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Late summer in Kuwait is marked by high humidity, a slight shift in the angle of the sun, and palm trees hanging heavy with branches of ripening dates turning from green to red or gold under the scorching sun. One of nature’s most perfect foods, fresh dates are so healthy and delicious that their arrival in the local market serves as some compensation for enduring the stifling heat of the season.
Whereas many in the West are only familiar with the date in its dried form, people in date growing regions particularly enjoy fresh dates with their combination of textures, consistencies, and varied flavors. While you can currently find fresh dates in just about any supermarket, if you want the best variety of dates and date products then head over to Souk Tamar, or the Date Market, next to Souk London on Third Ring Road in Shuwaikh.
Abu Hassan is one of the market’s friendly and knowledgeable date merchants who generously dispenses information and free samples. He has worked in the date market for decades, greeting his customers in the time-honored way and selling the sticky fruits that have been an important crop in this region since ancient times. After I’ve been served a small cup of cardamom-flavored Arabian coffee and some berhi dates, Abu Hassan leads me around the shops to show me some of the intriguing wares on offer.
Abu Hassan begins naming some of the different varieties of dates piled high on big platters and packed into Styrofoam boxes. Some kinds of dates, like the red-coloured khanezi and the large pale yellow sakari, are easy to recognize. The name sakari comes from the word sugar as this type of date has a very sugary flavour. When dried they have a hard, chewy consistency and an even more sugary taste. As for the many other types of dates, only a true date connoisseur would be able to tell the difference between an erzeiz and a merzeban or a shibibi and a maktoumi.
In this part of the world most date consumers are very partial to dates that are traditionally grown in their region. Kuwaitis tend to favor the khlas variety of dates originally from the Al Hasa oasis in Saudi Arabia, and berhi, which used to be imported from the Mandalli area of Iraq. Adding to their popularity is the fact that both varieties can be eaten in all stages of ripeness.
Both types of dates, and also many other varieties, are now widely grown here. With the date harvest presently at its peak, both berhi and khlas dates are being sold for just one dinar a kilo. Date palm cultivation has become widespread and sophisticated in Kuwait in recent years, but Kuwaitis were not traditionally date palm farmers. They owned date plantations around Basra and on the banks of the Shatt Al Arab River in Iran and Iraq. The central location of Kuwait in the middle of three large date-producing countries, namely Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, made Kuwait a major market for dates that were exported to Asian countries.
Abu Hassan notes that the shops of Souk Tamar sell dried as well as fresh dates. As dates ripen, they become softer and darker in color and the sweetness becomes more intense, with dried dates having the highest sugar concentration.
When still hard and crunchy and either all yellow or all red, depending upon the variety, fresh dates are known as khalaal. When the bottom half of the fruit is soft and the top is still hard, they’re referred to as munasif, a term which comes from the Arabic word nus, meaning half. It is at this stage, with their contrasting textures and flavors, that many people enjoy fresh dates the most.
When dates are completely ripe they’re called ratab, which in Arabic means moist or with humidity. Dried ripe dates are called tamr.
The fact that mature dried dates can be conveniently stored without refrigeration and are virtually non-perishable has long made them an invaluable source of sustenance for desert travelers as well as seafarers. Furthermore, for these people, with their extremely restricted and meager diets, the date was a super food providing an important source of nutrition.
Dates are high in vitamins A and B6, folic acid, potassium, iron, calcium, thiamine, riboflavin, copper, phosphorous, and magnesium, as well as dietary fiber. So consuming a daily dose of dates is like taking a daily multivitamin. Studies have shown that the minerals contained in dates help maintain proper functioning of skeletal structures, tissues, body fluids, and vital organs like the heart and brain. In addition, dates are said to protect the stomach and intestinal tract from parasites and bacteria. The body also benefits from the date’s high level of natural sugars. These sugars are converted into energy more quickly than any other nutrient and thus help relieve fatigue.
That’s why, in days gone by, bedouins were able to exist, for the most part, on only a handful of dates a day washed down with camel’s milk. Meat and rice were generally reserved for entertaining guests or for holidays and other special occasions. Kuwaiti pearl divers also consumed no more than a few dates and some glasses of strong black tea during their long, grueling working hours from dawn to dusk.
As a precious commodity, dates were transported and traded by Kuwaiti sailing ships traveling down the Arabian Gulf and over to India and Africa. Thus the date served as the basis for thriving international business empires long before the discovery of oil. The piles of Yemeni coffee beans and dried cardamom pods for sale alongside the dates are also age-old wares dating back to Kuwait’s ancient maritime trade.
Many of the traditional date products found in Souk Tamar claim a variety of health benefits. Date vinegar, used by the ancient Babylonians as a flavoring agent and medicine, is the world’s oldest recorded type of vinegar. Even today, some local people use it to treat a wide variety of ailments.
Date syrup, or dibs tamar, adds sweetness to foods without refined sugars. Like all date products, it has a high fiber content, is rich in vitamins and minerals, and is a good source of natural antioxidants. It’s great for porridge, on pancakes, mixed into plain yoghurt, spread on bread with lebna, or even stirred into coffee. Date syrup is also commonly used to sweeten the rice for the traditional Kuwaiti dish called muhammar, consisting of a fish stew with spices and vegetables eaten with sweet rice.
Date coffee is made of ground date pits and is said to be good for diabetes and lowering cholesterol. Like the coconut palm, every part of the date palm tree has beneficial uses. In Kuwait it has always been a tradition for those who own date palms to share their harvest with family, neighbours, and friends. In the old days the date harvest was eagerly awaited since dates were practically the only fruits grown in Kuwait. Nowadays, despite the variety and abundance of fresh fruit from all over the world, a gift of fresh dates is still enjoyed and appreciated.
Kuwait Helping Hands, a local non-profit organisation, is currently building on this tradition of generosity by receiving donations of fresh dates from people who have date palms at home, at beach chalets, or farms. The dates are then given away free to the needy at local mosques, workers’ hostels, and other designated locations. Since a single date palm can produce anywhere from seventy to one hundred and forty kilos of dates per season, one doesn’t need to have many trees in order to have a surplus crop. To participate in this initiative send a WhatsApp message to 98080993 or 97805541.
Meanwhile, back at his shop in the market, Abu Hassan is tending to his customers in the age-old way, serving them Arabian coffee and dates and having a chat before they get down to the business of buying. Before I leave he insists on giving me a four-kilo box of berhi dates to take home, a generous gesture showing that traditional Kuwaiti hospitality is alive and well at Souk Tamar.
Story and photos by Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud
Special to the Arab Times