What fruit juice contains up to 80% sugar?

The national emblem of Saudi Arabia looks like this👇

The official version is all green｜Wikimedia Commons

In the rest of today’s content, let’s talk specifically about this sweet crop.

Date palm is also known as palm date, Persian date, Iraqi candied date. It is also named "Wuleoz" in Compendium of Materia Medica. The title of "Iraqi candied date" may be a sweet memory for some people. In the 1960s, when natural disasters and supplies were in short supply, Iraqi candied dates were "high-end food" that could be purchased without tickets. They cost 30 cents per pound and were packed in wooden boxes. After long-distance transportation, they all stuck together and were shoveled into bags for weighing. Pick up one and put it in your mouth. Between the sticky and sandy fibers, there is pure, fresh, and thorough sweetness.

A date variety called Deglet Noor; the candied dates we usually see are usually made from red dates｜Wikimedia Commons

There are many different opinions on why there are so many mysterious "Iraqi dates". Some say it is an internationalist act of the country to support the new Iraqi regime, while some economists believe it is to withdraw currency from the market and prevent inflation. However , after the 1970s, dates completely disappeared from the market , and now they are basically only sold in foreign supermarkets.

Date palm trees in the park

So, what exactly are date palms?

You may have only heard of the name of date palm or date palm but have never tasted it in person, but you have most likely seen its tree. This tall tree with branches and leaves radiating from the trunk like an iron tree is mistaken by many people as a palm tree. Many parks and communities are decorated with this tall, elegant and exotic tree . Some of the trees are quite old and were probably introduced at the same time as the "Iraqi dates".

You may have seen date palms as greening trees｜Wikimedia Commons

But don’t rush to pick dates in the park—the tree is dioecious, so there’s a good chance that there’s a single person in the park, or two of the same sex…

Male flowers of a date palm variety | Wikimedia Common

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is indeed a species of palm, belonging to the genus Eryngium. The Latin name of the genus Phoenix means phoenix, probably because its feathery branches and leaves are like the tail of the legendary phoenix.

The specific epithet of date palm, dactylifera, comes from the ancient Greek word for "finger" because the fruit is slightly oval in shape and about the same size as a thumb; the English name of date palm, Date, also comes from this Latin root, the same as the word "date" (but the two etymologies are very different).

Fresh Date Fruits｜upcscavenger.com

How the ultimate sweetness was born

The dates growing on the trees grow in clusters, and a tree can produce hundreds of kilograms of fresh fruit, which is very spectacular. In the hot and dry environment of the Middle East, the dates hanging on the trees can be dried by themselves to become dried dates . Fresh dates have different colors depending on the cultivated species. I once bought fresh dates that were as yellow as apricots, strung on twigs. If they were not ripe, they would be a little astringent, and the fibers were not very edible, but you could already taste the sweetness of honey with a little fragrance like rock sugar. The dried dates, on the other hand, change from full to deep, and the flesh becomes sticky and sandy. Without any additives, they can have the sweetness of candied fruit , and your hands will be full of sugar after eating.

It is not surprising. The sugar content of date palm juice can reach 70-80% , while the sweetest Turpan grapes are only 30%. Date palms have completely surpassed the definition of "fruit".

Dates gradually drying｜telegraph.co.uk

As for what this extreme sweetness is like, some people like it, while others cannot accept it . In the book Zhifang Waiji written by the Ming Dynasty missionary Giulios Aleni, it is described as follows: "There is a tree like an oak chestnut. When dew falls on it at night, it condenses into honey. When eaten in the morning, it is extremely sweet." This sounds good, but Ma Huan of the Ming Dynasty said in Yingya Shenglan that "there are three kinds of Wannian jujubes. One is called Duoshabu in foreign language. Each one is as big as a thumb finger, with a small core and frosted like sugar. It is very sweet and hard to eat."

Various types of dates｜journeyaroundtheglobe.com

Of course, it is also possible that different people ate different varieties of dates at different times. In Arabia, North Africa and other places, after a long history of selection and breeding, there are dozens of cultivated varieties of dates . However, different types of fruits are generally divided into two categories - soft and hard . Soft dates have a high water content and less fiber. They can be eaten fresh or naturally dried and pressed into dried fruits; the hard ones are called "bread dates" or "camel dates". As the name suggests, they are hard goods, extremely sweet, and very suitable for storage. Eating one will keep you going for a long time, but the taste is so-so.

Date palm variety Zahidi｜all-creatures.org

Sweet Secret

Dates are more representative of the word "sweet" than any other natural fruit. But what is the secret of sweetness? It is definitely not as simple as whether it tastes good or not.

The origin of date palms is in today's Mesopotamian Basin. They were introduced to the Middle East and North Africa thousands of years ago. In 6000 BC, there were records of date palms being grown in the Arabian region, and they are considered one of the four earliest domesticated fruit trees . The Indus River region (now Pakistan) has a similarly long history of date palm cultivation. This dinosaur-level plant , which has existed on Earth for nearly 50 million years, has been a sweet spring since it was discovered by humans.

Seven special products of Israel recorded in the Hebrew Bible: wheat, barley, dates, grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives | Wikimedia Commons

It's all because of sweetness. Humans' obsession with sweetness is not without reason - carbohydrates are one of the main sources of energy. No matter how they are decomposed, they will turn into glucose and participate in energy exchange. Dates are a food with extremely high sugar content. An old date tree can even produce two or three hundred kilograms of heavy fruits , which can be dried naturally without worrying about spoilage . The high sugar content is naturally antibacterial . Dates are simply a tall and beautiful granary. Moreover, dates are full of treasures, from fruits to trunks, and are said to have 800 different uses.

In India, species of the same genus are also used to provide syrup | Wikimedia Commons

Therefore, the history of the entire Middle East and the Arab world is also connected with date palms . The Code of Hammurabi in ancient Babylon stipulated that anyone who cut down a date palm tree would be severely punished; the Quran discusses date palms a lot. The "Tree of Life" in the Garden of Eden was a date palm. Jesus was not born next to a manger but under a date palm tree. Before giving birth to Jesus, Mary shook the date palm tree and ate some fruit to supplement her nutrition according to the will of God (Allah). The Islamic version of the story of Noah's Ark also tells this: After the great flood, Noah's descendants came to today's Medina (the holy city of Islam) and planted the first date palm tree here. (Islam and Christianity are religions of the same origin. Islam did not separate from Christianity until after 610 AD, so the biblical stories that have been circulated have the same parts, but there are differences in some details.)

Therefore, all of this is the secret of sweetness - sweet dates have become an important source of calories in the region , and even considered a staple food, with a very high status. In the Muslim tradition, fasting is done during the day during Ramadan, and the first priority after the sun sets is to grab a few dates to fill the stomach, which is actually very similar to eating chocolate. In addition, Arabs frequently trade between Europe and Asia, and dates, which are easy to air-dry, not easy to deteriorate, and easy to carry, have become ideal dry food. Wherever the camel caravans in the desert go, there are traces of dates, and the date palm trees standing in the oasis are undoubtedly a symbol of life and energy.

Can the Tree of Life really give life?

Although in various records, dates are praised as a cure for all diseases, and pregnant women eat dates to help them give birth smoothly and men eat dates to improve their sexual performance; in fact, apart from some common nutrients, dates do not have any so-called therapeutic effects . However, in the past when people were hungry, many diseases were caused by weakness, and eating dates, which are rich in energy, can restore health, which makes sense.

Saudi Arabia's "Date City" | Wikimedia Commons

In addition to eating sweets to fill your stomach, in Arab tradition, sweet things, especially sugar, have a more important meaning. Before the British planted sugarcane all over the colonial plantations, sugar was a rare commodity. In its heyday, the Arab Empire acquired sugar-making technology from the South Asian subcontinent and the Persians, and monopolized the sugar trade route.

"Arabs carry sugar wherever they go, both the product itself and the techniques used to make it," Sidney Mintz wrote in Sweetness and Power. "People say that wherever the Koran goes, sugar goes." Sugar became a tool to show off national power. A caliph once wanted to build a mosque with almond fudge. In an era when Europeans could not afford sugar and regarded it as a rare commodity, Arabs carrying a bag of sugar in one hand and dates in the other were probably something that people envied.

Major date palm producing countries in 2012 | Wikimedia Commons

Sweetness is deeply ingrained in the Arab diet. Real Arab sweets are even sweeter than American brownies, almost choking. As for dates, they are also made into various sweets , such as taking out the kernels (the kernels and flesh of dates are separated more thoroughly and are easy to process), stuffing them with nuts or even sweeter almond candies, or mixing them with syrup to make desserts, or garnishing them on Arabic bread Ka'ak. Because of the overly sweet diet, Arab countries generally have a serious obesity problem , even more than the United States, which is famous for junk food. This is also a problem.

Date shop in Kuwait | Wikimedia Commons

From the sweetness in our memories to the sugar that sustains civilization, dates can tell a lot of stories. Even in today's materially abundant world, we who pursue health no longer favor dates that have more than 400 calories per 100 grams, but the secret of the sweetness of dates still exists. Occasionally, put a pinch of one in your mouth, this natural and unprocessed dessert can still bring us happiness.

But don’t eat too much—the author bought some fresh dates to write this article to get a feel for it, but after eating a bunch, I missed dinner because they were so sweet…

Author: Li Zi

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

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