Medjool Dates
The Oren farm is a partner in Moshav Netiv HaGdud’s date plantation, where organic Medjool dates are grown. Medjool dates are the biggest and most juicy dates known, and they are an ingredient in many Middle Eastern recipes. Medjool dates are sweeter and juicier than most dates, and they can reach 4 centimeters (up to 45 grams for one date).
This is the most widespread variety of date grown commercially in the Arava, the Jordan Valley and the Beit Shean Valley. Most of the best Israeli produce is exported to Europe, Africa and North America, where it is bought in large quantities, mainly in the periods of Ramadan and Christmas. The date palm is a dioecious evergreen, and grows in many kinds of soil, and of all fruit trees it is the most resilient to salt in the soil. Its trunk is upright and it reaches a height of 10–20 meters. The thickness of its trunk does not change over the years. The part above ground consists of a trunk with a crown of palm branches (leaves) The development of each leaf takes four years, the leaf stays green for 4–5 years, and afterwards it dries up.
The date palm is reproduced vegetatively – by taking cuttings from the shoots that grow in the lower part of the tree’s trunk when they are young or from shoots that are produced from tissue cultures. People use all parts of the date palm: the leaves are used as a roof for booths (both during the holiday of Sukkot and by nomads in the desert), the fruit is used for eating and to prepare date wine and date honey, the date’s fronds (on which the fruit hangs) are used to make brooms and to weave baskets, the trunk is used for building and roofing and can also be hollowed out and used as a drinking trough for sheep and goats.
The fruit of the date palm is regarded as a source of immediate energy (for athletes). Eating dates regularly reduces cholesterol and causes a feeling of satiety. In Israel there are 9 different varieties of dates and their taste is different; some of them are very sweet and they are all healthy and good for eating throughout the entire year.
Some articles about the health benefits of eating dates:
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4450868,00.html
http://www.news1.co.il/Archive/0024-D-71693-00.html
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