THE word date conjures up many meanings.
For the pedantic, it might be the calendar, but for the more romantically-inclined it could well produce some sweet thoughts. For everybody loves dates.
In the Middle East, however, the word has overtones of culture and tradition. For the mention of date means only one thing — the fruit from the evergreen date palm.
The sweet, succulent fruit has been on family tables from earliest times but it is only recently that the fruit has been used in a variety of ways that have brought about mixed reactions. The purists are fuming at the major mish-mashes, while the more imaginative go for the palate with a host of modern innovations.
While the battle for change goes on quietly, the metamorphosis of dates into shakes and cakes too has taken a more quiet route to acceptance, albeit not by all.
At the heart of the issue is whether the date should be treated as a fruit with all the tradition surrounding it, or should be treated as a commodity to be used as an economic innovation.
Because of their all-round utility, dates and the date palm have been the pulse of the Arabian Gulf. Not only does the palm provide us with fruit, but is also self-serving in many ways.
In her book “The Date Palm,” Hilda Simon says that the date palm is one of the world’s oldest fruit trees. All through history, honor and respect for the date palm — a symbol of fertility — is shown in sculptures by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Egyptians. The reason for this goes to the essential role it played in the lives of early people by providing food, shade, shelter, rope, building materials and animal feed.
Moreover, dates contain large amounts of carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, minerals, salts and vitamins such as A, B1, B2 and BB which are necessary to build tissues and muscles; they also contain other nutritious elements such as folic acid and fluoride.
In Islam, the date is more than just a fruit; it has a unique status because it is mentioned some 26 times in the Holy Qur’an. One of the references is in the sura entitled Maryam who was the mother of the Prophet Jesus. When she was in labor, she sat under a palm tree and she was told to shake the tree and eat the fallen dates in order to ease her pains.
Nowadays, most Saudi women follow her example both before and during labor. It is believed that dates help in delivery by providing substances that support the uterine muscles at the end of pregnancy and that the fruit also helps in easing constipation after delivery and decreasing bleeding.
Dates are also considered very good and natural nutrition for nursing mothers and their babies. Dates are in fact one of the first things Saudi babies taste after milk.
In Prophet Muhammad’s (pubh) time, palm trees were used as a building material for his home and mosque in Madinah.
Dates were the Prophet’s favorite fruit and for breakfast every day, he ate seven dates. The Holy Qur’an was first written on palm leaves and in the month of Ramadan, Muslims break their fast with a date.
Julia Morton’s book “Fruits of Warm Climates”, attempts to trace the origins of the date palm. Dates were first found in Babel, Iraq, while others believe that they originated in Dareen or Hofuf (Saudi Arabia) or Harqan Island (a part of Bahrain). While these may be matters for debate, most historians believe that the date palm originated in lands around the Arabian Gulf.
From the beginning of recorded history, the date palms were known in all the lands between the Nile and the Euphrates. The tree bears fruit only four or five years after planting and can live for as long as 150 years.
In Saudi Arabia dates are found year-round in every Saudi house. With 13 million trees producing more than 500 thousand tons of dates per year — according to statistics from the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture — the country’s love affair with dates is no surprise. And each region provides dates with a distinctive taste depending on the kind and the season. The most important date-cultivating regions are Madinah, Riyadh, Qasim, and Asir.
In Saudi culture, dates are traditionally served on all occasions — whether happy ones such as weddings, births, Eids or sad ones like funerals. The fruit symbolizes generosity and hospitality and is customarily offered to guests in bunches straight from the tree or sometimes dried. It is always served with Arabic coffee and may be stuffed with almonds or used as a filling for the Arabic pastry, mamoul.
As with many traditional or classic items, dates have seen some changes, alterations and uses. Some of the most recent — and tastiest — are date shakes, date ice cream, date cakes, date jam and chilled, sparkling date juice.
All shops selling dates provide loose dates as fruit or as mamool and kulaijah (traditional pastry filled with dates). There are some, however, who see beyond this traditional way of doing business.
As Yasir Bakur, owner of Talla Dates, explains: “Dates are a national product with a lot of business potential. In this kind of business, in order to stand out, one has to give attention not only to good quality but, most importantly, to create new products and come up with fresh ideas all the time.”
Talla date products include date ice cream, date cheesecake, traditional dukhun cake and date shake.
According to Bakur, unlike other iced drinks and shakes, the Tallashake is sugar-free shakes and is made with low-fat milk. “Tallashake is a popular drink with gym-goers and athletes before exercising; it gives quick energy and carbohydrates,” he added. Talla Dates also features traditional date products — mamool, kulaijah, fateet and over 25 types of loose dates from Madinah and Qasim. Talla has two branches in Jeddah; one is on Sari Street and the other is at Jeddah Mall where Arabic coffee is served.
Hatheem Dates on Um Al-Quraa Street in Jeddah also gives the customer a choice by presenting traditional date products, Arabic coffee, honey and samin (ghee) along with their Belgian-madesparkling date juice. The juice is a mixture of dates, mint and apple juice — and it has a unique taste. Yousef, a salesman for Hatheem Dates, believes it is important to
present dates differently because “The market demands it... People are always looking for something new. And if it is economically viable, why not?” He added, “This way, there is something to please every taste and every age group.”
Another innovator, Bateel, views dates as an elegant expression of Arab hospitality, reflecting the rich Arab tradition. The shops provide a wide selection of traditional and less traditional date products such as jam, sparkling date juice, cookies, date chocolate along with classical date pastries and petitfours. Bateel dates are brought only from Bateel farms in Alghat near Qasim.
With 16 years experience in the local market and recently in the global market, Bateel has 20 branches in the Gulf and also in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Malaysia and India. A UK branch is scheduled to open soon.
Dates in the market are not limited to shops specializing in dates but are found just as often in most patisseries. Patisserie Ganache on Prince Abdullah Street in Jeddah is a good example; along with its typical pastries and cakes, their offerings include date cheesecake, chocolate stuffed with dates and date petitfours.
According to Ganache co-founder Jameelah Islam: “The door of creativity with dates is wide open, and dates are a wonderful product to play with when creating a new product because it is easy to add flavors — such as toffee, caramel, chocolate, coconut and nuts — to dates without losing their original taste. Most importantly, people here love dates and are familiar with the taste, so I do not have to worry about introducing a new taste to the customer.”
Die-hard traditionalists such as Abu Ammar are not convinced that these innovations are an improvement. He feels having dates the traditional way, contributes to bonding between people. “A sip of coffee, a bite of the succulent flesh and a spot of nostalgia — that’s life. You cannot savor that when you chuck down a cake or gulp down a shake” he said, adding: “No one should tamper with dates. What is old should remain a tradition that is respected.”
Most Common Date Types Grown in Saudi Arabia:
