Date, dried (with recipe)

            The tall and stately date palm has been cultivated in North Africa, the Middle East, and India since remote antiquity, and the date and its by-products have long been dietary staples in these areas. There the date is eaten fresh – an end-all of epicurean delights – pounded into cakes, ground to a flour, or its sap is rendered to sugar or made into various fermented beverages. The Spaniards in the eighteenth century introduced the date palm into California, where it now thrives.

            The date is rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus, and in various B vitamins. It also has a very high sugar content. Dried dates make an extremely nutritious snack for children and are a great help in unseating the ubiquitous candy bar. They have a constipating tendency, the opposite of most other dried fruits. During the drying process, they are often treated with sulfuric acid; make sure to buy organically grown unsulfured dates.

            For a special treat, try stuffing dates with nut butter or nutmeats – peanut butter and pecans go particularly well with dates.

***

DATE-NUT TARTS

Pastry for a double-crust pie

2 eggs

½ cup honey

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup finely chopped dates

½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons ( ½ stick) butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll out pie dough on floured board and cut into rounds (a 4-inch-diameter piece of pastry will fit into a muffin form of 1 ¾ - inch diameter). Press into muffin tins.
• Beat eggs well. Add honey and salt and beat vigorously. Stir in dates, nuts, vanilla, and butter. Fill each pastry cup about three-quarters full with this mixture. Bake 25 minutes or until browned and center is firm.
• Makes about one dozen.