It's muddy and they aren't straying far from the coop, but they will. We've been bringing them goodies to eat in the building. The weather has been so crazy that we didn't think they should be outside. We hang suet for them to pick at and take them kitchen scraps, pumpkins we have stored, alfalfa and produce that the local grocery store gives us that is good, but can't be sold because it is past it's prime.
In the last haul from the grocery store, there were 3 boxes and one of them was almost all red grapes. They were good, just not the freshest. Since raisins are basically super past their prime grapes, I decided to make raisins out of them.
I soaked them in a sink full of vinegar water for about 15 minutes. Then I destemmed them and took out any that showed any signs of mold while loading them on to the dehydrator. I put them on a medium heat and waited. It took a couple of days before any of them were dry, but I tried a high heat the last time I did this and wound up with a whole lot of burnt grapes. Live and learn!
Even after 2 days many of them weren't dry, so I picked through them and put those that weren't ready on for another day. There were still a few that needed another half a day.
I got a little over a quart of raisins out of the deal :) It was a lot of work and the electricity alone probably cost me more than what I could buy the same amount of raisins at the store. That's the way it is with pretty much everything I process at home. But, the satisfaction of knowing that I can make my own raisins is well worth the cost!
Now if I could only grow my own grapes and have a solar food dryer ...
God Bless You All!
~Grama Sue
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