Read & Explore 57: What’s Great about Raisins

Raisins are nutritious. Raisins are rich in iron, calcium, potassium, and B vitamins and provide a good source of fiber.

Raisins make other foods taste better. Raisins have tartaric acid, a flavor-enhancer. Raisin juice and raisin paste are used in a variety of sauces such as pasta, barbecue, and steak sauces to boost their flavor.

Raisin paste is sometimes used as filler in meatballs and meat pies to provide more servings.

Raisins have a rich, natural color. Raisin juice is often added to frozen dairy desserts and baked goods as a color-enhancer, or food coloring.

Ground raisins can be used instead of fat in fat-free baked goods like fat-free muffins, cookies, and brownies.

Raisin paste and raisin juice concentrate are mold-inhibitors that prevent food from spoiling as easily. Bakers often use raisin products instead of artificial preservatives. Raisins extend the shelf life of bakery goods by several days over products without raisin products.

Activities:

1.After reading this selection, do you know what make raisins an important food? How are raisins used? Discuss with a learning partner in plain English.

2. It takes about four and one-half pounds of fresh grapes to make one pound of raisins. To make 6 pounds of raisins, how many grapes do you need?

3. Do you like raisins? Are you curious about how raisins are made? To learn about this, watch the following video:

Read & Explore 56: The Goose with the Golden Eggs

Once a farmer went to the nest of his goose and found there an egg, all yellow and shiny. When he picked it up, it was as heavy as a rock. He was about to throw it away because he thought that someone was playing a trick on him. But on second thought, he took it home, and discovered to his delight that it was an egg of pure gold!

He sold the egg for a handsome sum of money. Every morning the goose laid another golden egg, and the farmer soon became rich by selling the eggs. As he grew rich, he also grew greedy. “Why should I have to wait to get only one egg a day?” he thought. “I will cut open the goose and take all the eggs out of her at once.”

When the goose heard the farmer’s plan, she flew away to a nearby farm. So when the farmer came out the next day, do you know what he found in the goose’s nest?  Nothing.

Moral: He who wants more often loses all. When you want something, be patient. If you are greedy, you might lose what you already have.

Activities

1. Suppose each golden egg weighed 50g. The price of gold was $60 per gram. Then how much was one golden egg worth? After 30 days, how much could the farmer make by selling the golden eggs? How about 10 months later?

2. If you were the farmer in the story, what would you like to do for the goose? Write and illustrate a new ending for the story. Watch how it is illustrated in the following video. Discuss with a learning partner.