Good morning, Steemians!
It's no surprise that I love fruit, and I've said many a time that I truly believe fruit to be the most beneficial and ideal food on the planet for human consumption.
Many of you may have heard of dates, a dried fruit that grows on the date palm. Well, up until a few days ago, I never soaked them in water to soften them and hydrate them first. I would just buy them from the store in their container, open it up and pop them in my mouth.
This is the Medjool Date, my favorite variety that I've tasted. It's gooey and sweet.
A couple days I began soaking them, after hearing of the benefits.
Dates have a very low water content compared to other fruits due to the fact that they are indeed a dried fruit. If eaten dry, you may experience stomach aches and your teeth may suffer. Also, the taste is truly better when soaked for 10-20 minutes in warm water.
I bought these from the Indian grocery store
Soaking your dates basically just hydrates them from their dried state.
Dates are a very good store of calories and a great thing to eat if you are on the go or don't want to prepare a cooked meal. Wikipedia says that though origins of the date palm are unknown due to long cultivation, experts believe dates originated in present-day Iraq.
Since soaking my dates, I haven't gotten stomach aches like I used to from eating dried dates.
There are also many health benefits to eating dates that you might be unaware of as well. I found this article entitled "13 Amazing Benefits of Dates" : https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/health-benefits-of-dates.html
Some of the benefits include relief from constipation, intestinal disorders, heart problems, sexual dysfunctions, diarrhea, anemia, and many other ailments. It can even help people struggling to gain weight do just that because of their high calorie content.
Date Palm and its fruit
"They are rich in several vitamins, minerals and fiber too. These delicious fruits contain oil, calcium, sulfur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium which are all beneficial for health. Some health specialists have said that eating one day per day is necessary for a balanced and healthy diet." (citation from above source)
So, do you guys enjoy dates as much as I do? I haven't been eating them as much recently, but when I went to the Indian market the other day, (https://steemit.com/vegan/@vegansilverstack/indian-grocery-store-haul-vegan) I picked some up.
I also will see the difference after soaking them in water.
@ vegansilverstack....tasted my first date from a package sent by my moms friend Judith from the Netherlands....it tastes so good that i am longing to have it again
Yeah you are right as dried dates may contain upto 70 to 90% sugar. 😱
But when you soak them, don't you drain their sweetness to the water? or you drink that water too in some tea or otherwise? 😇
Fortunately, I've never experienced stomach aches due to eating dates 🙂. In our home, it's customary to wash the dates first to clean them off of any dirt particles and then we dry them overnight under the fan before shifting them to some container. It feels good to consume them this way. 🙂🙂🙂
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I don't think you wash sugar away, at least I hope not. :)
I love dates.Thanks
Me too!
I only just found out about soaking dates too for a raw desert. Soaked dates and walnuts make for the best crust for a raw vegan banana pudding pie! Also raw vegan brownies...mmm. I need to stop thinking about food now...haha.
Hehe! Sounds good minus walnuts, I would die!
Oh no! Are you allergic to all nuts? Maybe there's a good replacement?
Yes, I am! Ehhh I don't really need to replace them, but I have eaten soy nuts and sunflower seeds in the past :D
Right on. Yeah I bet you could do an epic pie crust with sunflower seeds and dates!
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Oo, I think I'm gonna buy some dates today .. I love really good ones, like from farmers markets or local farmstands... packaged dates I usually don't like enough to eat by themselves but I like them for smoothies
You should blend them first cause they take longer to breakdown.. and then you have like a frothy datemilk smoothie base
Maybe packaged dates will taste better to me if I hydrate them first, I'll see what trader joe has today
I love dates but I'm not convinced they are better after soaking. Do they go a bit mushy? Maybe I should try one and see.
Now I'm craving dates! I get them at costco and theyre not dried so I don't feel I need to soak them.
Ohhh very nice!
Great post! I love Dates!