Practice Century 21
A Date A Day
Keeps Weakness Away

We invite you to be acquainted with DATES , this heavenly fruit, the first seeds of which was shown thousands years ago.

The DATE is the oldest known cultivated tree crop and one of the least written about and the least understood of all fruits produced. Every time a date seed is being planted , a new variety of dates is originated, just as every time a child is born , a new kind of person is brought into this world. The only way to perpetuate a variety is to propagate its offshoots. A date palm produces at or near its base, 5 to 25 offshoots or suckers during the first 10 to 15 years of its life.

It usually requires from 5 to 10 years for an offshoot to develop a root system of its own, at which it is safe to remove it from its parent and plant it in the garden. After it is planted, it requires an additional 8 to 15 years to bring it into full bearing.

Date palms are dioecious. Female flowers produce the fruit and male flowers produce the pollen. Two good mail palms will usually produce enough pollen to pollinate about fifty female palms.

Like any fruit, there are many varieties of dates, each with its own distinctive taste, texture, color, size and flavor. These varieties might be of SOFT DATES with soft flesh, high moisture and low sugar or of SEMI-DRY dates with firm flesh, low moisture and high sugar or of DRY DATES with hard flesh, low moisture and high sugar.

Some types of dates, such as MOZAFATI, will sometimes form a white powder film on the skin. This is the natural sugars coming to the surface and does not affect the flavor. As dates lose moisture, sugar crystals will form under the skin. If this is undesirable, you can steam the dates for approximately 10 minutes, or place them on a cookie sheet, cover with a wet towel and keep them in a warm oven for about 15 minutes. The sugar will melt back in to the date. This can be done easily as one stage of processing in the factories, and/or at home as a stage of cooking.

Date is a fruit full of Vitamins and Minerals such as variety of B-Complex Vitamins, Thiamine , Riboflavin , Niacin, Vitamin B-6 and Pantothenic Acid , Phosphorous , Protein and Fiber. These Vitamins & Minerals have a variety of functions that help maintain a healthy body.

(for more information, please refer to the diagram).

Being Sodium-free , Fat-free (including saturated fat – free ), cholesterol – free , and a good source of Fiber all of which are important factors in reducing the risk of both heart disease and cancer , fit very well into a healthy diet.

Apart from direct consumption , Dates have commercial and industrial usage as well. For example , in industries related to confectionery , bakery , cereals , and sauces or for producing alcohol and liquid sugar.

The sugar content of Dates is %100 soluble and its fiber contents helps digestion of food.