“Wait, why should I try these substitutes for dates?” You may wonder. Indeed, dates are tasty and easy to find at grocery stores. But there are chances that you run out of them at home and so do nearby grocery stores.
Waiting for the stores to restock their supplies takes weeks or months. Clearly, it’s not a good idea if you need them for emergent dishes to serve your friends or coworkers. Read this article to be fully equipped with knowledge about date substitutes to prepare for those bad scenarios.
What Are Dates?
First, let’s review some common knowledge about dates.
Dates are the fruits that come from the date palms. The trees have a long history of cultivation in Western Asia and Northern Africa dating back 5000 years ago (1). Their popularity has widely spread to other parts of the world and cultivated into numerous varieties.
While many palms produce both male and female flowers on the same trees, date palms produce either of those organs. Only female palms bear fruits, which means dates are harvested from those trees solely.
Dates are small fruits that come in an oblong shape. Their colors vary from bright red to bright yellow, depending on the varieties. These fruits have high sugar contents, which gives them a very sweet flavor. This profile is even more intense as they are dried.
Along with the sweetness, dates have a subtle caramel-like flavor and a soft, chewy texture. Because of these properties, dates are common in various dishes. You can add them to cakes, puddings, or biscuits. In addition, salads and stews are also great combinations with dates.
Find out how dates travel from farm to table through this informative video.
More Reasons To Substitute Dates
Although running out of dates is why you seek out substitutes in the first place, there are other cases you may also consider.
First, dates come with a very sweet flavor. For many people, this is a bonus because they can use these fruits as a sweetener in their desserts and baked goods. However, not all people enjoy dates’ intense sweetness and may want to seek out slighter sweet substitutes.
Second, dates have high amounts of sugar. Despite their incredible taste and nutrition, these fruits are loaded with a higher sugar content than most dried fruits. Consuming too many dates can negatively impact blood sugar.
This is clearly not good news for those who are cutting down on sugar due to potential risks. Therefore, finding other alternatives to dates is understandable.
The Best Substitutes For Dates You Should Look At
Fortunately, there are a variety of substitutes for dates that you can consider. For a summary, look at the table below.
Raisins
When grapes are processed either by sun-drying or dehydrating, they turn into raisins. These dried grapes vary in size and color depending on their varieties. Raisins can be eaten alone or added to other dishes, like oatmeal and baked goods.
These dried grapes come with a milder sweet flavor compared to dates. This makes it an excellent choice for people who have a sweet tooth but enjoy foods that are not intensely sweet as dates. For texture, raisins are soft and chewy, which are viable to alter dates.
Raisin Paste
Raisin pate is a substitute that comes from raisins. It’s made by grinding and blending soaked raisins until they become a smooth paste. Due to this form, raisin paste is versatile and has many uses, like dressings, marinades, and ice cream toppings.
The raisins also give this paste a milder sweet flavor, which is an ideal alternative for dates. Besides, the smooth and creamy texture of raisin paste enables it to improve the flavor of certain dishes, such as desserts and baked goods.
Small Apricots
Apricots are native to some parts of Russia and China. These fruits were important commodities on the Silk Road 3000 BC ago and were only introduced to the United States in the 1700s (2). Today, apricots are cultivated worldwide, but they are supplied most by Turkey.
When it comes to substituting dates, small apricots are a better choice than full-brown ones. This is because these immature fruits have incredibly well-balanced sweet and fruity flavors. Their softness and versatility are also a bonus to deal with.
Aside from their sweetness, small apricots also come with a slightly sour flavor. For texture, these fruits are often firmer than other stone fruit cousins. The firmness is greater in unripe apricots and less in ripe ones.
The flavor and texture allow them to be suitable for a variety of dishes, including snacks, baked goods, and salads.
Dried Apricots
Dried apricots vary in color depending on how much sulfur dioxide (SO2) they include. Commercial ones often come in bright orange or yellow due to their SO2 contents, whereas their organic counterparts are brown in color.
On the subject of substituting dates, dried apricots are a perfect candidate. They are chewy and very sweet. Because of this, dried apricots can fit well in any recipes that recall dates. If you soak your dried apricots in water, they then can be used in biscuits, bars, and cookies.
Check this video out to make your own dried apricots at home.
Dried Cranberries
Among other types of dried berries, dried cranberries are undoubtedly the ideal substitute for dates due to their subtly sweet flavor. However, if you want to substitute dried cranberries for dates, you should know that the former is much tarter than the latter.
Pairing with sweet and savory dishes will take the most advantage of dried cranberries’ flavor. In addition, their chewiness can enhance the texture of your dishes. And the deep red of this substitute is perfect for making your salads, oatmeal, and bread more appealing to the eyes.
Dried Cherries
Dried cherries have sour and sweet flavors. But their sweetness is less intense than that of dates. For this reason, in case you can’t stand the sweet intensity of dates, you should give dried cherries a try.
The chewy texture of dried cherries is also a bonus. Because of their flavor and texture, dried cherries are often included in several dishes, such as oatmeal, cakes, pies, and other breakfast foods. And if you combine this substitute with trail mix or granola, you will have a tasty snack.
In addition, dried cherries are loaded with high amounts of fiber and antioxidants. If you are looking for a nutritious date substitute, they are exactly what you should add to your priority list.
Dried Peaches
Dried peaches are one of the healthiest substitutes for dates. They are loaded with high amounts of vitamins, fiber, potassium, and other essential minerals. This means dried peaches can positively impact blood pressure, blood sugar control, and cholesterol.
Not only healthy, but dried peaches are also delicious. They come with a milder sweet flavor and soft and chewy texture. These profiles make dried peaches an excellent alternative for dates, especially in making jellies and jams.
Dried Figs
Similar to dates, dried figs also have an intensely sweet flavor and chewy texture. This substitute consists of less sugar and fewer calories but more essential minerals than dates. As a result, dried figs can be a healthier alternative to dates in your baking and breakfast.
When you substitute dates with dried figs in recipes, the perfect ratio should be 1:1. However, you will need a larger number of dried figs than dates to recreate the same sweetness. The reason behind this is simply that dried figs often come in smaller sizes.
Try this easy and delicious Italian cookie recipe with your dried figs.
Prunes
If you want a more affordable choice than dates, you should check prunes out. These black dried plums don’t have dates’ sweet intensity but subtle sweetness and chewiness. This helps them earn positions in numerous dishes and can be eaten as a snack as well.
There are a variety of ways to incorporate prunes into your foods. For example, small chopped prunes will go well with breakfast foods, smoothies, and salads. In addition, prunes are also wrapped with bacon to serve as an appetizer or added to chocolate, almond paste, and nuts.
Maple Syrup
Unlike most of the substitutes, maple syrup isn’t made from the fruit but from the sap of maple trees. Its production technique involves heating the sap to evaporate its water contents. There are 4 maple syrup grades based on their colors: Golden, Amber, Dark, and Very Dark.
This sticky syrup is often used to improve the tastes of pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, and sweets due to its sweet and caramel-like flavors. Although maple syrup is loaded with lower nutrients than dates, the former contains lower sugar amounts than the latter.
For this reason, maple syrup is a better choice to cut down on sugar in your diet.
Date Syrup
Date syrup is a soft, sticky liquid with sweet and molasses-like flavors. Among hundreds of dates, Medjool dates are the most well-known for making date syrup. These fruits are sweeter, stickier, and considerably softer than other varieties.
The flavor and texture of date syrup enable it to be common in numerous dishes. It can be used as a natural sweetener in pancakes, oatmeal, and ice cream. Or you can spread this syrup on your bread and toast. And if you are a coffee fan, you can try to add this syrup to your cups too.
Compared to maple syrup, date syrup has higher amounts of potassium, iron, and fiber. This makes it a healthier option when it comes to substituting dates.
Jaggery
Jaggery is unrefined sugar made from the juices of palms or sugar canes. Not only a great date substitute, but it’s also a healthier alternative to white sugar. This is because jaggery is packed with more vitamins and minerals and less sucrose than regular sugar.
This brown sugar is crystallized and sweet and tastes similar to caramel, maple syrup, or molasses. This complex flavor allows jaggery to balance or upgrade the tastes of sweet, savory, and spicy dishes. Besides, it also pairs well with bread, granola, and other baked goods.
Discover more about 14 ways jaggery can benefit your health through this in-depth video.
Dried Jujubes
Jujubes (also known as Chinese dates) have a rich history of cultivation in China dating back to 4000 years ago(3). Fresh fruits taste sweet and similar to apples, whereas dried jujubes have a chewy texture and a sweet flavor. However, its sweetness is milder than that of dates.
The profiles of dried jujubes make them common in candies and desserts or eaten alone as a healthy snack. On top of that, you can add dried jujubes to tea or soups as well. However, these fruits may not be as accessible as dates in grocery stores outside Asia.
Cascara
Cascara is a by-product of coffee production. The coffee cherry skins are first removed from the fruits and then dried in the sun to turn into cascara. This substitute comes with sweet, fruity, and floral flavors and a shell-like and brittle texture.
Although their properties may not be the best idea for substituting dates, cascara can still be used interchangeably with dates in certain recipes. Preparing herbal tea or tisane is the most popular use of cascara. But you can also add it to enhance the flavors of food and beverages.
FAQs
As usual, there are other questions about dates and their substitute that you should take a look at. They can provide you with helpful information about this topic. Let’s give them a read.
Choosing Date Substitutes Will Not Be A Problem Anymore!
At this time, I’m sure that you have been fully equipped with essential knowledge about choosing date substitutes. If someday you happen to run out of dates at parties or celebrations, I know you will handle it smoothly and perfectly.
Of all the options mentioned in the post, which are your top 3 substitutes and why? Let me know your choices in the comment section below. And if you can take one more step, sharing the post with others, I will really appreciate it too.
Thanks for reading. And have a nice day!
References
- Date palm (no date) San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals and Plants.
- Apricot – Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (no date).
- Yao, S. (2013) Past, present, and future of Jujubes-Chinese dates in the United States, hortsci. American Society for Horticultural Science.
