Delicious Dates, for New Year's Eve and everyday, in the UK, Iran and Israel

Iranian dates, brand name Sofra. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
What's sweet to finish a meal but also healthy?

Answer
Dates.

Story
At Christmas time in England we always used to buy the elongated oval straight sided trays of dates with a date picking fork-ended pole in the middle. I think they came from Morocco.  They were tight as sardines and dried out.

We didn't mind that they were dried. That meant they stuck to your teeth less. They were just right for filling with an almond and rolling in coconut for a special treat on a special occasion such as a party. I  remember preparing for a New Year's Eve party, checking that each day was empty of its stone and filling it with an almond, rolling it, placing it on a fancy white or silver lacey doily to make the plate look festive.

Later, as a student, I took a clockwise trip around the Eastern end of the Mediterranean, to visit thee countries, Greece, Turkey and Israel.

It was in Israel that I discovered fresh dates. We took a hike to Ein Gedi. E i n (pronounced ay in, and also written on maps of Israel and other countries in the area as Ayin, in Hebrew and other related languages.  Hebrew and Arabic are related to Aramaic.

Our tourist group got out of our single-decker tourist coach. (For my American readers, in the UK we speak of long-distance coaches. A double decker bus in the town or the city does a short circuit or yo yo route between bus stops.

We trotted off along an unpaved path through the date palms following the increasingly distant guide.  It was hot and tiring and I was hungry and thirsty. I looked down and dates were scattered along the path.

I ignored them. I wanted to keep up with the group. They were not mine but belonged to the owner of the trees. They were dirty. I could not eat one until I washed it. The dirty date from the ground would also make my hands dirty. I would need to wash my hands before and after eating. I had no water. They were probably crawling with insects.

Eventually the idea of eating a date, the curiosity to check if one really was an edible date, the push of curiosity, overtook any other idea which was a brake on action. I took a tissue out of my pocket, bent down and wrapped up a discarded date, a misshapen windfall, which I was sure would not be good enough for salvaging by the tree's owner.

When we reached the warm yet cooling water we were able to put out hands, and some people feet, into the refreshing water. I washed off the date, removed the stone, and cautiously ate it.

The sun had warmed it. It was soft. It was sweet. It was as different from a dried Xmas box date as the number ten is different from the number one. It was huge, soft, suckable. It settled into your teeth so you could continue sucking it off and smacking your lips long after the last morsel had been swallowed.

I can't say that any commercially packed date has ever reached the nirvana of that date I ate and still remember from years ago. But I do look at larger, softer dates and lick my lips.

These dates were brought several weeks running to the Toastmasters International Speakers' club meeting in Harrow. They were supplied by our Sealant at Arms, who sets up the room, also responsible for securing food and drink for the interval in the middle of the speech rehearsal evening. They cost about £1.99. He bought them from a Turkish shop near Debenhams department store in station road, in Harrow. I looked on Google and could not find the shop. I shall have to ask him for the name and address.

I found that keeping dates in the fridge made them dry and hard. Leaving them out makes them softer and sweeter.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts on food and what to see and buy in Harrow, plus trips worldwide. Please share links to your favourite posts.