It’s holy fasting month of Ramadan for
2014. Date palm is very familiar during this month. It is an important plant
in the scorched regions of South Asia, Southwest Asia and North Africa. In
Malaysia, dates are not an integral part of Malaysians' diet but it could be essential
during month of Ramadan. For Muslim, dates are customarily used to break the
day long fasts. In Middle East countries, dates become staple food of Arabian
diet and known as low cost food. Egypt, Saudi Arabian, Iran, Algeria and
Pakistan are the countries which produced million tones of dates each year.
Dates have used as food for 6000 years. It is used because of the nutritional value which can give benefits to human. It is rich with carbohydrate, minerals, dietary fibers, vitamins, fatty acids and amino acids. Dates which are used for import and export purposes will be dried and packed. There are no preservatives being added since the high sugar concentration in dried dates acting as an effective preservative.
Dates have used as food for 6000 years. It is used because of the nutritional value which can give benefits to human. It is rich with carbohydrate, minerals, dietary fibers, vitamins, fatty acids and amino acids. Dates which are used for import and export purposes will be dried and packed. There are no preservatives being added since the high sugar concentration in dried dates acting as an effective preservative.
In the first 4-5 weeks of
date’s life, it is called ‘Altalaa’ in which the color of the date is green.
There are four stages in date’s development. The first stage is called ‘Kimri’
and it is divided into two phases. In phase one, the date is rapidly increased
in size and weight, increase rate of sugar accumulation, high acidity as well
as moisture content. In phase two, the date starts to reduce the rate of size
and weight, decrease the rate of sugar accumulation, and slightly reduce the
acidity but higher moisture content compared to phase one. In this stage, the
average weight of one date is 1.1g. The dates contain of 5.6% protein, 0.5% fat
and 3.7% ash.
Stage two is known as ‘Khalal’. The color starts to change from green to between red and yellow. The weight increases to 8.7%. However, the percentages of protein, fat and ash decreases to 2.7%, 0.3% and 2.8% respectively. Stage three is called ‘Rutab’. The date starts to soften and lose water. The percentage of protein, fat and ash decrease to 2.6%, 0.3% and 2.6% respectively. And final stage is called ‘Tamr’. The date loses more water and becomes dried. Certain types of date may become darker and some are not. Date palm tree looks similar to coconut tree, but it is far sweeter and can provide energy. Although it is sweet like candy but it gives more nutrients and potential health benefits to human.
Stage two is known as ‘Khalal’. The color starts to change from green to between red and yellow. The weight increases to 8.7%. However, the percentages of protein, fat and ash decreases to 2.7%, 0.3% and 2.8% respectively. Stage three is called ‘Rutab’. The date starts to soften and lose water. The percentage of protein, fat and ash decrease to 2.6%, 0.3% and 2.6% respectively. And final stage is called ‘Tamr’. The date loses more water and becomes dried. Certain types of date may become darker and some are not. Date palm tree looks similar to coconut tree, but it is far sweeter and can provide energy. Although it is sweet like candy but it gives more nutrients and potential health benefits to human.
References:
Food Safety Research Center (FOSREC), Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia
International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition
Food Safety Research Center (FOSREC), Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia
International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition
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