Date

Phoenix dactylifera

fruit

A fleshy, very sweet fruit around a 2 cm stone, from the date palm — a plant, not a tree — that dominates the oases of the Sahara; it is propagated by offshoots, clones, to keep its varieties. It provides fibre and potassium.

Origin

Mesopotamia and Indus valley

Season (United States)

all year round · grows in your region

Preparation

Eaten raw, as it is: it is split open and the stone, which is not eaten, removed; the skin is eaten. Pitted, it can be stuffed or blended to sweeten a cake.

Molecules

Potassium · Insoluble fibersIn small amounts, not counted Vitamin B6 · Plant iron · Magnesium · Tryptophan · Vitamin B3 (niacin) · Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)

Did you know?

Its cultivation is attested in Arabia from the 6th millennium BCE; and a palm is male or female: only half of seed-grown plants bear dates, hence hand pollination.