Raw Food Alchemy by Amie Sue
Date Paste is a wonderful natural sweetener and alternative to regular table sugar and even agave due to its fiber content and other nutritional values. Date paste is an alluring sweetener with all the qualities of sugar without any loss of flavor and other sensory characteristics. Did you know that a date fruit has 25% more potassium than bananas while being free of fats, sodium, and cholesterol? You can use date paste as a sweetener in raw cookies, smoothies, as a spread, etc. When a recipe calls for dates it can be a good idea to get in the habit of making date paste. Dates come in various sizes which don’t give you accurate measuring but once you process your dates into a paste, you can then be sure you have exact measurements. If you plan on using date paste as a substitute for Agave you will need to use about 50% extra compared to agave nectar.
I have always made date paste with just water and dates but I saw a video by James Russell who also adds in a squeeze of lemon to help preserve the freshness. Good idea! Making a batch and keeping in the fridge makes it really convenient when needing a sweetener on the stop. It will keep for 2-4 weeks in the fridge. Be sure to date your container as to when you made it so you know the approx. expiration date. I use masking take and a black Sharpie.
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Hi Amie Sue!
Love this site…once I am ready to I will be trying your recipes. I do have a question concerning this particular recipe: how many dates are used in the ingredients?
Hugs :)
Hello Marla! So wonderful to hear from you! 1 cup of dates….I am sorry that I had forgotten the main ingredient for this post. haha I appreciate that you pointed that out and have since made the correction. I love hearing from you! hugs :)
Thanks for the dates cleaning tip. Better apart of nature than apart of my dish :)
Great way of putting it JoyAnn, lol
[...] 1/4 cup date paste [...]
so if using date paste instead of a dates in a recipe, how much date paste would equal one date?
Good question but I don’t have the exact answer to that. Dates come in different varieties and sizes. amie sue
Does it matter what sort of dates? What’s so special about Medjool dates? I can get fresh ones at my local supermarket rather than in a packet – what do you think? Or should I use Xylitol/substitute instead? I love your site – thanks for your efforts – you are wonderful xxx
Verity,
You can use different dates. They all lend a different flavor profile. Some are softer than others as well. If you choose to use a drier date, I would rehydrate them in hot water for about 15-30 minutes. I am not sure what dates you can get in your area, but google the variety that you can get to get an idea how it will taste. Have a great day, amie sue
Hi -
I found this website when googling date paste recipes. Could you email back with your favorite ideas for using date paste in recipes? Like where do you use it and if you substitute in recipes, how is that done?
I have a quart jar of date paste in my fridge waiting for some recipes to go with it. let me know!
Paula in Omaha, NE
Hi Paula,
I use date paste in many of my recipes. You can check out some of the bread recipes which are always my favorite. You can use it in most recipes but it will always depend on the role that it is playing. Is it just for sweetening or are you replacing something like dried fruit which is used often to bind ingredients together. It’s to hard to give a definite answer as to how you can substitute it straight across the board. The neat thing about date paste is that you can thin it and make a syrup out of it to put on ice creams, cakes, pancakes (raw or cooked), etc. It is great in smoothies as well. Or as a spread on breads or crackers. LOVE the stuff!! Have a great evening, amie sue
Hi beautiful site: I have two questions: 1. I’ve seen other recipes for date syrup that require cooking the dates down and just using the liquid and then thickening the liquid. Do you know if a recipe calls for 1 cup of date syrup would your recipe work for just thinking the date paste or do you think the recipe is expecting a more concentrated date syrup? 2. How much date paste is equivalent to a cup of sugar, is it a one to one comparison for baking purposes? Thank you!
Thank you Helane…
I really don’t know the answers to your questions Helane. I don’t do much “baking” so I am not sure how the ingredient responds along with other ingredients. It would also depend on what is being made, what the consistency is suppose to be and what the level of sweetness is suppose to be. Sorry that I can’t help much here. amie sue
I keep making batches of date paste, and keeping it in a glass jar. It always develops a very alcohol-y, fermented smell in less than 2 weeks, so I throw it away and start over. Am I doing something wrong?
I am not sure what or if you are doing anything wrong. But if I were you, only make what you need or know that you will eat within a shorter time period so you don’t keep wasting it. amie sue