When I was a kid and someone gave my family a box of chocolates, I would take a bite out of every single chocolate in the box and then put them all back like I hadn’t touched them. At some point, I’d get caught but the thrill of stealing sweet bites of chocolate was always worth the few minutes that I would spend in time out (besides, I always managed to find a way out of being in my parents’ bad graces). This story should tell you two things about me: 1. I’m sneaky and 2. I have a major sweet tooth.
These two traits of mine are what prompted me to come up with this date syrup… during my sugar detox.
Yes, I know dates are naturally high in sugar but they’re also high in fiber and nutrients, making them a better choice when it comes to sweeteners. Date syrup has a sweet caramel and brown sugar-like flavor to it. You can use it the same way you use maple syrup: to sweeten your coffee, on top of waffles, yogurt, etc. I’ve been using it to sweeten my morning decaf latte.
The difference between my date syrup and other recipes out there is that mine uses the whole date. Some people will boil dates in water and then strain them out to make a clear date syrup. This takes a lot of time (at least 30 minutes) and effort. I just soak dates in water overnight, and then blend the mixture using a high powered blender the next day. This way, I’m keeping the fiber in the syrup. Technically, my date syrup is more of a date puree, but with a good blender you can get the date mixture to be nice and thin. You can also add more or less water according to your taste.
What do you plan to do with your date syrup once you make it?
Ingredients
- 15 medjool dates pitted
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Add the pitted dates to a bowl and pour the water on top. Soak overnight.
- The next day, add all of the contents to a high powered blender and blend for 1 minute or until completely smooth.
- Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
Louise Wrage says
what is the difference between a date syrup and a date paste? AND only medjool dates? Thank you.
Laura says
Dear Ashley, I just posted the below to a site called Driftwood Gardens. The proprietor there, Jen, had just posted wonderful sorbet recipes from Judee who runs the Gluten-Free A to Z blog:
Jen,
Thank you for hosting Judee and these recipes. I will also go over to her site to thank her personally as well. I made the mango yogurt sorbet the day before yesterday. A small change I made was to use ground liquified dates as my sweetener (a date “syrup” I learned from “My Heart Beets” — so I guess I should thank that site as well). The whole thing was so delicious and refreshing and indulgent and EASY. Thank you to ***everyone***.
Michelle Nettles says
Just wondering if the things you use to sweeten with this date syrup taste like they have been sweetened with dates? Like I use honey and maple in place of sugar for things like banana bread. The honey leaves a distinct honey flavor however the maple syrup just tastes sweet not like maple syrup. So I am wondering if it leaves a date like flavor. Thank you so much for sharing this!! I LOVE using natural sweeteners in place of refined products. 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Hi Michelle, I totally understand what you mean! I would have to say that yeah, you can definitely tell the syrup is made from dates (but I think that’s a good thing!). If you try it out, let me know what you think 🙂
Raquel @ Good Bad Food says
Interesting… What kind of blender do you use to make this syrup? I’m curious whether my Hamilton Beach Smoothie Smart has even a chance of making this work. 🙂
Perhaps I’d have a better shot with an immersion blender…
My Heart Beets says
Hi Raquel, I use a blendtec so it’s pretty powerful. You can try with yours – and if it’s too thick, you can just dilute it with more water. Let me know how it turns out for you 🙂