[Sca-cooks] storing dates

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Sandra asked:
> I normally buy dates in relatively small quantities with a  particular
> recipe in mind, but I have just been gifted with a 1-kilo box of pitted
> Omani dates, and I'm not sure how to handle them.  They're lined up  
> in nice rows (in 2 layers) in a plastic lidded box, and I wonder if I 
> need to refrigerate them, just leave on a (dark) pantry shelf, or ....? I 
> seem to recall they keep quite well, but don't know if they'll dry out 
> and/or get tough or sugary if I don't use them soon enough.

Then Stefan quoted me:
===========
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 23:57:19 -0800
From: Lilinah <lilinah at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Dates
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Felicia wrote:
 > How should dates be stored?  I have searched the web with as many
 > different ways of phrasing "How should dates be stored" with no real
 > luck.  I keep getting references to storing data!
 >
 > I feel like if I put them in the refrigerator, they will get sticky
 > from the humidity.  However, leaving them in their box on the
 > counter doesn't seem quite right either.  They arrived in only a box
 > with a piece of celophane folded over them.

Put 'em well covered (in a tightly sealed container) in a cool dark
place. They don't need to be refrigerated, and they will survive out
on your counter.

As for all the recipes you are receiving, i really think it's a waste
of good dates to mix them with all those other ingredients. I really
think these should be enjoyed as they are.

They will keep for a long long time. Sometimes some of the sugar in
them will crystallize on their surface, so if you see some white on
their skins, it's not likely to be mold, but just their own natural
sugar.
--- End Quote ---

Note my reply contains a typo. It should say:
> They don't need to be refrigerated, and they will not survive out
> on your counter.
('cuz they're likely to dry out and crystallize if left out)

Felicia had received a large box of dates from Dubai she said were "huge, moist and delicious".

Dates can be refrigerated, if *tightly* sealed. And one web page i visited even recommended freezing them, with the proper precautions, saying they could keep that way a for a year.

And if they do get sugary, they're still fine to eat, although they might better be cooked in recipes at that point.

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita