History of Dates
THE PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA, OR DATE PALM, INCLUDES MORE THAN FIFTY CULTIVARS AND HAS BEEN A FIXTURE IN THE AGRICULTURAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT AND MODERN CIVILIZATIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD. FOSSIL DATING HAS SHOWN THAT THE DATE PALM HAS EXISTED FOR AT LEAST 50 MILLION YEARS AND LIKELY ORIGINATED IN PRESENT-DAY IRAQ.
THE DATE FRUIT IS MENTIONED OVER 50 TIMES IN THE BIBLE AND REMAINS THE TRADITIONAL WAY TO BREAK THE RAMADAN FAST FOR MUSLIMS. SEVERAL UNIQUE QUALITIES OF THE DATE PALM MADE IT AN IMPORTANT PART OF SEVERAL MIDDLE EASTERN ECONOMIES, FROM CROSS-CONTINENTAL TRADE TO NOMADIC MIGRATIONS. THE HIGH SUGAR CONTENT OF THE FRUIT MAKES IT LESS SUSCEPTIBLE TO GERM GROWTH AND ACTS AS A NATURAL PRESERVATIVE AND STABILIZER, WHILE THE SUNDRIED FRUIT CAN BE KEPT FOR YEARS WITHOUT GOING BAD; NOMADS COULD SURVIVE LONG TREKS IN THE DESERT WITH A SUPPLY OF DATES. PALM OIL, SAP, AND HEARTS WERE ALL USED TO COOK WITH AND THE FRONDS AND WOOD USED AS BUILDING MATERIALS. EVEN THE PITS OF THE FRUIT WERE IMPORTANT; WHEN GROUND UP AND MIXED WITH OTHER GRAINS, DATE FLOUR WAS A POPULAR ANIMAL FEEDSTOCK. THE FIRST DATE PALMS WERE BROUGHT TO THE COACHELLA VALLEY IN 1900 BY A US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PROGRAM THAT AIMED TO INTRODUCE FOREIGN CROPS TO SUITABLE REGIONS IN AMERICA. BEFORE LONG, THE DATE PALM BECAME POPULAR NOT ONLY AS A CROP, BUT ALSO AS AN ELEMENT OF THE EXOTIC MIDDLE EAST FROM WHERE THEY CAME. TOWNS LIKE MECCA, THERMAL, AND OASIS TOOK ON ARAB INSPIRED NAMES AND ARCHITECTURAL STYLES, AND THE ARRIVAL IN 1940 OF THE "ARABIAN NIGHTS" THEMED INTERNATIONAL DATE FESTIVAL HELPED FAN THE FLAMES OF FASCINATION. DATES HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN POPULARITY RECENTLY AS THE HEALTH FOOD MOVEMENT GROWS. THE SWEET DATES ARE ONE OF THE BEST NATURAL SUGAR SUBSTITUTES IN THE WORLD, WITH DIFFERENT VARIETIES TAKING ON SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TASTES, FROM MOLASSES TO CARAMEL AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN. |