Golden
dates steamed in a casserole with ham was a favorite European love dish in days
gone by. The fruit has been even more important to the Arabs, who consider the
date palm a blessed tree, used as it is for fuel, fiber, shade, food and even
drink – including both a coffee substitute and a beverage called “the elixir of
life.” Thousands of acres of date palms are now planted in California, where the
fruit dangles from the trees wrapped in a heavy paper that protects each bunch
from moisture and insects. The “candy that grows on trees” contains half its
weight in sugar, one of the most nutritious of libido builders.