Phoenix Dactylifera - Cultivars of Dates

Cultivars of Dates

A large number of date cultivars are grown. The most important are:

• Aabel — common in Libya.
• Ajwah — from the town of Medina in Saudi Arabia, it is the subject of a famous Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad.
• Al-Barakah — from Saudi Arabia.
• Amir Hajj or 'Amer Hajj' — from Iraq, these are soft with a thin skin and thick flesh, sometimes called "the visitor's date" because it is a delicacy served to guests.
• 'Abid Rahim (Arabic: عبد رحيم), from Sudan. In Nigeria it is called Dabino and used by Muslims to break their fast.
• Barakawi (Arabic: بركاوي), from Sudan.
• Barhee or (barhi) (from Arabic barh, a hot wind) — these are nearly spherical, light amber to dark brown when ripe; soft, with thick flesh and rich flavour. One of the few varieties that are good in the khalal stage when they are yellow (like a fresh grape as opposed to dry, like a raisin).
• Bireir (Arabic: برير) — from Sudan.
• Datça Date - Turkey
• Deglet Noor (Arabic: دڤلة النور 'date of light') — so named because the centre appears light or golden when held up to the sun. This is a leading date in Libya, Algeria, the USA, and Tunisia, and in the latter country it is grown in inland oases and is the chief export cultivar. It is semi-dry and not very sweet.
• Derrie or 'Dayri' (the 'Monastery' date) — from southern Iraq — these are long, slender, nearly black, and soft.
• Empress — developed by the DaVall Family in Indio California USA from a seedling of 'Thoory'. It is large, and is softer and sweeter than 'Thoory'. It generally has a light tan top half and brown bottom half.
• Fardh or Fard - common in Oman, deep dark brown, tender skin, sweet flavor, small seed. Keeps well when well packed.
• Ftimi or 'Alligue' — these are grown in inland oases of Tunisia.
• Holwah (Halawi) (Arabic: 'sweet') — these are soft, and extremely sweet, small to medium in size.
• Haleema — in Hoon, Libya (Haleema is a woman's name).
• Hayany — from Egypt (Hayani) (Hayany is a man's name) — these dates are dark-red to nearly black and soft.
• Honey — Unknown
• Iteema — common in Algeria.
• Khajur — common in India / Pakistan.
• Kenta — common in Tunisia.

• Khadrawy (Arabic: 'green') — a cultivar favoured by many Arabs, it is a soft, very dark date.
• Khalasah (Arabic: 'quintessence') — one of the most famous palm cultivars in Saudi Arabia, famous for its sweetness level that is not high nor low, thus, suits most people. Its fruit is called 'Khlas'. Its famous place is 'Huffuf' (Al-Ahsa) and 'Qatif' in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (Al-Sharqheyah).
• Khastawi (Khusatawi, Kustawy) — this is the leading soft date in Iraq; it is syrupy and small in size, prized for dessert.
• Maktoom (Arabic: 'hidden') — this is a large, red-brown, thick-skinned, soft, medium-sweet date.
• Manakbir — a large fruit that ripens early.
• Medjool or (Mejhool) (Arabic: مجهول 'unknown') — from Morocco, also grown in the USA, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Israel; a large, sweet and succulent date.
• Migraf (Mejraf) — very popular in Southern Yemen, these are large, golden-amber dates.
• Mgmaget Ayuob — from Hoon, Libya.
• Mishriq (Arabic: 'East' — مشرق) — from Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
• Mozafati — from Iran, where it is mainly grown in Kerman province, and often named "Bam (Mozafati) dates", after a city in that province. It is a dark, soft and sweet date of medium size. It is exceptionally well-suited for fresh consumption, because of its long shelf life. At a temperature of −5 degrees Celsius (23 °F) it can be kept for up to 2 years. It accounts for 10% of total Iranian date crop. (100,000 tons, of which 30% is exported).
• Nabtat-seyf — in Saudi Arabia.
• Rotab — from Iran, they are dark and soft.
• Sag‘ai — from Saudi Arabia.
• Saidy (Saidi) — soft, very sweet, these are popular in Libya.
• Sayer (Sayir) (Arabic: 'common') — these dates are dark orange-brown, of medium size, soft and syrupy.
• Sekkeri — (lit. sugary) (Arabic: سكري) Dark brown skin; distinctly sweet and soft flesh, from Saudi Arabia, it is the most expensive kind.
• Sellaj — (Arabic: سلّج)in Saudi Arabia.
• Tagyat — common in Libya.
• Tamej — in Libya.
• Thoory (Thuri) — popular in Algeria, this dry date is brown-red when cured with a bluish bloom and very wrinkled skin. Its flesh is sometimes hard and brittle but the flavour described as sweet and nutty.
• Umeljwary — in Libya.
• Umelkhashab — Brilliant red skin; bittersweet, hard white flesh (Saudi Arabia).
• Zahidi (Arabic: ' ascetic') — these medium size, cylindrical, light golden-brown semi-dry dates are very sugary, and sold as soft, medium-hard and hard.
• Zaghloul (Arabic: زغلول‎) -Dark red skin, long, and very crunchy when served fresh (as they invariably are), their sugar content is so high that it desiccates the mouth. The variety is essentially exclusive to Egypt, where it is subject to an element of nationalist sentiment (Saad Zaghloul being a major Egyptian national hero).

The Gaza Strip, especially Deir al-Balah, "Village of Dates", is known for its exceptionally sweet red dates. There are more than 100 known cultivars in Iraq. It should be noted, however, that a cultivar can have several names depending on the locality.