The date palm tree and its fruits
(Fronting St. Joseph Church. Taken during my first week in UAE)
That night I was fetched from Abu Dhabi airport, one of the things that caught my attention were the date palm trees. These seemed like parading and accessorizing a grand entrance in the streets. “At least it is not all sand here as I expected”, I bravely did kid the driver. I think I was subconsciously engrossed with these trees, evidenced by the number of photos I took at different occasions since the day I laid eyes on them.
At the heart of Elektra Street in June 2008, that was the first time I saw its fruits covered by green nets, just like the way that some of the mangoes are covered in the Philippines. “Those are Arabian dates”, a colleague confirmed.
Date palm trees are said to have originated from Saudi Arabia and were planted to other countries upon discovering that these are nutritious and generally charming as a crop. In Arabic countries though, their dependence and consumption of it has rooted religiously.
The fruits are seasonal. That explains the preserved types being sold in the market. With regard to the quality of harvests, it is a common knowledge to the locals that the poor ones are being fed to the donkeys and/or other animals. This make me more conscious of the pricing now.
Last December, I bought several packs of premium dates covered by Swiss chocolates. Most of which were part of my pasalubong. I liked it, the ones covered by praline in particular. Admittedly, I have never tasted any fresh dates yet. I thought it is more manageable to try the coated or flavored ones (with durian fruit on my mind). But after a few research, I learned that the juicier the date fruit is, the better. Especially that in its fresh form it contains zero fat and cholesterol.
There are at least 300 types of commercialized dates. I do not mind exploring food. But let us see how I would fare with this fruit.
(Arabian dates sold in Lulu Hypermarket)
In a house without dates, the inhabitants are hungry. – Prophet Mohammed.
That explains why dates are a regular on the desk of the locals. They told me that they can survive the day without taking any complete meal as long as they have these. And in ancient times, the keeping of a sound body was attributable to these fruits. I think this is one important bit of their culture that will always be preserved through time. The same way that our balut, lambanog and kakanins will always be appealing to (most) of the Filipinos’ taste buds.
Have you tasted an Arabian date?
I just woke up and my first thought when I read your title was dating rather than food preserves. He he.
Yes, I have! You should try eating the plain, fresh ones. It’s quite good with no weird taste or smell… no “durian effect”.
With commercialized dates, I prefer the ones stuffed with nuts. Yum!
this is the first time i’ve seen the fruits of date trees. ganun pala.
i love the plain dates too, but i’d love to try some of the chocolate covered ones as well.
I’m from Saudi and we’re (well, not literally) flooded with dates.
Like Kayni, my personal favorite are those plain dates (brown on the outside, dark on the inside, kinda chewy which I think come from the cold region of Saudi Arabia).
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ay ganyan pala ang fruits nyan anoh? kala ko kung anung dates na hahaha
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i often saw dates on cooking shows on the lifestyle network. i think it looks fun. wish i could taste one though.
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Makapabili nga ng ganyan sa aking uuwing kaibigan… mukhang masarap eh…
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I prefer fresh dates (not the dried ones). Someone once gave us some as pasalubong when they came to KL. We froze them and took them out one at a time to eat. Very nice and not too sweet.
The dried ones are okay and come in different varieties — some dry, some sticky, all sweet. Here’s a tip: take a small bite of a date, chew it slowly, then sip some milk, continue chewing slowly. It’s a great combination!
Dates + chocolates = sugar overload on my tongue. I wouldn’t recommend those.
I love dates! It’s been awhile since I’ve had some! Nakakamiss tuloy ang lasa.
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My Dad loves dates. I remember my dad buying dates frequently when I was young. I’m just not sure if it’s the same kind that you featured here. I would love to try those chocolate covered dates you mentioned. They must be good.
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I have a pack of premium dates in my fridge right now
Since I take my coffee with milk but no sugar, taking a couple of dates with it gives it natural sweetness, ala the Bedouin way 
I love dates man.
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I did! I grew up eating dates. They are actually my mom’s favorite. My dad worked in Saudi for around two years and used to bring home wonderful dates. The dates I get to eat nowadays are the free ones included in my Eggs Ben at Coffee Bean.
I have tried them before but i found them overly sweet but lately when a friend visited us here she brought some with almonds on top, that i liked!
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We should explore possibilities to extend cultivation in Tropical and sub-tropical regions.
This is a marvelous crop and need be patronizes by FAO and World Bank for its expansion in the Globe.
[...] impossible to miss the sight of ripening date fruit in Abu Dhabi nowadays. It’s interesting how nature signals what’s going to happen next. [...]
Heehee. I thought about that first impression, too. I’m about to change the title.