Good to know about dates
Dates can be excellently processed to create new, very diverse raw products: from solid to liquid, from dark to light, from intensely flavored to taste-neutral.
Date syrup is black and has an intense (date) flavor. Our date sweet, on the other hand, is transparent gold and relatively neutral in taste. Our date sweet therefore enables neutral sweetening on the basis of a date raw product.
Advantages of date raw products
- Sweetening food
- Raw material from nature
- Low glycemic index
- Shorter transportation routes
- Sehr gutes Preis-Leistungsverhältnis
- No binding agents and additives
Nowadays, various raw materials are used to sweeten foods. Dates are naturally sweet. This is in stark contrast to many products that have to be processed to produce sweetness.
All sweet raw materials from nature have something in common: they are sweet and provide a lot of energy. Dates are also characterized by the fact that they can be processed in many different ways.
The low glycaemic index of dates is particularly noteworthy, making them ideal for diabetics. In their pure state, dates are among the richest in nutrients in the world.
Ecological footprint: The cultivation areas for dates are not regional. However, the transportation routes are shorter compared to most natural sweet raw materials. At least as important is the type of irrigation: Iranian date palms have been watered with spring water from the mountains for thousands of years. For the most part, these historical irrigation methods are still used. Date palms do not require demanding soils; the main thing is that the roots have support.
Dates are particularly good value for money. The basic price per kg of dates is relatively low due to the areas of origin and infrastructure.
Dates also have a particular competitive advantage over all other sweet raw materials when it comes to further processing: Due to the various optional consistencies (solid to liquid), additional binding agents can be dispensed with when processing end products. Other additives such as colorants (caramel), maltodextrin (processed corn starch), etc. can also be omitted.
Cultivation of dates
The Babylonians began cultivating and refining dates at least 5000 years ago.
Originally from Mesopotamia, dates belong to the palm family and are botanically classified as berries.
Date palms bear their first fruit after five years. They grow up to 30 meters high and only need water and sun. They can live up to 100 years. They are at their most productive between the ages of 20 and 80. They bear about 50 kg of fruit every 2 years.
The main cultivation area is the Afro-Asian dry zone and stretches from Morocco to Pakistan. The main growing countries are Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt.
Sweet and versatile
There are more than 1000 different types of date.
In addition to the fruit, the palm leaves are used as weaving material for containers or ropes and in the past as roofing.
Freshly picked dates contain around 20% fructose. For dried dates, they are usually picked half-ripe and the moisture is removed. This increases the sugar content to 60-70%. In addition to its very high nutrient content, the date is one of the most nutritious fruits on earth.
Nutrition and health
Dates are rich in nutrients, fiber and antioxidants that are important for a healthy diet.
The nutritional properties of dates are impressive. Dates are used in many cultures to stimulate digestion.
Dates have a low glycemic index. They are therefore suitable for diabetics. Dates are also a source of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber aids digestion and is beneficial in regulating blood sugar levels. Dates contain iron, vitamin B and vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and calcium. They are also rich in antioxidants.
