Sultana (grape)

The sultana is a "white" (pale green), oval seedless grape variety also called the sultanina, Thompson Seedless (United States), Lady de Coverly (England), and oval-fruited Kishmish (Iran, Turkey, Palestine). It is assumed to originate from the Asian part of the Ottoman Empire. In some countries, especially Commonwealth countries, it is also the name given to the raisin made from it or from larger seedless grapes; such sultana raisins are often called simply sultanas or sultanis. These are typically larger than Zante currants (which are actually a kind of dried grape, not currants in the botanical sense), and the Thompson variety is smaller than many seeded raisins. In the USA and Canada, the name "raisin" is applied to all dried grapes, so that the breakfast cereal known as "sultana bran" in Australia and the United Kingdom is called raisin bran in the United States and Canada.

Thompson sultana raisins are small and sweet, and have a golden colour. Another seedless grape variety from the former Ottoman Empire, the round-fruited Kishmish, is also dried to make a larger sultana raisin.

The sultana raisin was traditionally imported to the English-speaking world from the Ottoman Empire. Turkey and Australia are major producers.

American sultana grapes are almost invariably Thompson Seedless, a name that refers to William Thompson, a viticulturist who was an early grower in California and is sometimes credited with introducing the variety. According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, the two names are synonymous. Virtually all of California raisin production (about 97% in 2000) and roughly one-third of California's total grape area is of this variety, making it the single most widely planted variety.

...
Wikipedia