When you shop for food to make Mediterranean Diet meals,
are dates on your list?
There are many varieties, textures, and tastes to discover. Dates can deliver special tastes and textures to a wide range of dishes, adding great bursts of flavor to stews, tagines, curries, and grain dishes, or providing the grace note to cooked pasta. And there's nothing in the world like a Date Shake.
In California, stately date gardens flourish in man-made desert oases where days are very hot and the tree roots can be kept moist through irrigation. If you haven't experimented with dates in your kitchen, start with the large, soft, creamy and delicious Medjool dates, grown in the Bard Valley between Phoenix and San Diego and harvested from September into October. Look for them in the produce section of your local grocery stores, or to connect to California growers who sell dates online, click here.
Chances are after one taste you'll be hooked. Warning: It's hard to keep from eating them right out of the package. Try to pace yourself and save some for the stovetop by storing them covered, in the refrigerator or in a cool, dry place for up to 30 days. Here are three great ways to incorporate Medjool dates into everyday meals.
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