Do you fancy a date? - (the edible type). And 'Delicias de Elche'

Palm trees originated in the Middle East and are very common in the hot Mediterranean countries like Spain.

The view from the gardens of my friend's summer apartment in the Playa de San Juan - El Campello.  You can see the 'Sierra de Aitana' in the background which is the mountain range just behind Benidorm.

There are different types of palm tree and in this area of Alicante the date palm has an important commercial value.  In Elche (which is a town about 20km south of Alicante city), for instance, there is a palm park and local cultivators which produce dates that are supplied to the Spanish royal family.

The dates grow on separate stalks just under the fronds at the top of the tree.  This photo was taken in the summer when the dates are green and unripe.

There are 2 possible times to harvest the dates - they can be harvested when they are yellow and crunchy in August to October time and then ripened.  Or they can be left to ripen on the tree until about October to December when they are soft and brown.  Post harvest, the dates are dried to preserve their quality and at this stage become very sweet naturally.

Natural dates still on the stem.  The skin and flesh become very sticky and sweet.

It is quite common to eat dates at Christmas time here but they are available throughout the whole year.  You can buy them at the market or supermarket in packets and can be pitted - the stone removed - (deshuesado) or with the stone left inside (con hueso).  I have eaten them directly from the tree in the yellow stage and I quite enjoyed them like that because, curiously, they tasted like chestnuts.  Once ripened, they taste totally different and are sweet and sticky.

A date sliced open.  You can see the long stone inside and the natural stickiness of the flesh.

There is a delicacy in this area called la Delicia de Elche which is a ripened and pitted date stuffed with an almond, then wrapped in pancetta or a strip of bacon, a cocktail stick inserted through the middle to hold everything in place and then fried.  I really like these because of the contrasting saltiness of the bacon and the sweetness of the date... and here are some I made earlier!

Have you tried dates before and have you used them in any recipes?