As the sun sets during the Holy Moon RamadanMany Muslims quickly break the sweet, brown dried fruits that have been appreciated in the Middle East for centuries.
During 29 or 30 days Ramadan, observation and capable Muslims, refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations from dawn to dusk, wanting to deepen their Taqwa or awareness of God.
Fast with dates and water is rooted in religious teachings of the prophet Muhammad and is especially mentioned in the Qur’an for its nutritional value.
What are different varieties of date?
Dates, fresh or dried, contain important vitamins, minerals and fibers. They are also high in antioxidants.
Given their high level of fructose, natural sugar found in fruit, dates are a great source of energy, especially after a long day.
There are many different varieties of date, with different tastes and textures:
Medjool: Known for its great size, sweet taste, amber color and wealth of taste.
Mabrom: Less sweet than other types of date with elongated shape, reddish-brown shades and chewing.
Ajwa: With a soft, fleshy, almost juicy feeling and very sweet taste, Muslims are most appreciated by AJWA dates because they were grown in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Deglet Noor: Medium, lighter colors and ideal for cooking and baking.
Piara: Darker skin, rich taste, somewhat dry and known for its unique taste.
Interesting facts about dates
Dates are grown for thousands of years. Date palm trees can be male or female, and only female plants produce fruits.
The palm tree can live more than 100 years if it is well maintained, and the mature palm tree can produce more than £ 100 (£ 220) date per harvest season – about 10,000 dates.
Ajwa’s date is the most expensive in the world.
Superior date manufacturers
2022. According to Trigge, The database of food and agriculture data, about 10 million tons of date has been produced worldwide.
Distance Dalms governed in land with long, hot summers like those in the Middle East and neighboring regions.
Egypt is the world’s best date manufacturer, it produces almost 18 percent of the world’s dates, Tridge states.
Saudi Arabia is closely followed by about 17 percent of global yield, and Algeria has rounded up the first three to 13 percent.
Infography below shows where most of the world’s dates come from:
Call to the boycott of Israeli dates
Israel is one of the world’s largest date exporters, which sells Medjool dates worth $ 330 million abroad in 2022, according to Tridge. During Israel’s war against Gaza, who killed more than 61.000 People, according to the Gaza State Office, have called several groups to boycott products related to Israel.
One such group is a boycott, deviation, movement sanction (BDS), the initiative under the leadership of Palestine, which seeks to challenge international support to what it calls Israeli Apartheid and the colonialism of settlers. BDS urged consumers to always check the stickers and do not buy dates produced or packed in Israel or its settlements on the occupied west coast, which are illegal according to international law.
Recommend avoiding the following brands:
- Hadiklaim and his brands: King Solomon, Jordan River and Jordan River Bio-Top
- Mehadrin
- Mtex
- Ed
- Carmel Recledxco
- Arava
