Learn how to wash dates before serving them. Especially if you do not plan to subject it to heat treatment.


Date palm fruits are a frequent guest on our table. They perfectly tolerate transportation and store well. The palms from which these sweet fruits are harvested grow far in the south, in Africa and Eurasia. Where they come from, they are consumed as often as we do bread or the Chinese - rice. It is believed that dates can improve health, prolong life, and even cure some serious diseases.

Dates improve health


Do I need to wash dried dates

Before they get to our table, they go a long way. Fresh, these fruits will not tolerate long travel and storage. They are removed from the palm tree and dried. This is most often done in a natural way. This is how you get a healthy and tasty treat. With this method, a characteristic whitish bloom appears on the berries.


In the course of any processing, during packaging and transportation, they are not cleaned in any way. Therefore, the question of whether dates are washed before use has only one answer: of course yes!


Another way of processing: industrial drying in special ovens and subsequent soaking in sugar syrup. These fruits are smooth and shiny - not the most healthy treat. In addition, they may be treated with edible wax or other external preservatives that must be rinsed off.


How to wash and store dates

The difficulty in washing all dried fruits is that they absorb water and can lose not only their appearance, but also their taste. In no case should dates be treated with boiling water. This cracks their dense skin, and the pulp is almost instantly cooked. As a result, the treat becomes unusable.


How to properly handle dates before eating 


  • Sort out the purchased fruits carefully. Even if they were in industrial packaging, spoiled, dry and damaged by pests can come across.


  • Prepare a container of cool water and a colander. You can add lemon juice to the water.

  • Wash dried fruits by submerging in water in small batches and as quickly as possible. Shiny berries should be treated very carefully, this is wax, and it must be removed.

  • Transfer the washed dates to a colander. Then they should be rinsed under running ice water.

  • Prepare a plain or paper towel, spread the clean product on it in one layer and cover with a tissue on top. Drying time - not less than a day.

  • For further storage and serving, the bones must be removed. At the same time, pest infested fruits are removed.


Store washed pitted dates in an airtight container in a dry, dark and cool place.

Dates are a delicious exotic product. Follow the rules for processing them, and a healthy treat will be on your table.