Oh Nuts Blog

According to Wikipedia the use of Medjool Dates for food is as follows. Dry or soft dates are usually eaten out-of-hand, or can be pitted and stuffed with fillings such as almonds, walnuts, Pecans or cream cheese. Pitted dates are also sometimes referred to as stoned dates. The Fancy Medjool Dates can also be chopped and used in a large range of sweet dishes, from tajines (tagines) in Morocco to puddings, ka'ak (types of Arab breads and cakes) and other dessert items. Dates are also processed into paste, spread, and cubes, date syrup or "honey" called "dibs", powder (date sugar), vinegar or alcohol. Recent innovations include chocolate-covered dates and products such as sparkling date juice are used in some Islamic countries as a non-alcoholic version of champagne, It’s used for special occasions and religious times such as Ramadan.

Dates fruits can also be dehydrated known as dried fruits, ground and mixed with grain to form a nutritious stock feed. Dried dates are fed to camels, horses and dogs in the Sahara. In northern Nigeria, dates and peppers added to the native beer are believed to make it less intoxicating.

Young date leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable, as is the terminal bud or heart, though its removal kills the palm. The finely ground seeds are mixed with flour to make bread in times of scarcity. The flowers of the date palm are also edible. Traditionally the female flowers are the most available for sale and weigh 300-400 grams. The flower buds are used in salad or ground with dried fish to make a condiment for bread