A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia the word "raisin" is reserved for the dark-coloured dried large grape, with "sultana" being a golden-coloured dried grape, and "currant" being a dried small Black Corinth seedless grape.

Etymology

The word raisin dates back to Middle English and is a loanword from Old French; in modern French, raisin means "grape", while a dried grape is a raisin sec, or "dry grape". The Old French word in turn developed from the Latin word racemus, "a bunch of grapes".

Varieties

Raisin varieties depend on the type of grape used, and are made in a variety of sizes and colors including green, black, blue, purple and yellow. Seedless varieties include the sultana (the common American type is known as Thompson Seedless in the USA), the Greek currants (black corinthian raisins, Vitis vinifera L. var. Apyrena) and Flame grapes. Raisins are traditionally sun-dried, but may also be water-dipped and artificially dehydrated.

"Raisins" is episode 110 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on December 10, 2003.

Plot

The boys are playing football when Bebe tells Stan that his girlfriend Wendy has decided to break up with him. The other boys tell Bebe that Stan does not care, which upsets her. Stan walks away, upset, with the rain coming down along a road. He stands at a bridge, staring into a stream, sees a reflection of Wendy coming towards him, but finds no one there. He then cries in the rain under a street light at night, and looking at a picture of her holding a daisy with the words "I love you forever. Wendy".

Stan tries to get Wendy to be his girlfriend again, asking Kyle and Jimmy to talk to her for him. Jimmy's speech impediment worsens the situation when Stan suggests calling her a "continuing source of inspiration for him [Stan]". Instead, Jimmy stutters on the word "continuing", only managing to repeat the first syllable (pronounced "cunt") which Wendy mishears as an insult. Stan starts to withdraw from life, and all he thinks about is the breakup. In an effort to stop Stan from thinking about Wendy, the boys take him to the restaurant Raisins—a play on Hooters—where all of the employees are young preteen girls, no older than the boys themselves, who enjoy wearing heavy make-up. The waitresses are named after luxury car manufacturers, such as Porsche, Mercedes and Ferrari. Being taken to Raisins does not help Stan with his problems and, if anything, only makes things worse. Meanwhile, Butters falls in love with one of the waitresses (named Lexus), and obsesses over her throughout the episode, failing to see the insincerity of her interest in him.