There are so many date companies to choose from, but I tend towards those that I have a deep familiarity with and can really understand where they come from, particularly knowing the growers and owners, if and when I can. Others I’ve taste-tested and because I can more easily verify the quality and integrity of the products, especially since they’re almost all so close to me here in Southern California, (with the exception of the Tunisian date sugar- you can watch my video with PurDate here). That’s why I feel good about recommending these products and hope to continue to add more and more in the future.
Joolie’s Organic California Whole Medjool Dates, Ramadan Gift box, date syrup and ” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>snack boxes are super cute and whimsical, very California packaging, all actually make quite nice gifts.
Let’s Dateorganic date sugar, organic date paste, or organic date paste come from dates in the UAE and are sold by a California-based company around the United States.
Natural DelightsBard Valley Medjool Dates from California. I was able to visit the date groves near Yuma, Arizona several years ago which you can read more about here. I like their date rolls as hostess gifts for Iftar parties or for serving at your own, of course.
Nature’s Anthem dates hail from California’s Coachella Valley and the first Ramadan I came back to California, I was able to visit the groves, which you can read about here and also find links to purchase their products.
Oasis Date Gardens dates come from Thermal, California and grow 20 varieties of exotic date species. Visit their website for more information and to purchase. They even have a Ramadan promo going on right now.
PurDate products are a new brand to me, bringing date sugar from the edge of the Tunisian Sahara to the American market. The date sugar is a great alternative to white sugar and is vegan, as well. In this video, we learn more about how to actually use it in cooking and baking.
So, that’s a wrap. If you haven’t gotten your dates or date products yet or need a refill mid-month, just click on the links of the product images or titles.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means that as an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. This helps keep my website running is very appreciated. Thank you so much for your support!
A photo posted by Yvonne Maffei (@myhalalkitchen) on
It was one of the most unique places geographically that I’ve ever been, and on the food and agricultural side, one of the most interesting and mesmerizing due to the sheer size of the trees and the story of how they were planted and grown there (more on that in a minute).
Entering the date groves in Yuma, Arizona
There are over 30 date varieties but the most common are the Deglet and the Medjool. Medjool dates is the variety grown here and the climate and geography couldn’t be more perfect, subhanAllah. The Medjool provide a natural sugar that your body recognizes, which is probably why they’re so effective to eat after a long day of fasting in Ramadan or other times of the year when they slowly raise your body’s blood sugar levels without over-doing it. At the time of the trip, the dates were ready to be harvested. Of all the places around California, Arizona and even Morocco where I’ve been, I’ve never quite experienced the harvesting process like I did here. Most of the time the dates are just low hanging fruits or they are falling from the trees and onto the pavement or ground along the streets. Obviously in a controlled environment where the dates are grown for processing, the fruit has to be collected and these bags that you see (above) are how they begin to do that. Here’s me and my friend and fellow blogger JoAnn MacDonald of Woman in Real Life getting geared up to go up and into the trees so that we could try our hand at harvesting. Next, we’re lifted up and into the trees to open up the bags and let out the ripened dates– now those tasted absolutely incredible. Silky soft and delicious. And these trees are so tall and majestic. I’m sure most people know that, but once you stand underneath one, you can really grasp the sheer magnitude of their size. Here in Yuma where there are thousands of acres of groves, the trees are offshoots of palms originally coming from Morocco in the 1940’s. The trees were diseased and the Moroccan government asked if growers in the US would try and save a healthy species by propagation here. They were originally planted in Nevada since Arizona or California wouldn’t take them since they could infect other plants there. Once they were strong enough and disease-free they were eventually moved to Yuma (Bard Valley) where they began to thrive. We had lunch and dinner with the various growers of these dates on several occasions which were great opportunities to learn more about their individual and collective passion for growing and harvesting the fruits. Just about every dish we ate had dates in it- from our drinks…
A photo posted by Yvonne Maffei (@myhalalkitchen) on
to desserts…
To the gourmet salads at dinner…
I personally learned a lot from them on the agricultural side of the things, which grew my appreciation for the trees and their fruits that I’ve already loved without a doubt- for example, in the Bard Valley where the dates of Natural Delights come from, there is no need for pesticides because the trees don’t really have any predators that eat away at the fruits. The fruits are so high up into the trees that the risk for losing the fruit is low, therefore they never have to spray with any chemicals in or around the groves. Some of the dates are labeled as organic due to the certification they’ve received, but the rest of the groves are also pesticide-free (and non-GMO, halal and kosher-certified).
We were also given a tour of the processing facility, which was great (you can see more photos and video of this on my Instagram feed). It was interesting to see how the fruit is plucked from the trees, washed and then packaged beautifully and tightly into those red or green or yellow labeled boxes you find at places like The Fresh Market, which is where I get mine at home. The dates are a fresh fruit, not dried, so they are merchandised at room temperature. They can last up to six months in the fridge and when you freeze them (which is a great way to preserve them), they do not become rock solid. If you start to see any white stripes or dots on the fruit, it’s most likely not anything harmful like mold, but just the natural sugars coming out of the fruit.
Even on my way out of Yuma back to Phoenix, there are beautiful spots to stop and look at the majestic palms, however Yuma is unique in it’s organized way of growing and harvesting the dates but also in its valuable collection of growers who are dedicated to bringing the best quality dates to consumers. They’ve always been a favorite of mine, I just never knew who grew them or where they came from, particularly in the United States.
Special thanks to Beth Atkinson and her wonderful team for organizing one of the best blogger events I’ve ever visited.
I have loved dates for a very long time. I do think they’re one of the world’s best food, and completely more versatile than they’re often understood to be. They’re not just for desserts, as in the recipe I’m about to show you, but they’re wonderful in salads, great to cook with when dried (I love when they’re part of a savory rice dish), or even made into a paste for more than just baking dishes.
But you probably want a dessert recipe right about now, don’t you?
I had a complete craving for dates mixed with almonds, coconut and pistachios. Kind of convenient when you think about what a delicious combination that can be- and I have a seriously easy recipe for you: Date Nut Balls (or Logs, which I’ll show you), which are then rolled in either coconut or ground pistachio.
To grind the pistachio simply take the meat out of the shell (or purchase pistachio meat only) and run it through a food processor. If you have a small amount, you could use a coffee/spice grinder to do this. Just be sure to do it right before making this recipe because if it’s not fresh, you can taste it.
Next for the ground coconut. This is basically coconut flakes ground even further. I find this in my international grocery markets with the nuts and dried fruits.
I put coconut flakes in the ingredients list, but I don’t actually use it here. I just wanted to show that you might find flakes this big (although typically smaller) and these can be put through the food processor or coffee/spice grinder, too, to make ground coconut. You could also use a a decoration once the dessert is finished- but that might look a little messy. Whatever floats your boat.
Next up- this recipe is really good with raw toasted almonds because they have a deeper flavor, but if all you have is regular, by all means use those instead.
Now for the star of this dessert show: Medjool dates. Ahhh….my most favorite of all the dates I’ve ever tried, and I’ve tried a lot. I think it’s because they’re meaty and stuffable. But I think I’ve already told you that somewhere else on this blog. It’s repeat-worthy, I think…
I should also tell you that you can get very good organic Medjool dates that are California-grown (Bard Valley), from Natural Delights, which are halal-certified, too. They sent me a few boxes so I could make all sorts of good things with them to show you. I also like the fact that to us here in the Midwest, they’re actually our most ‘local’ date product.
So to make the dessert, you have to pit the dates. That means take the pit out. I sometimes don’t get why they say ‘pit’ the olive, or ‘pit’ the date when you’re actually removing it. Being a former English teacher, I should know that answer. If my former students are reading this, I’m sure you can and will ‘Google’ the answer…
Back to the dates.
Remove the pit by gently pulling the date apart horizontally.
Take the pit out. It almost looks like a small nut.
Obviously it’s not crunchy, so you wouldn’t miss it if you bit into it. But it might ruin your food processor or blender if you left it in, so atencion!
What I love about these dates is that they’re flexible. Repairable is probably a better word. Back to semantics again…
What I mean is that for people like me who are kind of messy when cooking, baking and preparing things, it means that if you needed to present these dates beautifully, no one would know that you worked that date a little bit because it goes back together so perfectly. Masha’Allah.
See what I mean?
Now it’s time to roll. Well, we’ll mix first then we’ll roll.
Get ready to hold on tight. It’s really going to move the food processor around a bit, especially once the mixture thickens.
I process on high for about 15-30 seconds then stop it to see where it’s at. If the almonds are all still quite big, I just keep going but pulsing it so I have control over the mixture, then blend at 5 second increments. This is how you want it to look, and it will be sticky.
Spread out the coconut on a plate. This is where you’ll roll the balls once they’re formed.
Do the same with the ground pistachio.
Now we’re ready to roll. Quite literally. Between your hands, just like you do meatballs. If you make those.
Now simply roll the ball over the ground pistachio.
And keep rolling, until you get as much of the topping on it as you like. It’ll stick.
And do the same with the coconut. In no time, you can have them all done.
Don’t they look like munchkin donuts?
Now I”ll throw you a loop- you can also make date logs if you like those, instead. They’re done exactly the same way, but just shaped differently and made according to the size you prefer.
Roll the same as you do the balls.
Now slice them into pieces so everyone can have a taste. You don’t have to do this, but I find that a whole log is just too much for most people. But maybe you know people who aren’t most people and who prefer the whole log. Again, whatever floats your boat.
And of course it’s the same withe the pistachio.
Cut them into bit size pieces and serve, or preserve until you’re ready to serve. These stay good in the fridge for about a week, covered. I just like to bring them to room temperature before serving.
And I have to admit that I like the ball shape better. Actually, I like the fact that they’re less work- no cutting involved, and you can make them small, medium or large.
Sweet, isn’t it?
Would you take these to a Ramadan Iftar party or serve them to guests at your own?
![""]("https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=myhalalkitche-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B08563LKPJ")
At the time of the trip, the dates were ready to be harvested. Of all the places around California, Arizona and even Morocco where I’ve been, I’ve never quite experienced the harvesting process like I did here. Most of the time the dates are just low hanging fruits or they are falling from the trees and onto the pavement or ground along the streets. Obviously in a controlled environment where the dates are grown for processing, the fruit has to be collected and these bags that you see (above) are how they begin to do that. 
Here’s me and my friend and fellow blogger 
And these trees are so tall and majestic. I’m sure most people know that, but once you stand underneath one, you can really grasp the sheer magnitude of their size. 
Here in Yuma where there are thousands of acres of groves, the trees are offshoots of palms originally coming from Morocco in the 1940’s. The trees were diseased and the Moroccan government asked if growers in the US would try and save a healthy species by propagation here. They were originally planted in Nevada since Arizona or California wouldn’t take them since they could infect other plants there. Once they were strong enough and disease-free they were eventually moved to Yuma (Bard Valley) where they began to thrive. 
We had lunch and dinner with the various growers of these dates on several occasions which were great opportunities to learn more about their individual and collective passion for growing and harvesting the fruits. Just about every dish we ate had dates in it- from our drinks…
