[custom_adv] The origins of date production and use in the country go back to about 4000 bc. Today, more than 400 types of date and various kinds of date-based foods are consumed by the Iranian people. This study aimed at documenting the information about date and date-based products in Iranian cuisine. [custom_adv] The most common and popular types of date in country such as mazafati, zahedi, piyarom, and kabkab were introduced. Also, the popular kinds of date-based products such as date-pilaf, egg-date, and date-pastry were documented. Additionally, the cultural and social aspects of these foods were considered. [custom_adv] The harvest for early varieties like Mozarati starts in the second or third week of August, while late varieties like Pyarom are harvested from the second or third week of October onward. This means that in general the season for Iranian dates usually lasts from mid August until early November. [custom_adv] Date trees typically reach about 21–23 metres (69–75 ft) in height, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. Date fruits (dates) are oval-cylindrical, 3–7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) long, and about an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter, ranging from bright red to bright yellow in color, depending on variety. They are very sweet, containing about 75 percent of sugar when dried. [custom_adv] Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in Arabia from the 6th millennium BCE. The total annual world production of dates amounts to 8.5 million metric tons, countries of the Middle East and North Africa being the largest producers. [custom_adv] The species name dactylifera "date-bearing" comes from the Greek words daktylos , which means "date" (also "finger"), and fero , which means "I bear". The fruit is known as a date.The fruit's English name (through Old French), as well as the Latin both come from the Greek word for "finger", dáktulos, because of the fruit's elongated shape. [custom_adv] Dried date, peach, and apricot from Lahun, Fayum, Egypt. Late Middle Kingdom Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia between 5530 and 5320 calBC. [custom_adv] They are believed to have originated around what is now Iraq, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians used the fruits to make date wine, and ate them at harvest. [custom_adv] There is archeological evidence of date cultivation in Mehrgarh around 7000 BCE, a Neolithic civilization in what is now western Pakistan. Evidence of cultivation is continually found throughout later civilizations in the Indus Valley, including the Harappan period 2600 to 1900 BCE. [custom_adv] In Ancient Rome the palm fronds used in triumphal processions to symbolize victory were most likely those of Phoenix dactylifera. The date palm was a popular garden plant in Roman peristyle gardens, though it would not bear fruit in the more temperate climate of Italy. [custom_adv] It is recognizable in frescoes from Pompeii and elsewhere in Italy, including a garden scene from the House of the Wedding of Alexander.In later times, traders spread dates around South West Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. Dates were introduced into Mexico and California by the Spaniards in 1765, around Mission San Ignacio. [custom_adv] A date palm cultivar, probably what used to be called Judean date palm, is renowned for its long-lived orthodox seed, which successfully sprouted after accidental storage for 2000 years. The upper survival time limit of properly stored seeds remains unknown. [custom_adv] Date trees typically reach about 21–23 metres (69–75 ft) in height, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. The leaves are 4–6 metres (13–20 ft) long, with spines on the petiole, and pinnate, with about 150 leaflets. The leaflets are 30 cm (12 in) long and 2 cm (0.79 in) wide. The full span of the crown ranges from 6–10 m (20–33 ft).
