There are things that are done only once a year.
We are, well – spoiled. We're so used to having most of the organic fruits and vegetables in the store and at home all year long, when we look for them and they're not there, we frown. “What, it’s all gone? What, there is none?” The perception that there is a season for fruits and vegetables is a bit passé in our world. Although it is is nice to have everything always available, the magic of waiting for a fruit in its season is lost. If the pomegranates were here all year round, when would we sing "The pomegranate tree spread its aroma from the Dead Sea to Jericho?" If the guavas were here all the time, would we still smile when we smelled them when walking into the store? (or frown, depending upon which camp you belong to).
There are organic vegetables that have a fairly long season, or that are grown throughout the year in greenhouses, and there are organic fruits whose season comes twice a year (strawberries, for example), but there are also those who have a single solo appearance, and typically it is not long. Their period is so special that their harvest has its own name in Hebrew. It is not just another "harvest." The מסיק (Mesik for olives), or בציר (batzir for grapes), and here I come to the point of this article, the גדיד (Gadid), the harvest of dates, of course. The gadid is now, from mid-September to October, which make sense to be combined with Sukkot – because while we’re climbing to get the dates from the top of the palm tree we can also bring the סכך (Schach) for the sukkah.
I get excited during the gadid season as if I'm filling out a lottery form.
First of all, it is really exciting for every farmer and grower to take a bite and taste the fresh produce that has just been cut from the tree or from the bush, or removed from the ground and swiftly wiped on the shirt to clean off earth residues. This is how they find out how the crop turned out? It is not only wine makers who are anxious to know what vintage they got.
Second, the gadid season is a good time to check how well my intuition works, because I have to order enough for everyone for the entire next year, and also to be certain that none will be left over at the end of the year. I don’t always get it right, so I try to err on the side of having enough for everyone. So now is also the time that we separate from what remains from the last year (how is it written in the Bible? We do not marry the younger sister before the older one?) Similarly, we do not bring the young dates before finishing the older ones. Accordingly, to make this happen we have decided on a crazy sale of 30% discount on 5 kg of Barhi dates! This is a great opportunity to stock up on these excellent dates at a low price.
What can be said about organic dates? The date tree is considered at home here in Israel. It is a tree that is so prevalent that when one passes by it you do not even notice it as an edible tree. That is to say, if it were a coconut tree, it would probably be nicely fenced and attract a lot of attention. But dates have been here forever, in folklore, in mosaics, as part of the local historical cuisine (according to some researchers, the "honey" mentioned in the Bible is actually the silan, date "honey").
So what is the reason for excitement? In my opinion, it is worthwhile getting excited about dates, and also munching them. The date is a great food, It is both a sweet treat and a nutritious food. It is low in calories (yes, yes), healthy for your teeth (much more than other equally sweet things), contains a lot of ingredients that the body loves, and it knows how to joyfully grow in our local climate. Its place on the glycemic index, the rate at which the sugars it contains are absorbed in the body, is low, so it does not "spike" your blood sugar, which means it is very sweet but does not increase the risk of diabetes. It contains fiber which helps you feel full and speeds up the digestive processes, and it is full of vitamins A and B, phosphorus, iron, zinc, magnesium and potassium. What other sweet do you know that brings with it such an abundance of health? With dates, you can eat away without worry.
Have a happy holiday and sweet as Barhi!
To health!
Yours,
Maggie and the garden team
We can expect in our organic vegetable baskets this week (draft only):
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Peppers
Beets with leaves
Kholraby
Potatoes
Parsley
Squash
Pumpkin
In the large organic vegetable baskets, also:
Onions
Sweet potatoes
And from chard
Organic fruit baskets:
Bananas
Carambola
And pears
In the large organic fruit baskets, also:
Granny Smith apples in transition
Caramel Barhi Dates
