Ajwa Dates are the sweet, brown dates that you might have seen in Ajwa Lake in Malaysia. They’re also known as Malaysian dates and are from the same palm tree as the national flower of Borneo (Aidong). They’re harvested and shipped to Ajwa Lake, where they’re used to season seafood, especially oysters. If you don’t care for that story, there are other types of dates available. In fact, when it comes to snacking or preparing a meal at home, most ethnic food tends to use these brown dates.
The reason it’s easy to see why these brown-hued dates are so popular is because they’re extremely versatile. You can use them for a variety of dishes: honey, peanut butter, salsas, stews, curries, desserts and even ice cream. A couple reasons for the versatility are that they’re easily available and relatively cheap compared to many other dried fruits. The other reason, which is the biggest reason, is that there’s a wide range of flavors: From light and subtle to robust and exotic.
The problem you may have if you don’t buy Ajwa dates directly from a seller is that the quality isn’t guaranteed. Many times, what you see is not what you get. Dried fruits that you purchase from a store may look similar to what you find on the shelves at an online market, but they’re likely not of the same high quality. That’s because suppliers cut their ajwaxes at the right temperature and then press them in a very precise way, resulting in tiny air bubbles. These bubbles aren’t visible to the naked eye, but they do affect how the product tastes once it’s inside your mouth. You’ll know if you buy low-quality dates by the sour, bitter taste in your mouth or by the thick, sticky coating on your tongue.
If you don’t want to use an online market to buy dates, you can buy Ajwa dates in any grocery store, discount retailer or even specialty store. You can even find them in good quality markets like food stores, grocery shops and health food stores, such as Whole Foods. You should be able to find Ajwa dates in your area or nearby market if you look hard enough, so go ahead and check your local market.
Another great way to find Ajwa dates wholesale is by buying them from bulk or large quantity bulk sellers. Some bulk or large quantity dry fruit wholesalers sell dates in their own brands. While you won’t have access to the whole lot yourself, you will have access to some. Most good quality retailers sell dates in their own brands and you can expect to pay more than if you went to say a specialty store, but you can save money if you buy your dates directly from a manufacturer, rather than from a discount retailer or wholesaler. Buying directly from manufacturers means that you are buying directly from the warehouse, and this is one of the easiest ways to get bulk discounts and save money.
There is a good chance that you will notice the smell of dates on someone else’s breath when they first chew it up. The reason for this is that there are a large number of chemicals, known as saponins, that are found in the date palm. If you buy cheap dates that you just chew on and spit out, then you may be leaving all that nasty chemical residue behind. If you buy quality dates and then eat them, the chemical residues are left behind and this can lead to bad breath, stomach upset and other unpleasant side effects of eating poor quality dates.