Dear Friends of Pato's Dream Date Gardens,

    Our 2008 crop of organically grown dates is nearing harvest on our 5-acre farm in the Coachella Valley of California, where temperatures have been topping 110 degrees since June.  We will be offering Khalal dates (still hard and crunchy, like an apple) in August and September, and will be picking the new crop of fully ripened dates (including Medjhools, Halawis, and Deglet Noor) starting in late September and October.  (For availability of other varieties, e-mail us).  For year end delivery, we will ship orders received on or before December 15, 2008, and will resume shipments January 5, 2009.  We continue to offer our dates at the Alhambra Farmers Market on most Sundays, and on line at www.localharvest.org web site (or, with a check or money order direct from Pato's).  Visit our web page at www.patosdategardens.com

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Khalal Dates, 2008 harvest  

        Pato's is offering organically grown fresh picked dates in the khalal stage, for mail order purchase, for 8 weeks only, August 1-September 30, 2008.  We will also be bringing them in to the Alhambra Farmers' Market (Monterrey and Bay State, Sundays, 8:30-12) beginning August 3.

      Dates in the Khalal stage are still crunchy, like an apple.  The color is usually yellow (or magenta - purple in the case of Black Sphinx).  As they continue to ripen after picking, they begin to turn amber and brown (or black), turning very soft in the rutab stage.  (If left on the palm, they continue to ripen from the rutab to their final stage, tamar, and then begin to loose moisture, becoming firm enough to ship, and then chewy). The flavor of dates in the khalal stage can be on the tart side, pucker your mouth like a persimmon, unless picked very close to ripening, and then a very special flavor.  (I wait for a brown spot to appear to tell me they are ready, but many palates prefer them earlier than that).  Put them in the fridge to hold them in the khalal stage a little longer, or hang them out in kitchen, porch, or sukkah  to continue ripening.

(Keep dry and airy to avoid mold)...