Dates: New appreciation for ancient fruit

It’s interesting how a new dish can become a beloved staple overnight. The first time that I shared Thanksgiving dinner with my husband’s family, I was warned to watch out for occasional buckshot that might have escaped notice while preparing the wild turkey.

But there was no warning needed for date pudding, a holiday dessert made by my husband’s family for generations. Although it initially sounded odd to me, one bite of the gooey, sweet dessert, piled high with homemade whipped cream, and I was hooked.

An unusual combination of chopped dates and nuts, with crumbled saltine crackers, milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla, date pudding quickly became a holiday staple in our own home. When baked, the pudding turns golden brown on top and expands high above the pan rim before falling into its own sticky goodness.

Dates have been a staple food in many cultures for thousands of years.

“Dates in Morocco are a staple as well as a symbol,” said writer and cook Jeff Koehler, whose 2012 book, “Morocco: A Culinary Journey With Recipes From the Spice-Scented Markets of Marrakech to the Date-Filled Oasis of Zagora” (Chronicle Books), reflects trips from his home in Barcelona to Morocco for research about the country’s regional cooking.

Dates “are traditionally offered to guests with a glass of milk and are the first item eaten with the breaking of the fast during Ramadan,” Koehler wrote. “They are found in various sweets, such as dates stuffed with almond paste, filling certain cookies and garnishing sweet couscous alongside almonds and raisins.”

Nader Shehata and Mo Mosley, co-owners of the Basha Cuisine, offer dates on the side in their Ramadan buffet.

“Dates add a lot of nutrition and good sugar after you’ve been fasting all day,” Shehata says. “They generally hold over well for a few days to a week.”

Sonja Overhiser uses dates as a natural sweetener. Co-writer of the blog A Couple Cooks with her husband, Alex, she first used dates with cocoa powder and walnuts to make a raw brownie.

“I was immediately impressed with the sweetness and texture they impart. Since then I’ve used them often in energy bars, no-bake cookies, and even sweeteners in smoothies and ‘healthy’ milkshakes.”

The couple’s Raw Brownie Parfait was unusual enough get a mention in Midwest Living magazine.

Leigh Wagner, a dietitian with the KU Integrative Medicine, also typically uses dates to sweeten things, including salad dressing and smoothies.

“They add richness and sweetness without adding refined sugar, versus maple syrup or honey,” Wagner said. “Dates also have fiber.”

Because of their rich fiber content, dates may work as a laxative and help to prevent LDL cholesterol absorption in the gut.

But fiber is only one potential health benefit of eating dates. They are rich in iron, potassium, calcium, manganese, copper and magnesium. Some health practitioners think eating them can reduce heart problems and ease many other conditions. Zeaxanthin found in dates also may protect against macular degeneration, especially in elderly people.

Dates can replenish energy while offering moderate amounts of vitamin A, B-complex vitamins and vitamin K. Flavonoids, beta carotene, lutein and other carotenoids provide additional health benefits. In addition, their tannins offer anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and anti-bleeding benefits.

Although dates frequently star in sweet dishes, they’re also a tasty ingredient in savory dishes. Chorizo-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates have been on La Bodega’s tapas menu for 17 years, says chef English Renshaw.

“We were about the first restaurant in the nation doing that and ended up getting national coverage. We like to call it the meat-sweet treat. The sweetness helps cut through the fat of the chorizo (and so does the orange juice). You can really play with your palate.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can’t use (dates) with. They go well with salads, vegetables and fish.”

At Avenues Bistro, executive chef Mario Galan serves small plates of bacon-wrapped dates with brown sugar, Madeira and balsamic. They have become the restaurant’s best-selling dish.

“The saltiness and smoky flavor from the bacon, combined with the wine, a little bit of pepper flakes and rosemary, make a great combination,” he says.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Dates: New appreciation for ancient fruit."