Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 302 kcal | 85 kcal |
| Protein | 2.7 g | 0.8 g |
| Fat | 0.4 g | 0.1 g |
| saturated | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 71.6 g | 20.3 g |
| sugars | 67.8 g | 19.2 g |
| Fibre | 8.6 g | 2.4 g |
| Sodium | 2 mg | 1 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 3.3 kg dates, fresh
Instructions
- Dip the dates in a strainer into boiling water until the skins blister, then drop them straight into iced water until they are cold. A date skin is waxy and close to waterproof, and this is what cracks it — skip it and the fruit dries from the cut face only, which on a whole date means barely at all.
- Drain, halve each date lengthways and flick the pit out with your thumb. A pit left in shields the flesh around it and leaves a damp core in an otherwise finished batch.
- Lay the halves skin side down in a single layer, cut face up. The cut face is the only opening the moisture has, so it must face the moving air rather than the tray.
- Dehydrate at 52 °C for 24 hours. The low setting matters more here than on most fruit: above it the sugar at the surface caramelises and seals, and a sealed date stays wet inside however long you run the machine.
- They are done when a half is pliable and no longer tacky — press one and it should dent rather than stick to your thumb. Judge them cold, because warm dates feel wetter than they are.
- Condition them for a week in a loosely closed jar, shaking it daily. If any moisture beads on the glass they go back on the trays; dates are sugary enough to ferment rather than mould, which smells like wine long before it looks like anything.
- Stored airtight and out of the light they keep about a year. In the fridge, longer — but they firm up considerably, so bring them back to room temperature before you judge whether a batch has gone hard.
