DATES…More than Just Dried Fruits

DATES, the desert fruit, have been and still are an important part of Middle Eastern culture. This fruit is the product of date palm, a tree native to Northern Africa and Middle East, although it’s also cultivated in other parts of the world. The date palm, “Phoenix dactylifera” of the palm family “Arecaceas”, has long been a staple food in the Middle East. Not only a staple food for thousands of years, the parts of the tree served many purposes and had religious significance as well. Mentioned in the Quran, dates are often a traditional first meal when breaking the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

The date plant is a palm tree of medium size, but can grow as tall as 100 feet. It takes seven years after plantation to bear fruit but stay in production for over 60 years. They grow in clusters below the fronds of the tree and each cluster can hold hundred of dates. The plant thrives in a hot and dry climate, with cultivability occurring in parts of Africa, the Middle East and parts of USA. In Middle East, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Saudi Arabia produce amongst them 60% of the world’s harvest with over 600 different types of dates.

They are dioecious, meaning that one plant will be either male or female. Only the female plant bears the fruit and studies have shown that since seedling plants produce smaller and poorer fruit, commercial fruit tends to be from cuttings. Also, plants that originate from cuttings will normally produce fruit after 4-5years and will reach full maturity after 10-12 years. Although pollination occurs naturally, commercial production uses manual pollination and needs only one male plant to every 100 female plants. Each plant can produce up to 120kilograms of fruit hanging in 5-10 bunches. The fruit does not all ripen at the same time, meaning that several harvests are necessary. As with grapes, the date fruit is thinned at an early stage to allow the remaining fruit to grow larger. The date fruit varies widely according to size, color, sweetness and consistency. When unripe, the dates are green, gradually turning to yellow and then to either various shades of red or brown when mature.

To the French, it is dattier; in German, it is dattel; in Italian, datteri, or dattero; in Spanish, datil and in Dutch, dadel. The Portuguese word is tamara and in Arabic tamr. The date fruit, which grows in heavy clusters, is yellow in the early ripening stage or kimri, the Arabic word for unripe. Some consumers enjoy date fruit in the next stage, khalal, meaning full sized but cruncy, while others wait for dates to reach rutab, ripe and soft. When the date fruit is allowed to sundry on the tree, it is considered to be in the final tamr stage of ripening.

There are about 30 known varities of dates. But the most famous ones are barhi, dayri, deglet nor, halawy, hayany, khadrawy, medjool, maktoom, thoory, sayer, saidy and zahdi. There are many companies that market it as a gift item. Some big names in the business are Bateel of Saudi Arabia, Al Madina Munawarah Dates Co. of Saudi, AL- Dhafra Dates processing Co. of Abu Dhabi, Ayat of Iran, AHT Co of Iran, Dateland Palm Village of Arizona, El-Baraa of Egypt, Oasis Date Garden of California and many more. These companies market dates in various forms like nut rolls, date coconut rolls, single or mix variety of dates in one box, date jam and sauce, date cakes and cookies and also dates stuffed with variety of dry fruits.

Dried or fresh, dates are power packed with nutrition. Health benefits of dates are uncountable, as this fruit is affluent in natural fibers. Dates are even rich in several vitamins and minerals. They contain oil, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium which are advantageous for health. It is said that consumption of one date daily is necessary for a balanced and healthy diet. Dates help in fighting constipation, intestinal disorders, weight gain, heart problems, sexual weakness, diarrhea and abdominal cancer. Dates also contain a variety of B-complex vitamins – thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6 and pantothenic acid. These vitamins have a variety of functions that help maintain a healthy body – to metabolize carbohydrates and maintain blood glucose levels, fatty acids for energy, and they help make hemoglobin, the red and white blood cells.

Dates are rich in nutrients. They are very good source of dietary fiber, protein and are rich in vitamin C, vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B5 and vitamin A1. There are 20 different kinds of amino acids which ease the digestive process. Dates are rich in soluble and insoluble fiber. According to the American Cancer Society, consuming 20-35 grams of dietary fiber every day is healthy for your body. They are considered to be one of the best energy boosting snacks as they are power-packed with 29 grams of natural sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose. They also contain 31 grams of carbohydrate and 3 grams of dietary fiber. These qualities of dates make them the rightful candidate for boosting energy. Adding dates in milk can be a very nutritious snack for both kids and adults. They have a very low calorie count; around 23 calories for a single date fruit. That is why it is also suitable for health conscious people. One of the key health benefits of dates is its ability to regulate a healthy nervous system, thanks to the rich potassium content. Research has recommended that higher intake of potassium (about 400 mg) can cut the risk of stroke by 40 percent. They also have a dense concentration of phenol antioxidants and other nutrients. Another key health benefit of dates is its ability to lower undesirable LDL cholesterol.
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Apart from its health benefits, its leaves are used to make a range of household items from ropes to baskets to roofing to furniture. Thus Dates are truly more than just dried fruits.