This is Challenge #4! It has been so much fun coming up with the ingredients, and seeing all the recipes whipped up by my foodie challengers.
This week’s ingredient is…..
*DATES*
So after we decided other ingredient….it got me wondering. What are dates? Where do they come from? I mean, I’ve heard of them, but never really dug into what a date is. Does it grow on a vine? a tree? in the ground? I know….I should already know this.
So I did a little reading and here’s what I found out:
- Dates grow on a tree called a date palm.
- Dates dry in stages – and if they are allowed to dry (or ripen) on the tree for a long time, they develop sugar crystals on the outside. Interesting…sun-made candy? Nope, apparently at this point it tastes pretty much like leather.
- Date trees can stay in production for over 60 years.
- Dates are really berries.
- They contain more than 20 different amino acids.
- They contain selenium, which lowers the risk of certain cancers, boosts immunity, and heart-healthy.For some reason, I was thinking there was a link between dates and figs?? Anyway, enough of the education.
Here’s a run-down of our Ingredient Challenge history – make sure to check out our recipes if you haven’t seen them yet so you can keep up 🙂
Ingredient Challenge #1 – Pomegranate
Ingredient Challenge #2 – Kale
Ingredient Challenge #3 – Quinoa
Here’s where you need to go to see all the recipes:
From The Little Yellow Kitchen
Check back on Monday and see what we come up with!
Happy Weekend –
~Dixie Chik~
4 Comments
Kate @ Diethood.com
February 2, 2011 at 4:39 PMYou really did your homework with the dates. Thank you for sharing the info with us!
Ang
January 31, 2011 at 12:01 PMI love the versitality of dates! Savory, sweet, I love it all.
Ang
January 31, 2011 at 12:03 PMI meant versatility. 🙂
Tonya - What's On My Plate
January 30, 2011 at 3:55 PMInterestingly enough I just used dates today! I made granola bars. I use dates to make homemade Larabars. So easy and a great snack.