We have recently added sweet and salty raisins to our pantry. What are they? We basically tripped over them. We had received excess samples of tomolives (small green tomatoes cured like olives) and needed to condense them down, as our storage space is small. Invariably, the dehydrator came to the rescue. In went the tomolives, and twenty-four hours later, out came salty raisins… really salty. Now what? Soak them in water to draw out the salt, and why not add some golden raisins as well? The two “raisins” shared flavors as they plumped, and once they were drained, we had green and yellow sweet and salty raisins. These raisins now act as a flavor base in our pantry, so far used as a condiment with smoked foie gras and as part of a salad with sweetbreads. To further develop this condiment, I plan to soak dried blueberries in our homemade port vinegar to add a bright acidity and more color. Indian spices and chutneys will be explored as complements or accents.
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