Dates are a delicious and healthy sweet. After harvesting, the fruits are dried. However, they are often treated with additional tools to preserve the appearance. How to choose dates to be beneficial for the body? There are several nuances that you need to consider when buying. They are described in the article.
Benefit
Before you learn about how to choose dates, you should study their useful properties. High-calorie product - about 220 kcal per 100 g. It is recommended to use it for diseases of the heart, blood vessels, as well as for diseases of the stomach. Dates are useful for colds. They are also valued for the lack of cholesterol.
Fruits can not be consumed only with diabetes, since they have a high glycemic index. They are not contraindicated to other people, you just need to observe the measure. A day is enough a pair of fruits to get benefits.
Contraindications
But, in addition to useful properties, there are contraindications:
- The fruits are rich in lots of sugars. Healthy people should eat them in moderation so as not to cause diabetes.
- Dates are a product with high energy value, so their excessive consumption causes harm to people with obesity.
- If you eat a lot of fruits of date palms, then this can cause inflammation in the digestive tract. Therefore, at the risk of such diseases, you need to use the product carefully.
- Dates with citrus fruits should not be combined in one dish. This can cause indigestion.
- Contraindications include individual intolerance.
How and where do dates grow?
In North Africa, fruits serve as a substitute for bread. Date palms have fern-like leaves; fruits grow in large clusters. Usually the ripe berry has a brown-red color, but they are yellow, gray-blue, brown.
The pulp is fibrous, sweet. When ripening, the clusters are cut and dried in the sun. So it turns out the dried fruit known to all. They are brought to Russia from Israel, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Morocco, but Saudi Arabia is considered the leader.
Selection recommendations
How to choose high-quality dates, simple tips will help:
- It is necessary to pay attention to the color of the fruit. They can not be bright, greenish. Quality products have a uniform dark color.
- It is important to check the integrity of the packaging. It should be tightly closed, without damage. In this case, the fruits last much longer, and the product will be fresh.
- An important role is played by the general appearance of the product. Dates should not be hard, it is important that they do not shine.
- How to choose dates? The peel should not be cracked if there was natural drying. And this drawback appears when drying in an oven to speed up the process. They are suitable for consumption, but the taste is not the same as a properly prepared product.
- Make sure the product is fresh. It should not have a fermented odor and wrinkled appearance. Such signs indicate storage disorders.
- Fruits should not stick together. If sugar crystals are present , the dates are processed with syrup for additional sweetening.
- How to choose good dates? Fruits should not be oily. They lack stickiness and slippery, they are pleasant to the touch and non-greasy.
- It is advisable to choose fruits with a seed. They are subjected to minor processing, and therefore are considered useful.
If you are interested in how to choose dates, then you should consider the above nuances. Quality products will be tasty and healthy. Products are sold in markets and in stores, both by weight and in packages.
Storage
You need to know not only how to choose dates, but also how to store them. They need a cool room, so it's best to place them in the refrigerator. At the same time, the container must be closed tightly so that an odor does not penetrate.
If you need to save dates for a short time, they are left at room temperature. The main thing is that they are not affected by the rays of the sun.
Storage of fresh dates
Such products are stored in the refrigerator. Previously, it does not need to be washed. Fruits are put in a paper bag or wrapped in paper. For fresh food, a temperature of 0 degrees is sufficient. Such conditions are usually on a shelf under the freezer. So that the whole batch does not rot, you need to check it regularly. If it was of excellent quality before being sent to the refrigerator, then it can be stored for about 2 months.
Pressed dates
Room temperature is suitable for them, since they are processed under special conditions by pasteurization. To prevent the product from drying out, it must be wrapped in paper or a bag. Then it should be placed in a dark, cool place where there is no light. Shelf life is usually on the packaging. It is believed that they can lie for a long time, it is advisable to use them throughout the year.
What is being processed?
To determine which dates to choose, you should find out about their origin, production method. The best is a product that has matured naturally. In this case, it dries on a palm tree. To speed up the procedure, heat treatment is performed in chambers and furnaces.
Products can be soaked in sugar or glucose syrup. Such a product will not be harmful, but there is little benefit from it. With syrup, dried fruit becomes sweet and high in calories. Sulfur gas is rarely used. How to choose dates without processing? This is usually stated on the packaging.
How to wash?
Before use, the products are washed. This must be done, as it is not known exactly where and how they were processed. It needs clean, warm water. You can soak the fruit for 20 minutes, and then drain the water and rinse again. Even if the product has not been processed, it will not hurt to rinse it to clean it of dust and dirt.
Cooking dates
Dates are used in pure form, with water, tea and other drinks. They also prepare different dishes. Fruits are used as a basis for sauces and gravy. They serve for the preparation of salads, stews, pilaf. Tasty and healthy drinks are prepared from them.
Dates as a means of care
There are many valuable components in dates for outdoor use. They are known worldwide for their excellent effect on the skin, the extract remarkably rejuvenates it at the level of cells.
Date bones are used for making face masks. To evaluate their properties, you need to grind a little, mix with olive oil until smooth. After this, the product is applied to the skin of the face, and then it must be washed off. The results are noticeable almost immediately. If you perform the procedure regularly, you can achieve clean, smooth skin.
Useful recipes
Date decoction is used for prolonged coughing. To cook it, you need 6-7 fruits, which must be poured with milk (1 cup), boiled for 10 minutes. After cooling, the drink can be consumed, and the fruits eat. It’s better to do it at night.
For constipation, the following composition is useful: 10 fruits need to be chopped, butter (0.5 tbsp. L.) Heated, add black pepper, and then mix everything. Used all on an empty stomach.
There is a recipe for getting rid of anemia and fatigue: 10 dates, ginger (0.5 tbsp. L.), Cardamom, saffron. In a glass dish, everything must be mixed, shaken. It must be removed in the shade for 14 days, and can be consumed in the morning. With insomnia, neurosis, dates are eaten with milk.
Thus, dates are valuable products. So that they bring the body the maximum benefit, you should choose them correctly. Therefore, the above recommendations are sure to come in handy for taking care of your health.