Hurry up and get the best out of this seasons date crops.
The harvest from this year’s crops are already in the markets since last week. At Doha’s Wholesale Market, you can find over 20 varieties and types of locally produced dates, of different shapes and sizes.
The vendors have to offer dates with several different tastes, color, thickness and size. All from local farms, mainly in Al Shamal and Al Khor.
The types of dates on up for sale include Shishi, Bahri, Lulu, Ikhlas, Hibri and Razeez. The most popular between them being the Qatari favorite, Ikhlas, which soft and very sweet with a dry skin. Another favorite is Shishi which is preferred half ripe.
The tradition of date farming in Qatar dates back to the bronze age. They were one of the earliest crops to be cultivated on the whole peninsula. Palm and dates played in important role in Qatari economics throughout history since palm leaves were also used in construction.
Dates have significant nutritious value, and have been crucial to the Arabian desert diets. They are a great source of dietary potassium and are made up of around 80% sugar. The rest of the date fruit is fiber, protein and trace elements including boron, cobalt, copper, fluorine, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc.
