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Medjool Dates – “King of Dates”

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Today I want to share about the famous large, soft, moist, Medjool date/palm tree. I use the word ‘famous’ because Medjool dates are one of the top fruits used in the raw culinary world for their health benefits, natural sweetness, and binding qualities in recipes. Did you know that Medjool dates are FRESH FRUIT? Most people think of dates as dried fruit, but when they are harvested from the date palm, they are cleaned, sorted, and packaged right away. There’s no processing, and they’re never physically or chemically dried. So where do they originate? How do they grow? Let’s find out!

(photo courtesy of Naked Dates)

These trees can live to the age of roughly 200 years, and they eventually reach heights of over 80 feet tall. Mature female date palms yield anywhere from 100 to 250 pounds of dates per palm each year. The Medjool date is most well known for its unusually large size  (it can grow to about three inches long) and its delicious flavor. Even though it is classified as a soft date, the Medjool date is firmer and more resilient than most other soft dates, making it an excellent choice for commercial production.

Labor Intensive!

After reading through this post, I hope you have a greater appreciation for every date you use and enjoy!

date-palm-flowers

Hababuk (pollination) Stage

There are male date palms and female date palms. The female palms are the only ones that produce fruit. The male date palm has flowers that produce the pollen, and the female date palm has flowers which will become dates if they are pollinated. To transfer the pollen from the male to the female tree it is crucial for them to be near one another, plus we need the help of either the bees, insects and/or the wind. BUT often, this still isn’t enough, and the dates are pollinated by hand. One male palm can pollinate 48 to 50 female trees.

kimri,,-green-medjool-date-ripening-stage

Kimri Stage

khalal,-yellow-medjool-date-ripening-stage

Khalal Stage

bagging-medjool-dates-during-ripening-stages

Rhutab Stage

maturing-date-palm-trees

Tamar Stage

Harvest Time

I hope you had fun and learned something new as you read through this post. I thoroughly enjoy researching where our foods come from and how they end up on our plate. Many blessings, amie sue

Raw Food Diet

4 thoughts on “Medjool Dates – “King of Dates”

  1. Andrea Mc Namara says:

    I really enjoyed reading that Amie Sue! Very informative, and love the photos!

    Thank you,
    Andrea

  2. Idapie says:

    I’m diggin this!
    Do you know if the organic date industry varies heaps from the conventional? Does it make a big difference I’m wondering… here in Norway organic dates costs maybe 10x (if not more) what conventional does so I’m torn!!!

    Lots of love,
    Ida

    • amie-sue says:

      Good day, Idapie,

      Like any commercially grown food, I am sure the conventionally grown dates are sprayed with chemicals to control fungus, bugs, etc. I don’t know 100% though. I have put an email into Naked Dates to see if they help shed some light on it because after researching online, I found many different answers. But until we can further clarification my advice is to do the best that you can Idapie. blessings, amie sue

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