,I used to go to Leopoldo when I needed a date. Then it was Tania. Then it was both…
But now it’s definitely, wholeheartedly Olivier. Well, L’Olivier, to be exact. That’s the North African (I’m not sure if it’s Algerian, Tunisian or Morrocan-owned) shop on the north side of Jean-Talon next to El Rey del Taco. Tania and Leopoldo are a whole 50 feet or so away on the south side, so I don’t think they’ll ever catch me. Besides, I still go back to Leo for my mangoes. He’s none the wiser.
Why do I have these different date places? Because I got sick of sweet, flavourless medjools. Then I found the on-the-vine Tunisians, and now L’Olivier brings in a whole range of dates, from the candy-sweet, juicy Iranians (also available at Les Douceurs du Marché at Atwater and the bulk place upstairs). But I prefer L’Olivier because they have the biggest selection and often at least a couple really fresh shipments. None of the dates come from Canada (Medjools are often from California but the rest are from overseas), so they were picked a long time ago and come in maybe once a month. If you sell more kinds of dates it’s more likely one of those types will have arrived more recently. How do you tell?
They should look soft and juicy, not wrinkled. If you can’t open the box, press the dates through the see-through top of the container and see if they’re stiff or malleable. Dates dry out after being refrigerated too long.
Check for mold. The really juicy ones either solidify, with any sugar droplets outside of the skin often turning to date sugar chunks. But dates that aren’t refrigerated when they’re juicy and have a long way to travel go moldy. That’s why you’re supposed to refrigerate them when you get them home. That’s also why they’re best eaten in the first day or two after purchasing, because the fridge dries them out.
The way to get around this is the pack them in plastic wrap. That stuff is an air seal.
Buy a bunch of different kinds to compare. The Sana brand is often great—richly honeyed. There’s a green and orange brand with camels on the front that I also like sometimes. And only buy the pitted dates if you’re planning to use them for date squares or other baking. I often soak the packed dates (with or without seeds that come in air-sealed 2 lb packages) in twice as much water, then remove the seeds if necessary, blend the dates with the water, and use it as a sweetener for smoothies (or freeze it in ice cube trays for future natural sweetener needs).
And if you see the unripened fresh dates that are pale yellow and rock hard, buy them. Let them sit on you counter for a week or two until they break open and juicy seeps out. You’ll think they’ve gone bad. They haven’t. Let them break and gush, but don’t let them go moldy. Heat but low humidity is best. Yeah, good luck with that.
And my very favourite thing to do is buy a 1 lb box of dates where some were so juicy that they got squished in transit. Because then you have to eat all the squished ones so they don’t make the others mouldy. That means an afternoon of high blood sugar followed by a big nap…not a bad
way to spend a Sunday.
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