Date honey, date syrup, date molasses, Debes ( ar, دِبس, ), or rub ( ar, رُب, ; he, דְּבַש תמרים ''dvash tmarim'' or סילאן, ''silan''; fa, شیره خرما) is a thick dark brown, very sweet

fruit syrup Fruit syrups or fruit molasses are concentrated fruit juices used as sweeteners. Fruit syrups have been used in many cuisines: * in Arab cuisine, '' rub'', ''jallab''; * in Ancient Greek cuisine, ''epsima''; * in Greek cuisine, ''petimezi''; * ...

extracted from

dates Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating *Play date, an ...

. It is widely used in

Middle Eastern cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine or West Asian cuisine includes Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Egyptian, Georgian, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Kurdish, Lebanese, Palestinian and Turkish cuisines. Common ingredients include olives and ol ...

and

Maghrebi cuisine Maghreb cuisine is the cooking of the Maghreb region, the northwesternmost part of Africa along the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of the countries of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Well-known dishes from the region include ''c ...

Nutritional aspects

Date syrup is rich in the monosaccharides

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using ...

and

fructose Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galacto ...

. This means that most of its sugar content is absorbed into the bloodstream, and it raises the blood glucose levels more efficiently and immediately than other syrups. It is therefore highly suitable for people suffering from

hypoglycaemia Hypoglycemia, also called low blood sugar, is a fall in blood sugar to levels below normal, typically below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L). Whipple's triad is used to properly identify hypoglycemic episodes. It is defined as blood glucose belo ...

, for those with

sucrose intolerance Sucrose intolerance or genetic sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (GSID) is the condition in which sucrase-isomaltase, an enzyme needed for proper metabolism of sucrose (sugar) and starch (e.g., grains), is not produced or the enzyme produced is eithe ...

or those with pancreatic problems who have difficulty absorbing disaccharides. Date syrup is higher in magnesium and potassium than some natural sweeteners such as

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...

and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

, and it has been a popular alternative to sugar in recent years. It is also rich in antioxidants due to its high phenolic and flavonoid content and has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity.

In national cuisines

It is used widely in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

, usually with

asida Asida ( ar, عصيدة, ‘aṣīdah) is a dish with origins from the Maghreb. It is a lump of dough, obtained by stirring wheat flour into boiling water, sometimes with added butter or honey. Similar in texture to fufu, it is eaten in mainly ...

, a porridge-like dessert. In

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

and Iraqi cuisine, date syrup is used to sweeten

tahini Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant and E ...

, consumed at breakfast. An alternative is

grape syrup Grape syrup is a condiment made with concentrated grape juice. It is thick and sweet because of its high ratio of sugar to water. Grape syrup is made by boiling grapes, removing their skins, squeezing them through a sieve to extract the juice, a ...

. In

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, date syrup is used in desserts such as

baghrir Baghrir or beghrir (Arabic:البغرير), also known as ghrayef or mchahda, is a pancake consumed in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. They are small, spongy, and made with semolina or flour; when cooked correctly, they are riddled with tiny holes ...

. In the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

, date syrup is used for flavoring chicken and potatoes. They are rubbed in date syrup mixed with cardamom, salt, and olive oil, and then rolled in sesame before being fried in olive oil or baked it in the oven as a whole. Date honey is also used as a sauce for stuffed vegetables, such as onions and turnips, and as an ingredient in a semolina cake called

basbousa Basbousa () is a sweet, syrup-soaked semolina cake that originated in Egypt. The semolina batter is baked in a sheet pan, then sweetened with orange flower water, rose water or simple syrup, and typically cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes or squar ...

, which gives the cake a honey-like taste. Bangladesh produces around 20,000 tonnes of date molasses in each year. The

Kalkini Upazila Kalkini ( bn, কালকিনি) is an upazila of Madaripur District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. History Kalkini Police Station was established in 1909 and it was turned into an upazila on 1 February 1984. Kalkini Municipality was ...

region of Bangladesh is famous for its

date juice Date juice or Khejur Ras ( bn, খেজুর রস, Khejur Rosh) is sweet sap extracted from the Date Palm trees of Bengal in winter. It contains high natural sugars and others natural form. Bangladesh produces around 20,000 tonnes of date mo ...

and date molasses.

References

External links

* Arab cuisine Arabic drinks Algerian cuisine Sugar substitutes Syrup Libyan cuisine Iraqi cuisine Palestinian cuisine Israeli cuisine Date dishes {{arab-cuisine-stub

Nutritional aspects

In national cuisines

See also

References

External links