Date palm is considered a major fruit crop in the hot desert regions (semi-arid and arid lands) of the world. Iran is one of the largest producers of date in the world.
Date is one of the most common ingredients of the Iranian national cuisine. The origin of date production and use in Iran go back to about 4000 B.C. It is rich in certain nutrients and marketed widely as a high-value foodstuff. The main component of date is carbohydrate (~70-80%), most of which is in the form of glucose and fructose. These sugars can be rapidly absorbed by the human body. It is estimated that 100 g of this fruit crop can provide over 300 Kcal of energy. Date also contains proteins, pectin, lipids, salts and minerals.
Due to the medicinal, healthy, and nutritional properties of different varieties of dates, this hot-natured product has a great importance in the Iranian cuisine. Of other reasons is that this fruit crop is cheap and easily available, due to its high production values. The next reason is dealt with the firm and deep relation between the Iranian people and the Islamic culture. The majority of the Iranians are Muslim (~98%, roughly 80 million people). The date is mentioned in a number of places throughout the Muslim’s book, “Quran”. Some eating and dietary habits of present consumers originated from Islamic guidelines. For instance, the moderate use of date in daily diet is recommended in this religion. It is also very proper for those who suffer from diabetes.
The date consumption is greatly increased during the holy month of Ramadan/Ramazan (the ninth month of the Islamic calendar). Muslims abstain absolutely from eating and drinking before the break of the dawn to sunset. Due to the zero-food intake and starvation during the day, the consumption of date is overemphasized before and after fasting.
Source:
Mohammadpour Karizaki V. (2017), “Iranian dates and the ethnic date-based products”, Journal of Ethnic Foods
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