Fruits
Dried Dates in gelato
Dried dates are the sun-dried fruit of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), roughly 79% solids of which about 64g per 100g are natural sugars. In gelato they act as a high-intensity natural sweetener and flavour paste that pushes up anti-freezing power (PAC).
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 79% |
| Water | 21% |
| Sugars | 64% |
| Fat | 0.4% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 2.4% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 72 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 100 |
Typical use: 5-15% of the recipe as date paste (higher toward a date-forward flavour, lower when used only as a partial sugar/flavour accent)
Balance dried dates in a real recipe
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Dates are used as a natural sweetener and flavour base, most often blended into a smooth paste with water or milk before being added to the mix. Because their sugars are roughly one-third glucose, one-third fructose and one-third sucrose, they carry a high PAC (~100 vs sucrose 100 on a product basis) while POD sits near 72, so they raise anti-freezing power and softness more than they raise perceived sweetness. Their fibre (~8%) also boosts total solids and body. Introduce gradually and rebalance sugars, since date paste can quickly lower the serving temperature and make the gelato too soft if overused.
Origin & background
The date palm is among the oldest cultivated fruit trees, grown in Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula for over 6,000 years; archaeological and textual records place its domestication in the region before 4000 BCE. Deglet Noor and Medjool remain the dominant commercial cultivars, and Deglet Noor is the USDA FoodData Central reference sample (FDC #171726).
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central, Dates, Deglet Noor, FDC #171726 (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/171726/nutrients) — mirrored at https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Dates%2C_deglet_noor_nutritional_value.html: water 20.5g, total sugars 63.3g (glucose 19.9 / fructose 19.6 / sucrose 23.8), protein 2.4g, fat 0.4g per 100g
- Matvaretabellen (Norwegian Food Composition Table), Dates, dried (https://www.matvaretabellen.no/en/dates-dried/): water 22g, total sugars 68g, protein 2.4g, fat 0.2g per 100g
- Date Fruit Composition and Nutrition, dateshub.org (https://www.dateshub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Date_Fruit_Composition_and_Nutrition-1.pdf) — supporting: date flesh dominated by glucose+fructose+sucrose, moisture 10-25% in dried dates