7HotDates.com -- The Finest Dates in the US

[Cookie Monster]

For those of you with a sweet tooth or anybody looking for a nice holiday gift, I'd like to recommend 7hotdates.com. Their dates are absolutely spectacular -- light years better than anything you can find in the store and organic to boot.

My 2 favorites are Khadrawy and Medjool (wet pack!). I just finished off 11 pounds worth :-).

[buddyguygreen]

Thanks for the heads up, ive been eating my fill of medjool from the store but their cheaper online in bulk, I was looking at other online sites to order a few other varieties in bulk so i'll order some from these guys now. I see they have Barhi dates, Haven't had those since i was in California years ago, they are ridiculously good.

[Tropicalgrower89]

I thought this was a spam post about a dating website. lol I like dates. I've usually gotten the ones from Publix (not the publix brand). They make a good pizza topping, but I like eating them as is.

[starch]

I *love* dates. And the best date I have had yet to date (yuk, yuk) are Black Sphinx Dates. Moist, melt-in-your-mouth (not chewy), caramel and vanilla flavors. Just so good!!

I love these dates so much that I was able to obtain a Black Sphinx Date pup. So in a few years, I can have some of my own!

[Doglips]

I ordered from them last year, zero complaints.

I ordered several different varieties. 
I considered these three the best of what I had...
Medjool
Khadrawy
Halawy

I would change my opinion on what was best almost daily.
You definitely want the wet dates, the difference between wet dates and dry of the same variety can be huge.
They freeze extremely well too.
I was a date virgin until had them, now I'm a slut.

[Jsvand5]

Well you talked me into it. I got a sampler pack. About $10 a pound shipped. Not too bad.

[WaterFowler]

September thru November is the best time of year to get dates. I wonder if these guys are still shipping dates that haven't been frozen and thawed. You can keep them at least 2 months(probably longer) at 33 degrees in low humidity without having to worry about them sugaring or getting mold. Even thawed they are delicious, and the average consumer probably can't tell the difference between thawed and fresh.

I should start my own mail order date business haha(although that might represent a conflict of interest I won't get into). You can buy them here all day long at $40/11#box for jumbo wet medjools, or $1.25-.35/lb for bulk top quality field run jumbo medjools during season. You even see guys parked on the side of the road this time of year selling 11# boxes for $20, but those are usually lower quality, sometimes yellow end medjools.

You can probably look forward to cheaper dates in the future and many more online outlets for dates. It seems like every bit of vacant land here is popping up with new medjool palms. One of the largest grape producers here in the valley even tore out their grape vines and put hundreds of acres of medjools. We may have reached a saturation point despite the increasing demand for medjool dates here in the US. I believe bulk dates dropped .15-.20/lb this season versus last.

[Cookie Monster]

Per their FAQ page, they are not frozen:

"They're never frozen. After harvest, Bautista Dates are stored at 42-45°F, maintaining their exceptionally fresh flavor and texture."

http://7hotdates.com/faq.html

The prices include shipping, and while you locals can buy these dates at farmers markets, the only thing we get in this part of the country are small and dry medjools from the previous year's harvest. And those are like $4/pound at the warehouse stores.

I actually prefer the khadrawy to the medjool. The medjool are indeed larger, but the medjool flavor and sweetness is off the charts. Khadrawy is just mild enough to be highly consumable. Only problem is -- weight gain. 11 pounds of dates has to contain a mountain of calories :-).

[jegpg1]

I had been buying medjool dates at a local Sam's club and they have the good, soft, chewy kind and the ones that look like we're taken from the tomb of king Tut. I was able to successfully germinate a few seeds, I have 5 left growing in pots.

[WaterFowler]

I had been buying medjool dates at a local Sam's club and they have the good, soft, chewy kind and the ones that look like we're taken from the tomb of king Tut. I was able to successfully germinate a few seeds, I have 5 left growing in pots.

Are you growing them as ornamentals? The reason I ask, is because I believe they need 2-3 months off 100 degree weather to get enough sugar to be edible. Even here in the one of the hottest places in the US, some trees are always a little late to ripen before the cold(85 degree weather) sets in. You can spot these late comers because the top of the date is very light brown to yellow. These yellow end dates taste like blah.

Also, if they get any prolonged humidity, the inside of the date will develop black spores. You can actually see a puff of black powder come out of them if you smash it with your hand. Every year the date farmers dread they will get any measurable rain right before or during harvest season.

[WaterFowler]

Per their FAQ page, they are not frozen:

"They're never frozen. After harvest, Bautista Dates are stored at 42-45°F, maintaining their exceptionally fresh flavor and texture."

http://7hotdates.com/faq.html

45 degrees seems a little warm to be storing organic dates. Have you come across any moth larvae inside their dates? Most of the big packing sheds send their organic dates to the freezer immediately  because they cannot fumigate them, this is vitally important during the latter half of the season so they can kill the eggs before they hatch.

[jegpg1]

I had been buying medjool dates at a local Sam's club and they have the good, soft, chewy kind and the ones that look like we're taken from the tomb of king Tut. I was able to successfully germinate a few seeds, I have 5 left growing in pots.

Are you growing them as ornamentals? The reason I ask, is because I believe they need 2-3 months off 100 degree weather to get enough sugar to be edible. Even here in the one of the hottest places in the US, some trees are always a little late to ripen before the cold(85 degree weather) sets in. You can spot these late comers because the top of the date is very light brown to yellow. These yellow end dates taste like blah.

Also, if they get any prolonged humidity, the inside of the date will develop black spores. You can actually see a puff of black powder come out of them if you smash it with your hand. Every year the date farmers dread they will get any measurable rain right before or during harvest season.

I germinated them as experiment. They really do not get too much attention and survive in plastic pots. I think I have them for over 2 years. Survived 2 winters (none below freezing temp) without protection even as seedlings.

[Cookie Monster]

No, I've not seen any larvae. That would probably not be popular with most buyers.

45 degrees seems a little warm to be storing organic dates. Have you come across any moth larvae inside their dates? Most of the big packing sheds send their organic dates to the freezer immediately  because they cannot fumigate them, this is vitally important during the latter half of the season so they can kill the eggs before they hatch.

[StPeteMango]

Thanks. Will give them a try. Have been buying medjool and deglet noor from Sam's Club, Publix and a Middle Eastern store. Like to have a few every day. Complex carbs, potassium ... great after a workout. There's also a place in Thermal, Calif., that grows them. My sister got me a box once; excellent quality.

[WaterFowler]

No, I've not seen any larvae. That would probably not be popular with most buyers.

45 degrees seems a little warm to be storing organic dates. Have you come across any moth larvae inside their dates? Most of the big packing sheds send their organic dates to the freezer immediately  because they cannot fumigate them, this is vitally important during the latter half of the season so they can kill the eggs before they hatch.

Well they must know what they are doing, I talked to a local rancher right now who lives in Mecca near them. He said they are the cream of the crop for small date ranchers, use only dates from their farm and run their farm in a way the big businesses can't compete with. He said they are family run, and use the same employees every year. He said they are what he aspires to be one day.

I asked this guy what he had for sale. Showed me this 11# box for $28. Maybe not 7HotDates quality, but it's cheap. Unfortunately I only like non-hydrated deglets, super dry medjools and barhis.

[Cookie Monster]

OK Thanks for the verification. Their dates are ridiculously delicious.

Well they must know what they are doing, I talked to a local rancher right now who lives in Mecca near them. He said they are the cream of the crop for small date ranchers, use only dates from their farm and run their farm in a way the big businesses can't compete with. He said they are family run, and use the same employees every year. He said they are what he aspires to be one day.

I asked this guy what he had for sale. Showed me this 11# box for $28. Maybe not 7HotDates quality, but it's cheap. Unfortunately I only like non-hydrated deglets, super dry medjools and barhis.

[fyliu]

Interesting. Maybe it's like honey that never goes bad. I was going to say the bug eggs thing too. I freeze most of my herbs for a couple days now to kill anything that might be on them: jujube, ginseng. Sushi meats are also frozen first to kill any parasites.

[carcarlo]

Hi Jeff 11 Lbs WOW! I love Dates too! I will be ordering from them, I had never heard of 7 Hot Dates, I'm glad u posted it, by the way does anyone know a good place to buy good Dry Figs, my other favorite.
Carlos

[Doglips]

September thru November is the best time of year to get dates. I wonder if these guys are still shipping dates that haven't been frozen and thawed. You can keep them at least 2 months(probably longer) at 33 degrees in low humidity without having to worry about them sugaring or getting mold.

Sugaring (crystalizing) is easy the rectify, just heat (warm) them up, the sugar melts.

Mountain of calories is right, they are like candy.  And I'm not a candy person, I feel like I've led a deprived without dates until now, I blame my parents.

[EvilFruit]

Jeff, I highly recommend trying Khalas and shishi. You will love them.

shishi


Khalas

[EvilFruit]

The traditional way of eating dates is to eat them with cottage cheese or yogurt (if you want to cut down the calories) and black coffee. dates and cottage cheese/yogurt should balance each other flavor and make it more appealing, in my opinion. When you are done from eating dates, drink your coffee and it will remove the sweetness from your mouth. You can also remove the cottage cheese from the menu  and eat your dates with  black coffee.

[cmichael258]

Thanks EF. Those dates look good enough to print the page and eat it. The cottage cheese sounds
 like a good balance to the sweetness.

[forumfool]

Got my "Royal Treatment" sampler in today from 7hotdates. Wow...very much improved over typical dried dates at the store. Deglect Noor had a butterscotch taste to them, which surprised me as I have DN in my fridge now from Costco and they taste quite different. Zahidi to me is typical of a store bought date, at least in my sampler. All other varieties are excellent wet pack is the way to go!

[skhan]

Thanks for the tip Jeff.
I ordered a dry pack, I'm looking for chewy, less sweet type.
So far my favorites are the honey dates

[bsbullie]

Thanks for the tip Jeff.
I ordered a dry pack, I'm looking for chewy, less sweet type.
So far my favorites are the honey dates

You are looking for less sweet...the Honey dates do not really fall into that category.