Chocolate-covered raisins are a candy consisting of individual
raisins coated in a shell of milk, dark or white
chocolate.
Varieties and brands
In some countries, they are also known as Raisinets, which is the earliest and one of the most popular brands of the product, currently made by
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
, a subsidiary of
Ferrero SpA. Raisinets were introduced in the
United States in 1927 by the
Blumenthal Chocolate Company.
Ferrero acquired the brand in 2018 from
Nestlé, who had briefly expanded the brand to include milk chocolate-covered dried
cranberries and dried
cherries
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...
from late 2009 through 2013. A large number of other brands also exist, including:
* In the
United Kingdom, chocolate raisins are considered a classic sweetshop confectionery and can be found in many supermarkets in plastic sharing bags under supermarket branding and in
corner shops. Around Christmas time, chocolate raisins are also sold with milk, white and dark chocolate coatings as a festive treat in boxed packaging.
* In
Canada, the Glosette brand consists of various chocolate-covered candies, including Glosette
Raisins, Glosette
Peanuts, and Glosette
Almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
s. The candies are sold in small cardboard boxes rather than a typical plastic wrapper. The brand was acquired by
Hershey Canada
The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
on July 1, 1987 from
Nabisco Canada.
* In Australia, these sweets are more commonly referred to as chocolate-covered
sultanas, rather than raisins. In Australia, there are no particularly prominent brands in the market, although chocolate-covered sultanas are produced by some large local confectioners and also on the behalf of supermarket chains as store-brand versions.
The Promotion in Motion Companies, Inc, the candy company that manufactures
Welch's Fruit Snacks, also manufactures a
Sun-Maid
Sun-Maid Growers of California is an American privately owned cooperative of raisin growers headquartered in Fresno, California. Sun-Maid is one of the largest raisin and dried fruit processors in the world. As a cooperative, Sun-Maid is made up ...
brand of chocolate-covered raisins.
There is a non-dairy equivalent made of sugar (non-refined),
cocoa mass,
cocoa butter, raisins and
vanillin.
A similar food, also commonly sold at movie theaters, is the
chocolate-covered peanut. As described above, the two products are often combined for consumption in a mixture. Less common alternatives are the
chocolate-covered almond or the chocolate-covered macadamia nut.
See also
*
List of chocolate-covered foods
*
List of raisin dishes and foods
References
{{Hershey, state=autocollapse
Raisins
Nestlé brands
Chocolate-covered foods