Dates are great for health, a new revolutionary diet, and pouring vitamins and other minerals into our bodies, regardless of their form, humidity, and shape. And that’s why semi-dried dates are valuable as much as any other type.
Like other ones, semi-dried dates are solid proof to dismiss the widespread belief that rigid drylands don’t grow anything. On the contrary, besides the beloved savory dates, they give us figs, pomegranate, mango, and many more.
Naturally or synthetically, semi-dried dates lose a high percentage of their water, resulting in a rough exterior but more energy-intensive interior. While the dates don’t generally show humidity levels above 35% (below regular dates), they still keep the most beneficial and medical properties and continue to impress as excellent exotic supplements to foods and snacks.
Each semi-dried fruit brings out a new flavor and a new reason why we love them all. So, if interested in knowing more, check out the list of some fantastic in-demand semi-dried dates below.
Mazafati Dates
Underneath Bam city’s majestic palms in Iran is where to gaze upon the delicious Mazafati Dates stacks. They grow in all the country’s southern states but mainly in Bam, where the weather’s hot, the land’s unforgiving, and yes, sometimes they’re called Bam Dates.
A kilogram of this black delicacy packs a hefty punch of almost 3500 calories alongside tons of other benefits. The dates are loaded with potassium, iron, magnesium and are natural countermeasures to stress and night blindness.
Sayer Dates
From the great plains of Khuzestan, history, hospitality, and palm trees brew, the latter playing a more noticeable and crucial role in Iran’s and the region’s outsider trade and exports.
Khuzestan produces some of the most exquisite semi-dried fruits like Sayer dates and Zahedi dates which make up most of the country’s dates exports and most of the Persians home-welcoming offerings. It’s pretty impossible to be invited to a Persian house and not be greeted with a bowl of mouth-watering Sayers or Zahedis.
The crusty hard-stone fruit can’t contain more than 16-18% moisture. Other healthy contents include potassium, magnesium, zinc, sodium, iron, phosphorus, and calcium that drive health experts crazy. These mineral stacks complement vitamins such as folate, vitamin A & K, riboflavin, and others into a one-stop bite-sized organic snack that can prevent the most common diseases.
Western societies like Canada, England, Australia, and even the US are the leading importers of Sayer dates, also known as Stamaran dates.
Such low humidity brings down the level of infection and corruption. Thus, maintaining large Stamaran ready-to-go bulks doesn’t put the holders under physical and financial pressure: typical warehouse non-freezing conditions can do the trick without destroying the fruit-flavor taste or ruining the dates’ properties and form for up to one year.
Rabbi Dates
From the shamefully-neglected Sistan and Baluchestan rises the third entry in our list; the slightly different Rabbi dates. Saravan is the fruitful cultivation center for this oval-shaped semi-dried date, with the excess yield being stock up for exports.
One of the earlier recognized dates in Iran, Rabbi dates painted local’s – and now international’s – sittings with its distinguished looks and colors. It’s a sweet, low-humidity date fruit of high economic and cultural virtue.
Rabbi Date has high nutritious value too. The vital substances of this fruit are Lactose and Fructose, which are rich sources of natural sugar and don’t mess with high blood sugar. Rabbi dates are among the few appetizers that push back cancer cells, improve gastrointestinal function, helps relieve nervous tensions, and treat diseases such as Anemia and high-fat level.
Rabbi dates come in more than 400 varieties and shapes, all of their blessings of a forgotten culture and people. They have bright skins with small pits making the most of the date pure juicy flesh. The valuable export usually contains under 15% moisture, has relatively softer skin than Mazafati dates, and has enough organic sugars to replace compacted sugar cubes.
Shahani Dates
Another prodigious date out of Iran’s soil, the Shahani dates grow out from the country’s most culturally/historically prominent part: Fars province.
Stretched out from the mainland desert to the diamond-like shores of the Persian Gulf, the vast turf of ancient empires has many to offer, semi-dried dates as one of them.
Shahani dates are less popular than other dates like Esta’maran but have gained popularity in past years due to their integral position as one of Iran’s decorated exports.
Shahani dates have a moisture level of 25%, which puts them above the likes of kimia dates. However, like others in this category, they can be kept outside freezers for up to a year. They glow in a specific color range, from pastel lemon yellow to light brown at ripening, setting them apart from typically dark-black dates.
Shahani dates explode into one of the sweetest jolts in the mouth with juicy meat and easy-to-digest skin.
Farmers begin yielding the Shahani clusters from palms in late September in the main cultivation zones located in cities like Jahrom.
Shahani dates are another prime example of the pure force of semi-dried fruits in fighting off iron deficiency in patients and preventing osteoporosis from escalating. Also, they’re prescribed for individuals with anxiety problems as a smoothing supplement to their daily diets. It’s worth mentioning that consuming many dates might cause issues for any person, but having 5 or 6 Shahani dates per day is a healthy number.
Kali (Kaloute) Dates
Another masterpiece of nature, Kali date – or Kaloute or Kaliteh – is another reason why many consider Kerman the date-cultivation pole in Iran.
The Kharak form of the date (premature states) shines with cheerful irregular colors such as red or green, but as the dates reach full-growth in summer, they turn into the more traditional brown/dark-brown hue.
The Kali date has gradually found a spot among Iran’s most delicious gourmets, with its incredibly sweetened southern taste, which some might even call “sickly sweet.”
This semi-dried parody of Shahani or Esta’maran dates strikes a delicate balance of quality and price — even lower than Mazafati dates — hence, both Iranians and the globe have fallen in love with it. Together with Mazafati dates, they have turned Kerman into profitable and likely destinations for any farmer to yield the palm clusters in mid-to-late summer. Some of the core cultivations locations for Kali dates include: “Jiroft, Anbarabad, Rudbar, Manoajan, Ghaleh Ganj, River, Faryab and Kahnouj.”
Kali dates are among the cluster dates. Both dry and semi-dry type is available; hence it is classified as semi-dry dates.
These dates can be found in all seasons.
spring: green Kharak
Summer: Red and sweet red
Autumn and winter: brown and pale brown dates
Kalute dates have a sweet taste, soft texture, large size, high shelf life (12 – 18 months), and a package can be preserved at 0 – 5° C temperature. The unique features of Kaliteh date are low moisture, high fiber and have a growing market in most countries such as Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, India, Russia, UAE & Chile.
Medjool Dates
Widely popular in western food blogs and cooking websites, Medjool dates are variants of semi-dried dates of Moroccan descent. However, they’re vastly produced in Iran as well.
The fruit of Kings (dabbed by many of these websites) is an abyss for date-lovers and fainted hearts. They are out-of-this-world sweet and bring a ton of minerals, vitamins, and nutritious values to the table, which is only one reason everybody loves them.
With over 1500 varieties globally, Medjool dates come in different shapes, texture feel, and sizes. However, they are usually large, have a soft texture, and boast in flavor, Medjool dates have a rich, almost caramel-like taste and a smooth, chewy texture. In contrast, regular dates are usually smaller and have firm flesh and a sweet, delicate flavor.
Around the stone pit in the middle is surrounded by the creamy, fresh, and rich flavor of Medjool meat. This enriched meat won’t spoil if kept in outdoor conditions (even in pocket) for longer durations, and the shelf life can go up to 18 months.
One Medjool date contains 66 calories, 15.95 grams of sugar, and 0 trans fats. Since dates are naturally rich in carbohydrates (17.99 milligrams in a single date), they are an excellent energy source. Medjool dates are also loaded with many vitamins and minerals. The consumer will have a blast with fiber, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and different types of vitamins like B6 and K alongside riboflavin, niacin, and zinc floating through their body as soon as they bite Medjool date down.
Kabkab Dates
We go back to Fars, and this time we have Kabkab dates, a perfect semi-dried date growing in the heart of Bushehr, Khuzestan, and Fars palm-farms. Freshly-cut clusters can be purchased in Behbahan, Bushehr, Khesht, Dashtestan, Khormoij, and Kazeroun.
Compared to Shahani or Sayer dates, these beautifully enlarged, soft-skinned, and heartwarming dates don’t fall afar in taste and overall quality. Therefore, both domestic and global markets have been loyal fans of this semi-dried blessing, and the picture is only growing.
Kabkab dates are nectarous and soft, with a wide range of use in food industries and bakeries. On harvesting month (sometimes around early October), the full-grown Kabkab dates take the dashing black color and, in some cases, glow in a brown hue. Whatever the color, the dates are popular pitted or unpitted.
Same as any other semi-dried date, Kabkab dates show around 20% moisture. They come in two grades and can be maintained in ordinary container conditions for over a year. The taste is nothing short of absolute sweetness, and Iran has the capacity to annually produce around 50,000 tons of these cherished dates.
Kabkab dates not only can prove an excellent substitute for synthetic sugar, but they are also unbelievably tasty and evolutionary in pastry, cookies, cakes, and every other sweet.
They also overflow with vitamins B1, B2, and C. In addition, stocks of magnesium, iron, and other nutritious values help the consumers to fend off severe diseases and help stabilize blood pressure.
Mordasang
Mordasang date feels like a doomed dungeon of one of the Lord of The Rings books. But, it strangely fits this semi-dried date. As no shock, Mordasang is another crusty meaty-flesh date from the generous lands of Kerman, Iran.
Mordasang dates don’t really have a lot of penetration in other locations of Iran, making them a southern delicacy. For the date-lovers, they have to travel to Kerman to get the best taste.
These semi-dried dates don’t spark much attention in the global markets as well. Unfortunately, small cultivated areas are allocated to this date, and farmers tend to seed more profitable types. However, in recent years, people have realized the value and importance of this date with advertising and investment in Mordasang dates, slowly flipping the Mordasang dates from “what is it” to an item of interest.
These little blessings are yellow, and each seed’s height is slightly shorter than Piarom dates. They have sweet and delicious flesh with lots of calories to boost the human body.
This fruit is rich in various vitamins A, B, C, and E and contains mineral materials. This date has anti-cancer properties due to its magnesium, strengthens the muscular energy of the body, and increases the general strength of the body. It can be added that this date is helpful for vision, hearing, back pain, joint pain, and the treatment of lung diseases.
The United States and Israel are the largest producers of this product. Cultivation of this date in Iran and the world is growing significantly. Among the factors for the growth are its high export price, the large size of this Iranian date, its small size compared to the size of the date, its abundant and delicious flesh, its thin skin, and the harvest of this product in both wet and semi-dry forms.
Another perk of these dates is the hassle-free containment measures. Mordasang dates can be stored outside a freezer for up to a year without falling off grace and losing their heavenly-like taste and body-boosting attributes.
Barhi Dates
Barhi dates are small and round and have a soft, somewhat chewy texture. This gorgeous variety of semi-dried dates are known for having a sinfully sweet butterscotch candy flavor. The most superb Barhis are preserved without sulfur dioxide for a natural delight you’ll celebrate.
Barhi dates are small fruits, averaging 2 to 4 centimeters in length and 2 to 3 centimeters in diameter, and have round to oval shapes with curved, blunt ends, sometimes found with a piece of the stem still attached. Barhi dates are golden yellow when young and semi-ripe and have a smooth, taut, and firm surface with a crunchy, fibrous consistency. As the fruits fully ripen, the yellow hue will transition into an amber, dark brown tone, while the surface creases, wrinkles, and gives to pressure. The flesh will also soften, developing a smooth, creamy, moist, and slightly chewy texture, encasing a central, inedible stone. Barhi dates have a light astringency mixed with fruity-sweet notes of cinnamon, coconut, and sugarcane when semi-ripe. The flavor will deepen into sweet, buttery, and fruity nuances with butterscotch, honey, and persimmon overtones as the fruit mature.
Barhi dates are an excellent source of fiber to stimulate the digestive tract and are rich in potassium to balance fluid levels within the body. The dates are also a good source of copper to maintain a healthy nervous system, magnesium to regulate blood pressure, manganese to promote the development of connective tissue, and contain lower amounts of vitamin B6, iron, and vitamin C.
Barhi dates are versatile as they can be consumed in all three stages of date maturity, including khalal, semi-ripe, rutab, meaningfully ripe, and tamr, its dried dates and wrinkled stage. In the khalal stage, Barhi dates are primarily eaten out-of-hand as a crunchy snack or tossed into salads. As the date ripens into its rutab stage, the flesh softens and develops a creamy consistency, well-suited for fruit platters and salads, sliced over ice cream, or incorporated into oatmeal or buttermilk for a healthy breakfast. Barhi dates can also be blended into smoothies and milkshakes, cut in half and covered in peanut butter, or stuffed into cored apples and baked as desserts. The sticky, chewy flesh compliments savory rice and meat dishes, but it also acts as a natural sweetener in syrups, pastes, sauces, spreads, and even wine.
During Ramadan, a time of fasting to grow closer to God in the Muslim religion, dates are the first food consumed to break all-day fasting. Barhi dates pair well with oranges, bananas, coconuts, apricots, cinnamon, maple syrup, nuts such as pecans, almonds, and walnuts cheeses such as goat, fromage, and cheddar. Khalal Barhi dates should be stored at room temperature to ripen fully. It is important to note that good air circulation is necessary to mature dates, and placing the dates on a wire rack will even ripening. Once ripe, the dates will keep for a couple of days at room temperature, or they can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks. Barhi dates can also be frozen for extended use.