Why the golden raisin is the supermodel of the dried fruit family

Whereas the normal raisin is simply a dried red grape (sultanas being dried white grapes which have been oxidised), a golden one is more high- maintenance, treated with sulphur dioxide and oven-dried to give it a glowing golden amber colour.

In America, it is considered a staple baking ingredient, with tweeters comparing recipes for fruit loaf, carrot cake, cookies and even preserve every minute. But here in London, where the foodstuff has hardly hit the high street, top chefs at some of the city's exclusive restaurants are incorporating these crinkly companions into à la carte menus. Last month, Claire Lara's dish of goat's cheese ravioli with golden raisin purée helped her win Masterchef: The Professionals.

Camilla Grey, strategist at Moving Brands, explains that, like the blueberry and the acai berry before it, the golden raisin is really a designer food but that is no bad thing. "This is good — the raisin has such bad press. Like fashion trends, which start with top designers, food is often experimented with among high-end chefs before being adapted by celebrity chefs. Before you know it, it is something everybody knows about," admits Grey.

So far it is only a precious few, as Lara agrees. "The golden raisin is underused. It is less sickly sweet than a normal raisin and lends itself to lots of things like cheese, scallops, spices and bitter chocolate."

If you have deep pockets and can frequent London's top restaurants, you could taste golden raisins any which way — puréed, tea-infused or as part of a salad dressing. Jonas Karlsson, executive chef at Fifth Floor Restaurant, Harvey Nichols, says he uses a puréed South African variety to accompany his dish of halibut, leeks and watercress because "the golden colour looks good on the plate and it is sweet so it goes well in combination with sharper flavours".

Meanwhile, at Michelin-starred Pied à Terre in Mayfair, the bespoke canapé menu includes a "tartlet of onion and chorizo with golden raisins" and, last week, Don Alfonso presented a dish of braciola with golden raisins at Kensington's Brunello eatery. Up in Galvin at Windows, head chef André Garrett uses them as an accompaniment to a John Dory fish dish.

To Garrett, golden raisins are very special as they are not overly sweet. "I use them paired with baby deep-fried capers to create a sweet and sour tone with the flesh of the fish and the curry. We use boiling water to plump them back up but this can also be done with a sweet wine or maybe a sherry, which can be very good with foie gras, white fish and of course desserts,"
he says.

Yet more experimental is Chris McGowan, chef director at Corrigan's Mayfair, who explains that his Spanish golden raisins have a "plumper, better flavour and work well when infused with tea or with anything fleshy. I would also stuff mackerel with chorizo and soaked golden raisins."

For the sweet-toothed, Phil Howard puts golden raisins on his dessert menu at two-Michelin-star restaurant Square. Howard describes the fruit as a "delicious, chewy, lovely thing. It has a sweeter, cleaner, purer flavour compared with the musty normal raisin. Our crème caramel with golden raisins and a reduction of Sauternes has a very clean, pure, fragrant taste. Sing its praises out loud because it is great."

So the golden raisin has it all: exotic origins, versatility and, now, popularity. All that is left is for supermarkets to stock them, or, as Grey says: "It depends if Jamie, Nigella or Delia use them this Christmas. That is what will launch them."