Ajwa date
Phoenix dactylifera · Fruit
Top 10 pairings
The Ajwa is the celebrated soft, dark date of Medina — a small, almost black fruit with a finely wrinkled skin, dense plush flesh and a gentle, restrained sweetness quite unlike the toffee intensity of a Medjool. Grown around the holy city of Medina in western Saudi Arabia and steeped in Islamic tradition, it is among the most prized and expensive dates in the world, valued as much for its spiritual standing as for its mild, fudgy, faintly fruity flavour.
Picking a good onedrag
Crisp, yellow, astringentHard, sugared or fermenting
GlossyPeak eatingEat as they are, stuffed with almond, walnut or blue cheese.
SkinGlossy amber-brown, skin whole
SqueezeGives right through, springs back
SmellHoney, brown sugar, some caramel
Stem endSmall dry cap still tight in place
These cues are Date's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
92%
Edible part
24 g flesh · one hard pit, 8% of it
26 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 6× longer than the counter.
70-75%
Humidity
Sealed, not vented
Airflow