Angoori Kishmish 250gm

Small, sharp, and never cloying

Angoori is the little round seedless green raisin, and it is noticeably more acidic than the long golden kind.

That sharpness is why it survives cooking. A sweeter raisin melts into a kheer and becomes generic sweetness; this one stays distinct — a tart interruption against the richness rather than more of the same.

What to look for

Translucency. Good angoori is still faintly see-through with a green cast. Opaque and leathery means old.

Give. Soft and pliable, not hard. Hardness is over-drying or age.

Not sticky. Heavy clumping usually means added sugar syrup or glycerine used to plump up tired stock.

The 250g pack

The size to buy if you cook with raisins occasionally rather than weekly. Raisins do not improve with keeping, and a pack you finish in two months is better than one you find at the back of a shelf in June.

Using them

Twenty minutes in warm water before they go into a cooked dish, so they plump instead of drawing moisture out of everything around them. Straight from the pack they are a fine snack — useful iron, potassium and fibre, and concentrated fruit sugar, so keep the portion honest.

Keeping them

Never the fridge — condensation makes them sticky and then mouldy. Airtight, cool, dark: about six months sealed, half that once open.