Dybeck calls a helpful American, but it appears that the Thompson Seedless grape and the sultana are indeed the same grape. Under US federal agricultural regulations they are synonymous: Thompson Seedless Raisins includes those raisins commonly referred to in international trade as Sultana raisins and means raisins made from Thompson Seedless (Sultana) grapes and from grapes with characteristics similar to Thompson Seedless (Sultanina) grapes. Perhaps the difference between raisins labeled as Thompson and those labeled as Sultana are a result of geographical origin? (Wine made from the same grapes sure varies by where the grapes are grown, why not raisins too?)

Several other sources that agree on the synonymy: (PDF),,. I don't find anything that clearly distinguishes them. Tkinias 17:45, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

OK, I think I've got it all sorted out now, and I've rewritten the article to reflect it. I've also put the Thompson Seedless redirects pointing back here. I've added citations for everything, too, so if there are any points of dispute we can talk about evidence... Tkinias 19:21, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

This is a little annoying for those in English-speaking countries (such as the UK) where a 'sultana'is very specifically a form of dried grape, and would never refer to a Thompson Seedless in any other form. Just so you know :) Dybeck 12:11, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Bad results in Brazil
I know that this grape was planted in northeast part of Brazil, with weak results.Agre22 (talk) 12:59, 18 December 2008 (UTC)agre22

pnk;;;;;;;;;;;;;; —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.124.214.171 (talk) 13:10, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

Why mention gibberellin?
At the end of the fourth paragraph is this statement: "Most non-organic sultana grapes in California and elsewhere are treated with the plant hormone gibberellin.[9]". I don't understand why this is here; while it may be true that the grapes are treated with gibberellin, it's certainly also true that the grapes are treated with many other things as well. If gibberellin is such an important issue that it warrants mentioning, maybe it deserves its own section with appropriate elaboration? Novernae (talk) 15:18, 24 January 2010 (UTC)
 * It is rather common to treat Sultanas with gibberellin as opposed to all other grapes. The wording and context certainly could be better. --Ettuquoque (talk) 07:54, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

Size
We say "These are typically larger than the currants made from Zante grapes, but smaller than "normal" raisins." Can we have a cite for that? Because I usually expect sultanas to be larger than raisins. 86.164.69.239 (talk) 18:32, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

Raisins section needs work and clarification
Appears to have been written from a US perspective and is assuming (yet again) that the practice in eg the UK is the same as in the US. It says for example "The term "sultana" is rarely used to describe raisins." Not true, I can go and buy bags of sultanas from any supermarket. It seems very muddled. Also "anglo-america" appears to have a different meaning to what the editor intended. 92.15.2.21 (talk) 22:15, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Sultanas being "from South Africa"
I live in South Africa where Sultanas are very popular. It is true that Sultanas are grown and exported from South Africa however whether or not they are originally "from" South Africa I doubt very much. --Brendan Hide (talk) 16:31, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Sultanas versus dried grapes
I agree with the above comment that this article is too U.S.-centric. It begins by saying that sultanas are a white grape, but here in the United Kingdom, it is possible to buy dried grapes called sultanas which are definitely not white. Vorbee (talk) 17:38, 28 July 2017 (UTC)

"Kismi"
Why does Kismis redirect to this article, yet the term "kismis" is mentioned nowhere in the text of the current version of the article? Please fix this situation. 173.88.246.138 (talk) 22:59, 7 September 2021 (UTC)

Are they grapes or raisins?
I read the article and still can't figure out of this is a grape variety, a synonym for raisin, or a golden raisin. I was informed that Asia Minor "later" became part of the Ottoman Empire, although not what event its joining followed to inform us of a later occurrence for that than its origination. This implies that it is some kind of cultivar? Later in the article its a golden raisin? I'm not sure what to do about it because I'm not able to figure out if its a variety of grape or a dried fruit. Please help. Dixiecrow (talk) 12:53, 6 August 2022 (UTC)


 * It looks like the primary subject of this article is a variety of grape. There is also a type of raisin known as a sultana. I think this article is a little more confusing than necessary because we go into too much detail on the raisin. Larry Hockett (Talk) 13:06, 6 August 2022 (UTC)
 * I trimmed the information that went into detail about the raisin. Larry Hockett (Talk) 13:11, 6 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Should we add Vitis vinifera L. cultivar 'Thompson Seedless'? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dixiecrow (talk • contribs) 13:20, 6 August 2022 (UTC)