24 July 2008

Summer fruits: Dates

UAE summers are extremely hot. Well, that is an understatement. A short walk outside and you are searing, tired and completely dehydrated. But there is a beautiful side to the scorching summer – dates! Ever street, park, beach area is lined with date palms laden with plump, ripe fruit, waiting to be plucked. The young yellow dates turn a deep red as they ripen and black when they dry.
A 100 gram portion of fresh dates is an excellent source of vitamin A, B and C, carbohydrates, protein, iron and other minerals and amino acids. 100 grams of dates supplies 230 kcal of energy. Dry or soft dates are eaten as such or may be pitted and stuffed with fillings such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, candied orange, lemon peel, marzipan or cream cheese. It is very popular to gift chocolate covered dates on festive occasions. Dates are also used in a variety of desserts.

Date syrup or date honey, commonly available at supermarkets, is consumed with milk as an energy provider. It can also be used as a topping for icecream, pancakes, yoghurt, waffles or Danish pastries. Or even on kulfi.

For a power packed energy drink, blend together 5 dates, 10 figs and 15 raisins with a glass of milk - drives away fatigue instantly.

Read more about the nutritional benefits of dates here, here and here. Did you know that dates could be the oldest food producing plant? Read this.

11 comments:

sra said...

Now was that a Sharjah shake? :)

I love dates tho' I don't eat them v often - combine them with other dry fruit and nuts and top some creamy curds with them for a simple dessert/breakfast - that is the first post on my blog.

Unknown said...

that was a nice info Jyothsna....
I just love dates in any form!!

Raaga said...

hmmm... nice :-) I bought a bottle of date syrup :-) and used it in my mini cakes :-)

http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2008/06/date-walnut-mini-cakes.html

I was able to reduce the fat content considerably :-)

Cham said...

So many dates love the night shot! Dates pair well with ice cream! Yum :)

Swati said...

I love the dates that you get there in UAE.. they are the best quality!!
A beautiful post Jyothsna..

Mallika said...

The drinks sounds superb! I can only imagine what summer must be like in Dubai - it was baking when I went in winter!

Susan said...

There's nothing like an unadorned date, moist and sticky on the inside, chewy and glazed on the outside. Dates aren't the big deal in the States as they are in hot climes, except at Xmas, where they are traditionally minced, rolled in coconut and pressed on top with one blanched almond. A beautiful sweetmeat.

BTW, Jyothsna, I did not serve my Brussels sprouts with anything. I had tiny bowls of them as snacks throughout the days to keep me from sweets. : }

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Dates are almost always in my fridge.
My cousin used to make a chutney with green dates. They used to live in Libya.

Sig said...

That is a great idea for a drink..power packed for sure!

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