Medjool
{{short description|Date cultivar}}
{{Infobox cultivar
|name = Medjool
|image = Świeży daktyle odmiany MEDJOOL.jpg
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|genus = Phoenix
|species = Phoenix dactylifera
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The Medjool date ({{Langx|ar|تمر المجهول|links=no}} - tamar al-majhūl. Tamar means 'date' and majhūl means 'unknown', from جَهِلَ jahila, 'to not know'){{cite book |editor1-first=Abdelouahhab |editor1-last=Zaid |title=Date Palm Cultivation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-9qkOviOcqAC&q=medjool+etymology+unknown |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |volume=156 |date=2002 |isbn=9789251048634 |access-date=March 25, 2023 |archive-date=April 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425143807/https://books.google.com/books?id=-9qkOviOcqAC&q=medjool+etymology+unknown |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.dateland.com/blog/a-brief-history-on-the-origin-of-medjool-dates/ |title=A Brief History on the Origin of Medjool Dates |access-date=2023-03-24 |archive-date=2023-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324120619/https://www.dateland.com/blog/a-brief-history-on-the-origin-of-medjool-dates/ |url-status=live }} also known as Medjoul, Mejhoul or Majhool, is a large, sweet cultivated variety of date (Phoenix dactylifera). It is an important commercial variety constituting some 25% of worldwide trade in dates.
Landrace
{{see also|List of date cultivars}}
The Medjool cultivar originates from the Tafilalt region of Morocco, where it is still grown.{{cite book |last=Onstad |first=D. |title=Whole foods companion: a guide for adventurous cooks, curious shoppers, and lovers of natural foods |publisher=Chelsea Green Publishers |series=A Politics of the Living Book Series |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-931498-68-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b9EJAQAAMAAJ |access-date=January 26, 2018 |page=46 |archive-date=April 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425143806/https://books.google.com/books?id=b9EJAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }} Outside Morocco, it is grown in the United States,{{cite book |last1=Hodel |first1=D.R. |last2=Johnson |first2=D.V. |title=Imported and American Varieties of Dates (Phoenix dactylifera) in the United States |publisher=University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources |series=Publication (University of California (System). Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources)) |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-879906-78-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0XjojWqfqcC&pg=PA10 |access-date=January 26, 2018 |page=10 |archive-date=April 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425143806/https://books.google.com/books?id=R0XjojWqfqcC&pg=PA10 |url-status=live }} Israel,{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/905543989 |title=Date palm genetic resources and utilization. Volume 2, Asia and Europe |publisher=Springer Netherlands |editor1-first=Jameel M. |editor1-last=Al-Khayri |editor2-first=S. Mohan |editor2-last=Jain |editor3-first=Dennis Victor |editor3-last=Johnson |year=2015 |isbn=978-94-017-9707-8 |location=Dordrecht |pages=423–440 |oclc=905543989}} Palestine,{{cite book |author=Abu-Qaoud H|chapter=Date Palm Status and Perspective in Palestine|title=Date Palm Genetic Resources and Utilization|publisher=Springer|location=Dordrecht |veditors=Al-Khayri J, Jain S, Johnson D|access-date=2023-05-30|url= https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-9707-8_13|date=2015}} Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Jordan. The variety is planted both for its fruit and for landscaping.{{cite web |author=Russo, Susan |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15282847 |title=Medjool: A Date to Remember |date=17 October 2007 |publisher=NPR |accessdate=25 January 2018 |archive-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331115916/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15282847 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|title=Medjool Date Palm|url=http://www.medjool-date-palms.com/html/medjool-date-palm.html|accessdate=25 January 2018|archive-date=18 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118062210/http://www.medjool-date-palms.com/html/medjool-date-palm.html|url-status=live}}
The medjool is a distinct landrace, described as producing "large soft fruit, with orange-yellowish flesh, and a mildly rich and pleasing flavor".{{cite journal |last1=Elhoumaizi |first1=Mohammed Aziz |display-authors=etal |title=Confirmation of 'Medjool' Date as a Landrace Variety through Genetic Analysis of 'Medjool' Accessions in Morocco |journal= Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science|date=2006 |volume=131 |issue=3 |pages=403–407 |doi=10.21273/JASHS.131.3.403 |s2cid=85976366 |url=http://journal.ashspublications.org/content/131/3/403.full.pdf |access-date=2018-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222204359/http://journal.ashspublications.org/content/131/3/403.full.pdf |archive-date=2018-12-22 |url-status=dead}} Being large, soft, and with a "caramel, honey" flavor, the variety has been called "the king of dates".{{cite web |title=Medjool Dates |url=https://www.themedjooldatecompany.co.uk/product/medjool-dates/ |publisher=The Medjool Date Co. |access-date=5 June 2024}}
Constituents
Medjool dates are high in oxalates (18–233 mg/100 g dry weight).{{cite journal |date=2022 |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |issue=12 |volume=79 |last1=Al-Zahrani |first1=Khaled S. |last2=Faqeeh |first2=Akram A. |last3=Abdulghani |first3=Zuhair R. |last4=Thomas |first4=Selvin P. |pages=10433–10490 |journal=Polymer Bulletin |issn=0170-0839 |title=A review on the physicochemical properties and utilization of date seeds in value-added engineering products |doi=10.1007/s00289-021-04048-3 |s2cid=245883533}}{{cite journal |last1=Alahyane |first1=A. |last2=Harrak |first2=H. |last3=Elateri |first3=I |last4=Ayour |first4=J. |last5=Ait-Oubahou |first5=A. |last6=Benichou |first6=M. |display-authors=etal|title=Evaluation of some nutritional quality criteria of seventeen Moroccan dates varieties and clones, fruits of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) |journal=Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology |year= 2021 |volume= 82 |issue= |pages= e236471 |pmid=34105667 |doi=10.1590/1519-6984.236471 |doi-access=free }}
Out of the over 3000 known cultivars, only two contain the disaccharide sugar sucrose: Deglet Nour and Medjool. All the rest contain the monosaccharides glucose and fructose in a mix known as invert sugar.{{cite web |title=The European market potential for dates |url=https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/processed-fruit-vegetables-edible-nuts/dates-0/market-potential |publisher=European Union |access-date=5 June 2024 |date=30 January 2024}} Sucrose tastes sweeter than glucose but less sweet than fructose; the mix is less sweet than pure fructose, but still is somewhat sweeter than sucrose.{{cite book |last=Helstad |first=Scott |title=Corn |chapter=Corn Sweeteners |publisher=Elsevier |date=2019 |isbn=978-0-12-811971-6 |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-811971-6.00020-6 |pages=551–591}}
Trade
In 2013, Israel held more than 60 percent of the global medjool market share.{{cite news |title=Medjool Dates From Israel Wastewater Proving Favorite of Foodies |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=20 November 2013 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-20/medjool-dates-from-israel-wastewater-proving-favorite-of-foodies |accessdate=20 February 2021 |archive-date=5 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505230044/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-20/medjool-dates-from-israel-wastewater-proving-favorite-of-foodies |url-status=live}} In 2024, Medjool constituted 25% of the world export market for dates. Those supplied to France, the largest European importer of dates, are predominantly from Algeria and Tunisia. Retail brands in both France and Italy often label the cultivar, usually Medjool or Deglet Nour, on the packet. Especially large Medjool dates are sold as a luxury product, for example in the Netherlands.
References
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