Many of us associate dates with Christmas, but the season in the only country in Europe where dates are actually grown, is already starting. Fresh dates are a delicacy that goes just as well on a great cheese platter as a dessert. A fresh date is far less sweet than a dried one. In this article, FindYourSpain will give you some date history, a travel suggestion and some simple serving ideas. Dates are far more than dried Christmas food and “pan de dátil”.
It is exciting to explore Spanish cuisine and local products. There are delights that are quite unknown to many of us, but also old acquaintances that are often used somewhat differently in Spain than we may be used to.
The date palm has been known to humans for so long that even the experts aren’t really sure where it actually comes from – those who have researched it, believe that the date palm is at least 50 million years old. Dates are known from both Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Archaeological finds confirm cultivation of dates on the Arabian Peninsula around the 6th millennium BC.
It may have been the Moors who brought the date to the Iberian Peninsula, but several sources believe that the date palm found its way from North Africa to the area that makes up present-day Spain already with the Carthaginians, i.e. hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. The Carthaginians and their ancestors, the Phoenicians, were primarily traders, but it was the Romans and later the Moors who constructed artificial irrigation systems which in turn enabled large-scale cultivation of dates.
We know that the Moors built irrigation canals in Elche. Canals that can still be found there to this day. The palm groves in Elche is a great destination and one that you will find on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In the Palmeral de Elche you can walk in beautifully landscaped palm groves – just within the city limits it is estimated that there are about 70,000 date palms. If you add in the date cultivation in the city’s surroundings, Elche can boast almost 200,000 of them.
These may seem like big numbers, yet Spain is almost too “small” to count if we look at the world’s total date production. “Only” around 50,000 tonnes of the world’s combined production of 8,500,000 tonnes originates from Spain. That’s not even 1% of the total production. However, Spain has played a role in date cultivation elsewhere in the world as well.
Spaniards introduced the date palm to the new world after Columbus had first “discovered” a new land in the west. Initially, they tried date cultivation in the Caribbean and Mexico, without much success. Further north on the American continent, however, in areas that would later become the states of Arizona and California, the plants found more suitable conditions. Today, the United States is a significant supplier of dates, and they can largely thank the Spaniards for that. The state of California currently accounts for about 90 percent of US date production.
As an FYI: Europeans other than Spaniards have also tried growing dates throughout history. Many Europeans knew about this nutritious and tasty commodity through trade and other forms of contact from ancient times. The Romans were among those who tried to cultivate them. They had become acquainted with date palms through conquests further south.
They brought date palms back home to the Italian peninsula, but the plants did not thrive and would not bear fruit. Nevertheless, the Romans found a use for the plants. You may have noticed this use from Easter processions as the Romans instead started using palm leaves in victory processions.
Fresh dates on the menu
If you have not yet tasted fresh dates, you can get them at most outdoor markets here in Spain, at least from August to January. They certainly taste fresher compared to the dried version, but have a limited shelf life. If they are not kept cool, they will start to ferment. The ancient Egyptians knew this, and must have used the phenomenon to make an excellent date wine.
When you buy fresh dates, you should look for freshly harvested goods: They should have a smooth and shiny surface and appear juicy. Avoid buying fresh dates that have visible, white sugar crystals on the surface. It is a sign of an “aging” product. Fresh dates can stay fresh at room temperature for a while, but the refrigerator is the right place for longer-term storage.
How do you serve such fresh dates? Well, dates are a bit like figs in that they basically go just as well with salty foods as with sweets. At FindYourSpain we like good, but easy-to-prepare food. A classic is to fill fresh dates with nuts. Walnuts and almonds are good choices. If you love marzipan, you can create a great treat by making a cut along the date, removing the stone and replacing it with a small piece of marzipan.
Dates add a nice touch to fruit salads, but also do well in the company of good cheese. Try a cheese platter with pears, grapes and fresh dates, and you’ll have a winner anyone can enjoy.
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