Natural Delights Medjool Dates Part II

This post is continued from my previous one here.

After picking the dates, we got to go to Datepac to see how the dates were packaged. Fun fact: Datepac just so happens to be the largest Medjool date packing and marketing facility in the United States.

Each crate color represents the garden and section from which the dates were picked from. Upon walking into the warehouse, you immediately smell the sweet scent in the air. It was like walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!

The packaging process is very similar to the harvesting process because both are labors of love. The dates are hand sorted multiple times in order to separate the acceptable and unacceptable dates.

Who knew that there could be so much variety in such a little fruit? The moisture content, the wrinkling of the skin, and the size all play contributing factors when it comes to sorting the dates. They get divided into jumbo, large, extra fancy, fancy, mini, and confection.

After hand picking out the unacceptable dates, the dates go through a computerized system that organizes the dates depending on their size. After taking a picture of each individual fruit, a gust of air will shoot the date off of the conveyer belt into the appropriate size category. It was amazing watching this in person– mostly because of how fast the process went and how accurate the computer is.

The reason that the workers don’t wear any gloves is because they have to feel them in order to sort them. You can’t tell how moist or dry the fruit is with gloves on.

As for the dates that aren’t quite pretty enough for the boxes (and they have a darn high standard!), they throw them into this machine to ground the fruit into rolls.

Here, you can see their pistachio rolls being covered and cut.

We were then put to the test at the end of the Datepac tour and had to sort dates ourselves in an assembly line with the conveyer belt running. Let me tell you, it’s way harder than it looks! We were doing it on an extra slow speed and I still thought we were moving too fast. It was definitely like a scene from “I Love Lucy.” Your hands have to move as fast as your eyes, and you’d have to know the difference between the dates without hesitation.

There is just so much to know about dates and I’m still learning! Let me spread some knowledge:

• Dates are possibly the oldest cultivated fruit. They’re also a fresh fruit that’s essentially shelf stable.
• They’re high in fiber. Just two dates provide 13% of your daily fiber (3 grams).
• They’re low on the glycemic index, meaning your blood sugar level remains more stable with sustained energy. No sugar crashes here!
• They’re fat and cholesterol free, making them a great snack.
• As if that’s not enough good to convince you to start eating dates, they’re also high in polyphenols, which can help fight against cancers.

Aside from dates, we also go to visit the Yuma sand dunes and the Mexican border.

We also had a smoothie competition where I was paired up with Caroline. We didn’t win, but it was still fun!

For our last night in Yuma, we had a dinner cooking demonstration by the wonderful Chef Alex Trujillo. Everything that he made was mouth watering and the venue was the most adorably festive kitchen I’ve ever seen.

Here’s a peak of our dinner… and that wan’t even all of the courses! I’m still dreaming about that meal.

Right before my flight back to San Francisco, I went on a tour of the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historical Park. It’s crazy how much history is in such a small building!

That about sums up my trip! I had such a great time and look forward to coming back sometime in the near future. If you’re ever in/around Bard Valley, make sure to try some Natural Delights Medjool Dates and check out their beautiful gardens!

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