'Tis the Season

Date season, that is. The fruit - not the activity. 

 

Many, many date palms!

I don't recall ever having a date prior to moving to Dubai.  My first taste of the sweet, delicious fruit was when I went to the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding not long after our arrival to Dubai.  They are so tasty!! Ben isn't too keen on them, but I can eat a bajillion in one sitting. I prefer the ones that are soft and covered in a sweet syrup. I have had ones that are dry and were pitted, but I was not a fan.  You can also get dates that are pitted and have other yummies shoved in the center such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, candied orange, marzipan, cream cheese, etc. 

 

 

Anyway, what led me to write this post was the date palms!!  They are currently overflowing with their delicious fruit and are everywhere you look! The pictures I have captured were taken at the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, but they are everywhere in Dubai, too.  As you can see, under the palm branches are green blobbies. Those blobbies are the dates covered with mesh that will catch the dates when they fall. The mesh will then be collected and TA DA! You have got your self a butt-ton of dates!

 

You can see where some of the dates have fallen in this picture.

Call me immature, but I find the bunches of dates to be kinda funny. . . They are like tree boobies. Some even have bras (aka green mesh coverings).  Whatever. I don't care. They make me giggle. :)

 

Fact: Dates are a good source of potassium.

 

Fact:  I will be bringing some of these delicious fruits home with me as gifts! So cross your fingers that you are going to be one of the lucky recipients!

 

Also, I lied.  I have had dates prior to coming to Dubai.  They were wrapped in bacon and UH-MAY-ZING.