Dates

Date (Phoenix dactylifera) is a sweet edible fruit harvested from the date palm tree belongs to the family of Arecaceae. Date palm originated from Iraq, and nowadays the fruit has been a staple food and source of wealth in North Africa and the Middle East. Date has various appearances depends on the variety, however the common physical condition of date are one seeded fruit (drupe), oblong shaped, have a brown to dark brown or brown-deep red in colour. Dates have a long shelf life, with each dried date containing more than 50% of sugar by weight and 2% each of protein, fat, and mineral matter. Date fruits are usually eaten raw or used in cooking and in the production of syrup, vinegar, and liquor

Manufacturing Process

Dates have three stages of harvest time, depending on the use of the dates later on. Tamar stages is the stage of harvesting to produce dried dates products. This stage consists of: dates have amber to dark brown in colour, moisture content is below to 25% to 10% or even less, with texture are soft pliable, firm, to hard, can be kept for longer periods which make it ideal for longer storage. After harvesting, dates are sorted to remove damage and infested dates and other particles. After that, dates are fumigated and sterilized to prevent pest damage. Then, dates are washed and graded according to size, color, and moisture. Dates are then dried by using drying tunnels or solar drying to prevent the activity of molds and yeasts. Finally, dried dates are packaged in safe containers.

Grade

Dates are divided into three grades:

U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy

Discoloration: 5% max

Size uniformity: 90% min

Damaged dates: 10% max

U.S. Grade B or U.S. Choice

Discoloration: 10% max

Size uniformity: 85% min

Damaged dates: 15 - 20% max

U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard

Discoloration: 20% max

Size uniformity: 80% min

Damaged dates: 20% max

Dried dates are used in human consumption usually as snack foods. Dates could also be used as cooking ingredients for sweet and savory dishes, processed into date paste, syrup or date honey, date sugar, vinegar, and liquor.

Categorization

Dates are categorized as dried fruits.