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.
Al-Khunaizi — from the town of Qatif in 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.
ʿAbid Rahim (Arabic: عبد رحيم) — from Sudan. In Nigeria it is called Dabino and is commonly used by Nigerian Muslims to break their Ramadan fast.
Barakawi (Arabic: بركاوي) — from Sudan.
Barhee or barhi (from Arabic barh, meaning "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.
Dabbas — from United Arab Emirates.
Datça — in Turkey
Deglet Noor (Tunisian Arabic: دڨلة نور )— so named because the centre appears light or golden when held up to the sun. This is a leading date in Libya, Algeria, the U.S., and Tunisia, in the latter it is grown in inland oases and is the chief export cultivar. Its texture is semi-dry and is 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, United States, 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 for sweet) — these are soft, and extremely sweet, small to medium in size.
Haleema — in Hoon, Libya (Haleema is a woman's name).
Hayany (Hayani) — from Egypt ("Hayany" is a man's name) — these dates are dark-red to nearly black and soft.
Honey — unknown
Iteema — common in Algeria.
Kenta — common in Tunisia.
Khadrawi date
Medjool date
Khadrawi or Khadrawy (Arabic: 'green') — a cultivar favoured by many Arabs, it is a soft, very dark date.
Khalasah (Arabic for 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 Hofuf (Al-Ahsa) and Qatif in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (ash-Sharqīyah).
Khastawi (Khusatawi, Kustawy) — this is the leading soft date in Iraq; it is syrupy and small in size, prized for dessert.
Khenaizi — from United Arab Emirates.
Lulu — from United Arab Emirates.
Maktoom (Arabic for 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 U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Palestinian Territories; a large, sweet and succulent date.
Migraf (Mejraf) — very popular in Southern Yemen, these are large, golden-amber dates.
Mgmaget Ayuob — from Hun, Libya.
Mishriq (Arabic: مشرق "east") — from Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
Mozafati — (Persian: مضافتی, "Suburban/Peripheral") from Iran, where it is mainly grown in Kerman province, and often named "Bam date", after the city of Bam 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.[17]
Nabtat-seyf — in Saudi Arabia.
Rotab (Persian: رطب) — 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 for common) — these dates are dark orange-brown, of medium size, soft and syrupy.
Sukkary — (lit. sugary) (Arabic: سكري) Dark brown skin; distinctly sweet and soft flesh, from Saudi Arabia (Qassim), 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 for [Of the] 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 fresh (when they are typically served); extremely sweet, with sugar content creating a sense of desiccation in the mouth when eaten. The variety is essentially exclusive to Egypt, where it is subject to an element of nationalist sentiment on account of sharing a name with national hero Saad Zaghloul.
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.[clarification needed] It should be noted, however, that a cultivar can have several names depending on the locality.
Production[edit]
Date seller in the old souq in Kuwait City
Date City in Buraidah
Date output in 2012
Top ten date producers — 2012
(1000 metric tonnes)
Egypt 1470
Iran 1066
Saudi Arabia 1050
Algeria 789
Iraq 650
Pakistan 600
Oman 270
United Arab Emirates 250
Tunisia 190
Libya 170
Source:
UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)[18]