Dates

Medjools, Barhis, Deglet Noors, Abadas, Halawis, Honeys, Khadrawis, Zahidis, Peanut Rolls, Pecan Rolls, Almond Rolls, Coconut Rolled Dates, Walnut Rolls, Combo Packs, Dried Fruit Trays, and Date Platters - J&J Distributing offers these varieties - certified organically grown. We offer conventionally grown Medjools and Deglet Noors.

The date is one of the oldest tree crops - records go back over 5,000 years. Nomads and people of the desert from the Middle East and North Africa consumed dates for survival, and royalty for many generations (dates were considered a delicacy) served this terrific fruit. Spanish missionaries introduced dates to the West in the 18th and 19th centuries, and some of the original palms can still be found in Southern California and Mexico.

The Medjool variety is considered the gourmet of the date family - originating in Morocco, it arrived in the US in 1927. Eleven immature palms were given to the US by the Chariff of Morocco - this was an attempt to save the Medjools that were threatened by disease there. The eleven palms were quarantined for seven years in Nevada, and the nine that survived were relocated to Southern California. Note: the Medjool date is the only date that is harvested fresh and eaten fresh, and is the most labor intensive date to grow and harvest.

Dates provide energy in the form of natural invert sugars - important for those who cannot tolerate sucrose - Medjools have an above average invert sugar content. Date palms flourish in dry heat and minimal rain, and do very well in the Bard Valley of California where the Colorado and Gila rivers allow abundant irrigation for their root structure - 70% of the Medjool dates in the US are produced in the Bard Valley.

The date palm (Phoenix Dactylifera) is known as the tree of life, and there are approximately 22 million palms in Iraq today where approximately 600,000 tons of dates are produced annually.

Date Varieties available at J&J:

Medjool: Large, soft and fabulous
Barhi: Round, light amber to dark brown when ripe - soft with thick flesh and rich flavor - needs to be refrigerated immediately after harvest
Deglet Noor: Semi-dry, not overly sweet and stores well - a popular date for cooking
Abadas: A new variety that is very black and dry with an intense flavor
Halawis: Sweet, soft and elongated. Medium-sized with a light color
Honeys: Sweet, semi-soft with a honey flavor and light color
Khadrawis: Soft, with a beautiful amber to reddish brown color, caramel texture and very sweet
Zahidis: Semi-dry with a large seed and has a very high invert sugar level. Used for dicing and date sugar

Other date varieties include:

Dayri, Hayany, Khastawi, Maktoom, Saidy, Sayer, Thoory, Amir Hajj, Iteema, Amir Hajj, Migraf, Migraf, Ftimi, Kenta, Agnioua, Bouhatam, and Lemsi

Although some dates are harvested by hand-picking, most are harvested by cutting off the entire cluster - California harvests generally require six to eight pickings per tree. There are four stages of development in the world of dates that include:

Chimri (Kimri): first 17 weeks after pollination - the dates are green, hard, bitter and are 80% moisture
Khalal: next 6 weeks when dates become full grown, although they are still very hard. The color changes to yellow, orange or red, and sugars levels increase
Rutab: next 4 weeks the dates become half-ripe, soft, and turn to a light brown color, and the sucrose turns to invert sugars
Tamar: dates are ripe in the last two weeks of development, and the dates become soft and sugar becomes mostly invert. Dates at this stage of development - semi-dry and dry dates - will contain about 50% sucrose and invert sugar

Soft dates may be picked early when their color is still light, and semi-dry dates may be picked as soon as they are soft. They are ripened at temperatures of 80 to 95 degrees F. Dry dates are generally left on the palm until they are ripe.

Dates are eaten out-of-hand, added to cereals, puddings, cakes, ice cream, breads. They are cubed, made into pastes, spreads, jams, juice, syrup and vinegars.

Nutritionally, dates contain protein, good fiber, ash, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, vitamin A, and niacin.

Dates are a delightful treat, with wonderful nutritional benefits