Dates have a long shelf life, and many varieties, including thecommon deglet noor, are often sold dried and processed. The driedfruit is more than 50 percent sugar by weight and contains about2 percent each of protein, fat, and mineralmatter. Other types of dates, such as the medjool, are eaten asfresh produce and gradually shrink and wrinkle as they age.

Date palm, (Phoenix dactylifera), tree of thepalm family (Arecaceae) cultivated for its sweet edible fruits.The date palm has been prized from remotest antiquity and mayhave originated in what is now Iraq. The fruit has been thestaple food and chief source of wealth in the irrigable desertsof North Africa and the Middle East. Spanish missionaries carriedthe tree to the New World in the 18th and early 19th centuries.Date palms are grown in the Canary Islands, northern Africa, theMiddle East, Pakistan, India, Mexico, and the U.S. state ofCalifornia.