LET'S TALK DATES!
The edible kind, not the romantic one ;-)
Do you know the oldest known cultivated fruit?
Well, if you guessed dates, you would be correct.
Dates were first found to have been grown in ancient Mesopotamia over 4000 years ago and they've even, through archaeological activations, found date seeds that were over 2000 years old.
When they found the seeds, they planted them in Israel and the seeds grew, making it the oldest known seed to germinate.
Dates are now native to the Middle East and North Africa and also grow here in the US in Southern California, where they love the heat.
In order for them to grow optimally, they need over 100 days of over 100° temperatures to grow at their best and have the best crop yields of fruit.
Date trees are very tall trees, like palm trees, that's called a date palm and they grow over 100 feet tall and can have over 300 lbs of fruit in one crop year.
But when I first discovered dates, I was amazed at how tasty they are. They have such a nice, sweet flavor, and they're also nutritious.
Dates are a great source of fiber, which is very good for your digestive health, and they are also a good source of potassium.
Potassium is really good for regulating your blood pressure. They are also a good source of magnesium, which is good for your heart health and helps with your sleep as well.
So let's look at a couple different varieties of dates.
First up is the Medjool Date. They are super tasty and they just have a very nice, chewy flavor and texture.
Next is the Halawi Date. It's a little bit more yellow and has a flavor like caramel or honey. It's very sweet and just super good.
And the last date we're going to look at here is the Deglet Noor Date. It is super good for baked goods.
We have a Cashew Date Delight Granola that we carry at Country Life and we use a date paste from Deglet Noor Dates that is a super good sweetener.
So these are some different varieties of dates that we carry here at Country Life Natural Foods.
We carry dates in all different kinds of sizes, from pouch sizes to larger sizes.
They are a super healthy and good snack, so feel free to try out some dates yourself!
YOU CAN BUY A VARIETY OF DATES AND DATE PRODUCTS HERE!
READ MORE: Are dates a good sugar alternative?
