By Benjamin Goodin
If I am being truthful, it is entirely because of the Internet that I
know what a date looks like. I should back up a moment. It is entirely
because of the Internet that I know what a date, the fruit, looks like.
Until adulthood, even somewhat along that path, the only thing I knew of
the appearance of a date was that it came in bulk bags from the candy
aisle of the local farm-supply store, containing wrinkly, little
malleable cubes dusted in a light coat of (something). To my young
Midwestern mind, dates were something of an abstract concept: they were
spaces on a calendar, or something that people in ancient, distant Bible
and Koran stories were always plucking from trees and eating. Well,
okay, I learned they grew on trees, and that was about it.
If you are as hopelessly Midwestern (read: “rustic”) as I am, the
concept of a date fruit probably evokes images of a bag of square,
chalky gum erasers for you too, rather than a swollen fruit that would
dangle from a palm tree. If you’re as geographically challenged as I am,
you probably didn’t think anything but coconuts grew on palm trees.
Like other tree-borne fruits, the date comes in a diversity of breeds.
Much like the apple, different types of date — like zahidi, deglet noor,
and thoory — have varying flavor profiles, from syrupy-sweet to
delicately sweet. Varieties, again like apples, range in suitability for
purposes: mildly sweet and nutty, the thoory date is known as the
“bread date” because it is well-suited for baking; khadrawy dates don’t
keep well and are considered to be one of the best varieties for eating
fresh. The medjool date, the most commercially successful and prolific
variety of date, grows to about three to seven centimeters — about the
size of the average chicken egg (unit of measurement common in the
Midwest). Unripe dates are firm, green fruits that grow in heavy bunches
like overgrown grapes. Ripe dates, depending on the variety, range from
peachy-orange to shades of reddish-brown and resemble oblong plums and
sometimes pears, but they bear more in common with the former because of
their high-gloss skin. Most come to resemble oversized raisins, for the
skin begins to ripple and ridge as they dry. Drying and puckering
doesn’t mean that the fruit is going bad, on the contrary, this is the
preferred time to eat the date as it is fully ripened and the flavors
are bolder. Ripe dates are sticky-sweet and mealy, a bit like dried
apricots. Dates contain a pit, or “stone,” and although it won’t shatter
your teeth and delight your dentist like a peach or nectarine pit,
they’re not particularly tasty and haven’t seen much use in the United
States outside of agricultural feed.
For their size, dates pack an enormous nutritional punch, especially in
sugar. The sugar in dates is not of the processed or refined variety,
but sugar is sugar, and it should be taken in moderation. A single
25-gram date weighs in just shy of 67 calories, and 65 of those are from
sugar carbohydrates alone. The rest is comprised of dietary fiber,
which is a significant six percent of the fiber you need daily. That
same date contains one percent of daily protein. Where dates truly shine
is in vitamins and minerals. 25 grams worth of date, a single
medium-sized fruit, buys you three percent of the brain-health boosting
B6, which is used by your body to manufacture serotonin and melatonin.
You’ll also be receiving two percent of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) to
help your body break down and metabolize those proteins, sugars, and
fats. Gram per gram, the date almost doubles the amount of potassium
(167) of a banana (89.5). Copper and manganese are both present in
quantities equal to four percent of the daily value for increased blood,
bone, and metabolic health, with an extra kick of calcium (2 percent)
to further strengthen your internal supports. The presence of magnesium
in high quantities (3 percent daily value) helps to offset some of those
sugars by regulating blood glucose levels and keeping the circulatory
system healthy. Dates also have the distinction of ranking 80th on the
top 100 Antioxidant-rich foods, right above red wine.
Date pits, in comparison to the fruit itself, aren’t used for much
besides livestock feed on this side of the ocean. The pit comprises
almost a quarter of the date itself and, considering that a single date
palm will bear hundreds of the fruits in a single harvest, it seems like
the pit should come to some more productive use besides being fed as a
processing byproduct to sheep and cows. Apparently, there is a growing
trend of utilizing the pits based on ancient traditions of those who
peopled the lands that date palms are native to and, unsurprisingly, an
increasingly diet-conscious global consumer population. Laboratory
analysis shows that the humble date pit actually is rich in dietary
fiber, protein, and concentrations of the same vitamins and minerals
found in the fruit flesh. Byproducts like date seed oil have been found
to have health and nutritional benefits very similar to that of olive
oil, while others are finding that ground pits boost protein and
nutrients in health shakes, smoothies, and even as a nutrient-infused
flour additive. One can even manufacture an un-caffeinated beverage very
similar to coffee with roasted date pits.
Date fruit, on the other hand, has a very long culinary history in the
US, and it is on rise again as the natural and whole-food trend
continues to dominate popular taste. Dates have always been popular in
baked goods because of their mellow sweetness and their naturally moist
texture. Diced, dried dates inside of a holiday cookie or the
much-maligned fruitcake are likely how most Americans were introduced to
the fruit. Not only do they produce unique baked goods, but dates are
very popular as a raw snack, stuffed with something savory like cheeses,
or diced up with aromatic and fibrous greens. Dates are rising in
popularity as an alternative to processed or inorganic sweeteners. Date
paste, which is surprisingly easy to make at home, creates naturally
sweetened and super-moist baked goods and tops toasts as a savory-sweet
spread; I’ve even seen some beverages infused with the soluble
sweetener. Dates are even being desiccated and pounded down in to a
nutrient-rich, darkly colored sugar substitute.
Even though dates seem like sugar overload, some of their natural
properties help your body to balance out and manage that sugar surge. In
fact, they were long used as an afternoon snack that gave an extra
boost of energy. In that regard, they probably have less sugar and
certainly more nutritive value than grabbing an energy drink from the
gas station. Otherwise, dates brim with healthful vitamins and minerals
in each sweet, chewy bite. Prepared well and eaten in moderation, you
can be among those who are discovering for themselves the flavor and
health benefits of dates, just as the ancient people of the Middle East
and Africa did so long ago.