Ancient dates taste test

[guy]

A previous thread discussed the fact that today’s date palm trees are very different from those found in Ancient Rome. (See thread below):

“Israel is today one of the world’s great producers of dates. These date palm trees, however, are not the original date palm trees of Ancient Judaea. 

The original Israeli date palm trees were devastated by the Roman conquest of Ancient Judea. The Romans disrupted the date production. Also, human activity and climate change further impacted on their near-complete destruction by the 15th century.”

 

This article further describes the dates produced from ancient seeds found from previous excavations:

Quote

“In the last decade, Sallon and Elaine Solowey of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura germinated date seeds that were radiocarbon-dated to between 1,800 and 2,400 years old. The seeds had been discovered by archaeologists at sites in the Judean Desert, including Masada.

Seven trees grew.  The seven trees were named, from the oldest seed to the youngest: Methuselah, Hannah, Adam, Judith, Boaz, Jonah and Uriel. 
 

The changes in the genetic makeup of these germinated date palms show that Judean farmers used sophisticated agricultural practices and benefited from different varieties acquired from as far away as Arabia, Babylon and North Africa.

By the way, how does the fruit of Hannah, one of the female resurrected dates, taste? Like zahidi dates, says Haaretz correspondent Nir Hasson. “Drier and sweeter than the medjool with a taste like natural honey.” 

 

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/how-king-solomon-and-the-romans-shaped-the-judean-date-palm-1.10685653

 

 

Edited March 20, 2022 by guy