Interesting Facts About Dates

  • Dates are highly nutritional and considered by many to be one of natures most perfect foods
  • Date palms cover 3% of the earths cultivated surface. Four million tons are grown annually.
  • The date palm is the national symbol for Israel and Saudi Arabia, representing vitality and growth.
  • A date pit almost 2000 years old was recently sprouted by Israeli researchers. An ancient variety thought to be extinct is back.
  • Bedouin tribes of the Middle East, who eat a high percentage of dates in their diet, have one of the lowest rates of cancer.
  • The date palm is a very salt tolerant tree and will grow well in alkaline soils where other plants will not. They are sometimes irrigated with ocean water.
  • Date palms are like giant solar collectors. They require at least 100 sunny days of 100 degrees for best fruit production. Over the 7 month growing season, which includes Summer, they store the intense energy of the desert in their fruit. 
  • Survival into the next decade. In these uncertain times it's not a bad idea to have a little extra food around. The high calories and excellent nutritional value plus their ablity to keep well for long periods of time make them great for emergeny food rations.