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Lenten Feria
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from Inlander
By Eliza Billingham
Date molasses, also called date syrup, date honey, date nectar, debes, or silan, is one of the oldest foods in the book. Sumerians may have started cultivating dates as early as 4000 BCE. Concentrating the fruit into a syrupy preserve probably would've followed soon after. Dates are an important part of breaking the Ramadan fast in the Islamic tradition. They're one of the seven holy fruits in Judaism. When a certain area of land is described to Moses as "flowing with milk and honey," the honey probably actually refers to date syrup. The poetic image is a shorthand way to summarize the land's ability to support agriculture (dates and date honey) and livestock (goat or sheep milk).
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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