Date palms, of the genus Phoenix, provide a major food stuff for humanity and other creatures of the earth. Phoenix dactylifera, in its many varieties, is the date of commerce.
The photograph to the right indicates the large-scale production of dates in countries like Costa Rica while the photo below shows the more whimsical side of protecting the fruit at the China Ranch Date Farm in California, near Death Valley.
At the China Ranch Date Farm several varieties of dates are available for purchase as are date candies and date shakes. A cool date shake (ice cream and dates blended together) is a magnificent experience on a hot day near Death Valley.
Date palms are native to the sub-tropical and tropical regions of the Eastern Hemisphere. They are now grown in many areas of the world.
The following refers to the dates (which are the fruit) of the palm, Phoenix dactylifera. This species may have been domesticated as early as 8,000 years BP. A 2,000 year old date seed of this species was successfully sprouted in 2005.
The varieties of dates are often grouped as dry, soft, and semi-dry -- depending mostly on the amount of glucose, fructose, and sucrose the fruit of the variety contains. Dates are high in sugar, averaging about 63 grams of sugar per 100 grams of fruit.
Date varieties traditionally grown in the United States are the Deglet Noor which is a semi-dry variety and Medjool. The world’s largest producers of dates are Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia -- other countries in the near east and northern Africa follow.
Date preparations
- The ripe fruit is often eaten raw (especially the soft varieties)
- The seed is often removed and the date is stuffed with just about anything; including cream cheese, tahini, various nuts, and candied orange peel
- Pitted dates are often dried and glazed with sugar as a snack food
- Diced dates are added to a variety of sweet and savory dishes. Try them instead of raisins in Moroccan Curries.
- They are baked with flour to make “date nut bread”
- Dates are processed into powdered sugar, syrup, honey, vinegar, and alcohol -- just about anything which is made from sugar