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THE HISTORY OF THE DATE
PART III
One
of the first growers of the date orchards in the Coachella
Valley went to Algeria to purchase date shoots for his
farm in the City of Mecca in California. During his stay he kept a journal of his experiences, his name was Henry
Simon, and in his North African Diary of 1913 he described the handling
of Rhars dates in Arabic countries including Tunisian and Algerian Oases
were the growers trampled the soft dates with their unclean bare feet on
animal skins. Another type of date
which was dry called the Meshi Degla was transported by camel in
pairs. The sacks were left on the
ground which as often soiled with animal manure from donkeys and camels
and then reused again. The Deglet
Noor was treated substantially different, because it was primarily an
export product. It was packed in
wooden crates and shipped to other countries.
There
are many other varieties of dates grown throughout the Middle East and North Africa, but most are not cultivated for
export or in large quantities. In Algeria and Tunisia the three main
varieties are the Rhars (vigorous grower), the dry Meshi Degla(purgative seedling) which is a basically a bread
date; and the semidry Deglett Noor (date of light). In the United States the Deglet Noor
is one of the dates commonly cultivated.
One of the rarest and most prized varieties is the
Menakher (Nose Date) which as never sold for export and the few palms
that existed where jealously guarded by their growers.
Morocco, Egypt,
Iraq
and the other Persian Gulf Countries have their own distinct
varieties. Many of those varieties
are never exported, because they are soft dates. Among them is Hayany of Egypt; the Khalas(quintessence)
of Arabia; and the Barhee, Halawy(the sweet), and Khadrawy(the verdant) of Iraq and Syria. A few of these dates are also grown in California in
small quantities.
The
Medjool (unknown) of Morocco
is known for its unusually large size and it is renowned for its
flavor. The Medjool date is a large
and dark and can grow to about three inches and even though it is
classified as a soft date it is much firmer and more resilient than other
soft dates and handles better. The Medjool date made its way to the United States
through the United States Department of Agriculture. There was a disease in Morocco that was spreading quickly among
the Medjool date palm trees and a Moroccan official gave some shoots to a
representative from the USDA which in turn were taken and planted in California. The Medjool is now thriving in California as one
of the top varieties of dates.
Date
palm trees can yield from about 100 to 300 pounds of dates per tree. One of the most important factors is
the amount of water they receive.
The date palm can absorb a lot of water. Date palms can also resist very cold
weather and have known to survive in subfreezing temperatures. The date palms are usually insect and
parasite free, but can be attacked from time to time by fungi and scale
insects. The cultivation of dates
was very labor intensive and even to date continues to be labor intensive
and dangerous. Before planting
enormous holes were dug measuring eight feet deep and were eight feet
square. Often the holes were dug
on hard materials including limestone. The holes were then filled with
manure and top soil for about five feet and the remainder was slowly
filled around the newly planted date palm tree. The date palm was below
ground level, but this allowed for better watering and it provides
protection from the hot winds and the sun. Arabs traditionally harvested by
cutting the entire cluster, but many American farmers hand picked each
individual date as the fruit ripens.
Prior to harvesting in many American farms the dates are first
prepared by cutting down the amount of fruit on each cluster to allow the
air to circulate and permit more uniform ripening of the date. This means that the date will
necessarily cost more cultivate and harvest in American farms and will
necessarily result in a higher price.
Generally speaking imported dates are not as good as American
grown dates, because of the more labor intensive cultivating techniques
used on American farms, but this is not always the case.
The
date palm tree can grow in many different areas, but for the date palm to
produce quality fruit it is necessary that the climate be one of very
little rain and the climate also needs to be hot. At the same time the date palm requires
large amounts of water. In many
American farms the fruit from the date palm tree is protected against
possible rain, birds and insects by placing a parafined paper bag around
the date cluster. This done
because of the ease with which rain can ruin dates. There is an opening around the wrapping
to permit air to circulate inside the wrapping to allow the dates to
ripen properly. In California
date farms a bell shaped paper cloak is placed around the fruit. Almost California date farms utilize this
technique to protect the date. California grown dates can be seen with this
seemingly peculiar wrapping throughout the Coachella Valley. The Medjool Date as well as other
varieties is protected using this same technique throughout the Coachella Valley. Upon reaching the final stage and fully
ripening the date is no longer as susceptible to rain and humidity. A few date varieties are much more
vulnerable to moisture and usually not economical to cultivate and
therefore not cultivated on a commercial scale or at all. In the United
States the Rhars date is not grown commercially in
the United States
because of its susceptibility to damage from moisture or rain. Soft dates are much more difficult to
handle and cultivate and require extensive care and handling.
Dates can be grown
from offshoots and seeds, but are almost always grown from
offshoots. The primary reason is
that there is a shorten time period to harvest if the date is grown from
an off shoot and the date palm from seed rarely has the same qualities as
the parent plant. The seed can in
fact be used successfully for creating new varieties of dates, but just
as it can create a superior variety it can also create an inferior
variety.
History of The Date Part IV
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