DRYFRUITVALA Chuara Khalifa (Dry Dates) 400g

Dates are the berry fruits of the date palm of the palm family (Palmae Arecaceae) which may reach up to 25 m in height. The date palm is one of the oldest cultivated plants and is probably native to the area around the Persian Gulf. The date palm is dioecious and only a few male palms are kept; the female trees are pollinated by hanging pollen-impregnated cotton cloths over the female inflorescences which then develop up to 200 dates per fruit spike. The single-seeded oval berry fruit approximately the size of a plum is golden yellow to brownish red in color and has soft flesh and an inedible stone. The water content of dates is reduced to 20% by natural or artificial drying. The latter process is preceded by immersion in boiling sodium hydroxide solution. Sometimes the stones which constitute 15% of the fruit are left in resulting in dates with an attractive rounded appearance; the dates may on the other hand be stoned but then have a sunken appearance.