Raisinets and every other chocolate-covered raisin, in one lineup

A raisin, a coat of chocolate, a yellow box

Raisinets are California raisins covered in milk or dark chocolate. That is the whole recipe, and it is why the candy travels so well into a dark theater: no wrapper to rustle, no bar to break, just a box you can tip into your hand.

The milk chocolate box lists milk chocolate first and raisins second, then less than 2% of sugar, tapioca dextrin, cocoa and confectioners glaze. The label spells the glaze out as lac-resin, and it comes last on the list.

Milk or dark

Dark chocolate Raisinets carry the same 110 calories per serving as milk. The label differs in the details: 14 g of sugars instead of 15 g, and 2.5 g of saturated fat instead of 3 g.

One thing the dark box does not do is drop the dairy. Its ingredient list still names milkfat, nonfat milk and lactose, and the allergen line reads the same as on the milk box.

Box, bag or the big bag

The name is older than most of the candy aisle. The word mark was registered for candy in 1977, and the yellow box has been a fixture of the concession stand ever since.

Raisinets come in three sizes in this lineup. The 3.1 oz theater box is the one from the concession stand, sold here in cases of 15. The 8 oz bag stands up and zips shut. The 36 oz bag is the big one, about 42 servings by its label.

Per ounce the packs do not cost the same. Today the Milk Chocolate Theater Box works out to 68¢, the Milk Chocolate Resealable Bag works out to 69¢ and the Milk Chocolate Large Bag works out to $1.65 per ounce.

Where the other brands fit

Raisinets come in small and medium packs. If you want three pounds at once, the warehouse-club jars from Kirkland Signature, Member's Mark and Wellsley Farms are the usual answer, and their price per ounce is hard to beat.

For baking and trail mix, It's Delish and Bayside Candy sell plain bulk bags from one to ten pounds. For lunchboxes, Sun-Maid coats its raisins in vanilla yogurt and packs them in 1 oz boxes.