What grows over 75 feet and can survive for a hundred years plus? As you would guess by the title of this blog, the date palm. According to the science of botany, the palm is categorized as a plant in lieu of a tree. In one of this week's episodes, a historian shares with us how this ancient fruit came to thrive in which many refer to the Californian Sahara, better known as the Palm Springs area. The date palm is Considered the oldest cultivated fruit on this earth particularly in the middle east of which evidence indicate that dates go back at least to 4000 B.C. and possibly earlier than that. Dates were introduced into this country at the turn of the 20th century instigated by the US Department of Agriculture and it has had a tremendous influence even in Hollywood in the 1920s. Rudolf Valentino was featured in the silent movie (The Sheik) and I am sure you have heard of the movie Cleopatra.
Even presently, every February the Coachella Valley enjoys an Arabian festival with an array of Arabian knight costumes with camels and ostrich races, it is a sight to behold. To produce this ancient fruit, the work is intense because the pollination has to be done by hand and the cultivation is a 365 day endeavor. Interestingly, my guest was saying that there is one male palm that services about 49 females’ palms referred as harem. Is that cute or what? The date has a distinct color from brilliant red to yellow, to deep purple. Dates are very sweet to the palate and have a high level of nutritional value. Such as carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, iron, proteins, minerals including vitamin B complex, magnesium and potassium. In fact, my guest said that you could survive on this for months, and my research on her statement revealed that the Bedouin, desert dwellers, live on this fruit and camel milk for months. If it is the same to you, I would prefer the cinnamon tea that is also a common beverage in the middle eastern region. Incidentally, the palm is associated with an oasis which made it a welcoming site for desert dwellers. Although in this country we are most familiar with deglet noor and the medjool , culinary experts will tell you there are hundreds of other varieties grown, however, the Palm Springs or the Coachella Valley produces 90% of this country's fruit. The point is, pharmacological studies have shown that this culinary delight contains tremendous nourishing health benefits such as phytochemicals that may mitigate cholesterol and lower the risk of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. This ancient fruit has a biblical history, in the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures, dates are mentioned as “d’vash” which translates to honey. And many scholars have concluded that the honey is actually date honey, or date syrup instead rather than traditional honeybee production. Additionally, in the bible dates are mentioned indirectly in the book of Song of Salomon, when the Shulamite maiden describes the dark locks of her lover’s hair as being like date clusters resembling the date's plume of long feathery fronds not to mention the Shulammite maiden’s moral uprightness, her appearance or pulchritude was described by the clusters of the palm. And no doubt because of the palm's upright and uniform height with its fern-like leaves, girls at that time were delighted to receive the name Tamar which refers to the (palm). This would also explain the carvings and designs of the palm's majestic beauty and fruitage found in the interior walls and doors of Salomon's temple. 1Ki. 6:29, 32, 35. Did you know Jericho means (the city of the palms)? Obviously, this ancient fruit was often mention in scripture and to mention one more reference, in the last book, Revelation, a great crowd are depicted as holding palm branches in their hand meaning salvation and it is very telling of the date palm. Re. 7: 9,10. Having said the forgoing, I think it warrants a personal culinary experience. I understand that some who intermittently fast for 16 hours, which includes nighttime sleep have four or five dates before and after fasting since it does not leave the body without any needed nourishment during fasting and it tends to curtail hunger. Like myself, I always thought it would be too sweet or too much sugar for the system, but I was wrong. The sugars in dates are fructose, a plant based sugar energizing the weakened body, and not glucose which is simple sugar and a component of carbohydrate of which is not as healthy. In my research I also discovered that the medicinal and nutritional value of dates should not be overlooked or ignored. For example, Dates contain the love hormone, Oxytocin. And did you know it is used in modern medicine to ease the giving of birth and it promotes the secretion of mother’s milk? This probably explains the historical record of 1400 years ago in an Islamic document, an Islamic woman, Maryam, was encouraged to eat dates during her pregnancy. And not only mothers but the baby will also benefit greatly from the date by allowing the infant to suck a date during teething. Doing this hardens the baby's gums and prevents diarrhea as well as restlessness. Studies have indicated Dates also strengthen tooth enamel thus building strong healthy teeth. In fact, I learned that besides mothers milk, the date fruit is one of the first things Saudi babies taste as a culinary delight after mom's milk. So, you may ask, how can I incorporate date fruit in my diet? I googled this question and found a plethora of recipes for your kitchen table. From all kinds of smoothies, milk shakes, chopped dates in salads, and as a breakfast enchantment of oatmeal and this chewy caramel flavor thus avoiding the too sweet simple sugar. dates can be easily incorporated in a sustainable diet, since they are high in fiber and you will be kept feeling full and not ravenously crazy. I must say, date sugar is healthier than processed white cane sugar, It lower than honey, coconut palm sugar, and many other sugary alternatives out there for it contains the highest antioxidant sweetener we can use. In conclusion, life is sweet!
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