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Where to buy Medjool dates was once a foolish question. Unless you were a member of a royal family in the Middle East, you had no access to what many consider the best of all dates. Fortunately for all us commoners, it is now possible to get these sweet, plump, and tender fruits in dried form in many grocery stores, health food stores, and from online dealers. You can even order them direct from a grower.
The date has been a staple food in the Middle East and northern Africa since before recorded history, and it is not certain where the palm tree-like plants were first actually cultivated. It is known that many desert people depended on the date as an easily preserved food, and that the ancient Egyptians grew them. They were and still are a valuable commodity.
An edible dried date is classified as soft (or tender), dry, and semi-dry. Most of us are familiar with the Deglet Noor, which is the dried date most often sold for cooking and eating. The Medjool is larger, moister, and considered to have superior flavor.
Considered a 'perfect food' by many nutritionists, the date is rich in good carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, and it provides some protein as well. A traveler could live for months on dates and water with no ill effects. The fruit is very sweet; Medjools sometimes are naturally covered with crystallized sugar. Dates can be used as a healthy sweetener.
The superior taste is not the only reason that the Medjool is the most expensive date. Growing dates is not for the fainthearted. The palms grow only in hot, arid places with abundant underground water - as is found in their native oases. Palms are either male or female; although only the female bears fruit, both sexes are needed to produce it.
To save space for productive trees, growers plant one male tree for every hundred or so female trees. To make pollination effective, it must be done by hand by intrepid people on tall ladders. The harvest is also done by hand, in order to select the ripe fruit from that which is still immature. In between pollination and harvesting, the palms must be protected from dust and birds with nets - all fairly difficult proceedings on plants 75 to 100 feet tall.
People keep on buying the tasty fruit, even though it is pricey. The nutritive value and the wonderful taste makes for a popular snack, a great addition to granola and baked goods, and a healthy sweetener. The dried fruit is often part of holiday recipes, such as: insert an almond into a pitted date and roll in powdered sugar. Crunchy, sweet, and delicious!
Knowing where to buy Medjool dates is important if you want a healthy, gourmet-quality addition to your diet. You might have to pay up to ten dollars a pound for the fruits, which are now grown in Mexico, California, and Arizona as well as in their native lands. Devotees think this natural delicacy is worth every penny.
The date has been a staple food in the Middle East and northern Africa since before recorded history, and it is not certain where the palm tree-like plants were first actually cultivated. It is known that many desert people depended on the date as an easily preserved food, and that the ancient Egyptians grew them. They were and still are a valuable commodity.
An edible dried date is classified as soft (or tender), dry, and semi-dry. Most of us are familiar with the Deglet Noor, which is the dried date most often sold for cooking and eating. The Medjool is larger, moister, and considered to have superior flavor.
Considered a 'perfect food' by many nutritionists, the date is rich in good carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, and it provides some protein as well. A traveler could live for months on dates and water with no ill effects. The fruit is very sweet; Medjools sometimes are naturally covered with crystallized sugar. Dates can be used as a healthy sweetener.
The superior taste is not the only reason that the Medjool is the most expensive date. Growing dates is not for the fainthearted. The palms grow only in hot, arid places with abundant underground water - as is found in their native oases. Palms are either male or female; although only the female bears fruit, both sexes are needed to produce it.
To save space for productive trees, growers plant one male tree for every hundred or so female trees. To make pollination effective, it must be done by hand by intrepid people on tall ladders. The harvest is also done by hand, in order to select the ripe fruit from that which is still immature. In between pollination and harvesting, the palms must be protected from dust and birds with nets - all fairly difficult proceedings on plants 75 to 100 feet tall.
People keep on buying the tasty fruit, even though it is pricey. The nutritive value and the wonderful taste makes for a popular snack, a great addition to granola and baked goods, and a healthy sweetener. The dried fruit is often part of holiday recipes, such as: insert an almond into a pitted date and roll in powdered sugar. Crunchy, sweet, and delicious!
Knowing where to buy Medjool dates is important if you want a healthy, gourmet-quality addition to your diet. You might have to pay up to ten dollars a pound for the fruits, which are now grown in Mexico, California, and Arizona as well as in their native lands. Devotees think this natural delicacy is worth every penny.
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