In the 1920's, several Medjool offshoots were imported to the United States from French Morocco. From these original offshoots, Medjool acreage has grown. Plantings were made in southern California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and several other locations in between. It was discovered that dates grew best - and especially the Medjool - in areas where temperatures were high, humidity very low and an abundant supply of water was available to the roots. This has had the effect of limiting commercial production in the United States to the southwest.
Production of Medjool Dates is also limited in the Middle East. In fact, a portion of the U.S. Medjool crop is exported to several Middle Eastern countries.
The Coachella Valley is well known for its production of high
quality Medjool Dates. Medjool date palms require very high
temperatures and low humidity with abundant supply of water to
the roots from maximum production. Medjool Dates are a soft, tender skinned date, with outstanding flavor. They are plump in appearance and average over two inches
in length, teeming with sweet, natural sugar.
Varieties of Dates...
The following varieties (all now under cultivation in the
Coachella Valley of Southern California) represent the most
common dates on the market.
DEGLET NOOR: A semi-dry date, originally imported from
Algeria, possesses a delicate flavour, and is
firm-textured in appearance, with a colour range
from light red to amber or straw. Makes up 90%
of California's crop.
HALAWY: A soft date, thick flesh, caramelly and sweet, is
somewhat wrinkled in appearance, with a yellow
colour ripening to a light amber and then to a
golden brown. Originally this date was imported
from Iraq.
KHADRAWY: A soft date originally imported from Iraq, it has
many desirable qualities. It cures well, it ripens
to amber, then cured to a reddish brown, with a
caramel like texture and a sweet flavour.
ZAHIDI: A semi-dry date from Iraq, distinguished by its
large seed in proportion to the fruit itself. This
date lends itself well to processing and softening
by steam hydration. This date is known for its
high invert sugar level and is widely used to make
diced dates and date sugar products. It features
a crunchy and fibrous flesh.
THOORY: Often called "Bread Date". Driest date variety,
with firm skin, less sticky; flesh chewiest and is
the staple diet of the Nomadic tribes of the desert
countries of the world.
MEDJOOL: This is the "Cadillac" of dates. The original Medjool date variety was introduced into the Coachella Valley of California from Morocco in 1927. Seaview Ranch has thousands of
Medjool date palms shipping these delightful delicacies all over the world !
Identification of Dates...
Dates can be identified by their characteristic appearance and
texture and fall into three types: SOFT, SEMI-DRY, DRY. This
division is based on the texture or consistency of fruit under
normal conditions of ripening.
SOFT DATES-
Boast a soft flesh, high moisture content and low
sugar content.
SEMI-DRY DATES-
Feature a firm flesh, fairly low moisture
content, and high sugar content.
DRY DATES:
(Known as "Bread Dates") have a high
sugar content, low moisture content and dry, hard flesh.
Medjool Dates...
A soft date from Morocco, it is called the
"Cadillac" of dates, with a thick, meaty flesh, and
a firm texture. As the fruit ripens it turns a dark
brown, nearly black, and becomes tender-skinned,
fibreless, meaty and delicious. It is the largest date grown today.
Because of their high natural
sugar, Medjools will sometimes form a white powder
film on the skin, this is the natural sugars coming
to the surface and does not affect the flavour.
As dates lose moisture, sugar crystals
will form under the skin. If this is undesirable,
you can steam the dates for approximatedly 10 minutes,
or place them on a baking tray, cover with a wet
towel and keep them in a warm oven for about 15
minutes. The sugars will melt back into the dates.