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The
Secret Ingredient...........
Whether you are a professional chef or an
amateur that loves to cook; California Dates
provide flavor and texture to your favorite
recipes.
Versatile California Dates go well with many
other fruits, and are compatible in
compotes, salads and desserts. Dates add a
luscious richness to entrées and side dishes
that include meat, seafood, poultry, grains
and vegetables. Their deep, rich taste adds
flavor to breads, cakes, muffins and
cookies.
The value-added qualities of California
Dates come as no surprise to bakers. Their
mild yet distinctive fruit flavor and moist
richness makes them an ideal addition to
nearly all bakery products. Moreover, dates
are available year round.
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Meet the Winners of
the 2009 Date Recipe Contest
For more than twenty years local citizens
have created recipes featuring California
Dates hoping to win one or more of the five
categories they enter every February at the
Riverside County Fair and National Date
Festival.
To view the winning recipes, go to the 2009
Amateur Date Recipe Contest link.
Dessert Winner - Dee Fraticelli
Bread Winner - Dante Calderon
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Dates made their
culinary debut when an enterprising
grower decided to boost his sales by
selling date milk shakes. Here are a few
other suggestions.
Whip dates with
butter, cinnamon and nutmeg for an
incomparable spread
Due to
their natural sugars, dates are perfect
for desserts and baked goods allowing a
reduction in added sugar in many recipes
Use chopped dates in quick breads and
muffins or fold into pancake or waffle
batter
Double dates with nuts and coconut for
home made granola or trail mix
Add dates to chocolate chip cookies,
oatmeal cookies, brownies, rice puddings
and pound cakes
Mix slivered dates with butter lettuce,
toasted almonds and drained mandarin
oranges for an elegant salad
Fold dates into creamy pasta salad for
extra texture and flavor
Add dates to
vegetables, stir-fries and curries
Turn simple rice pilafs, cooked bulgur,
couscous, barley and dash into
spectacular side dishes by adding
chopped dates
 
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