{FUN NOTE: coupon code below for 15% off silan!}
Dates (the “bread of the desert”) have been a Middle Eastern staple for thousands of years. Nutritious, easily preserved and cheap, dates have long been prized for their sweetness and versatility.
Silan, sometimes known as date honey or date syrup, is the sweet brown nectar extracted from dates. Richer than honey, comparisons to molasses are fair game. And like molasses, and honey, the delicious uses are seemingly infinite.
Though enjoyed year-round, Iraqi Jews make a version of silan for Passover by painstakingly squeezing cooked dates through a cheesecloth. The resulting syrup, called halek, is said to be a reminder of the mortar used to make bricks as slaves in Egypt. A friend’s parents -- Jews of Iraqi origin -- keep different vintages of the stuff in their kitchen cabinet (we heard 1998 was an especially good year)!
If you can’t be bothered to make your own, the store-bought kind is just as delicious. Use it to marinade chicken, beef and lamb; drizzle it over yoghurt, muesli and pancakes, or use it to make a salad dressing. A typical combo seen in Galilee-style breakfasts is to mix natural silan with pure tehina, making a peanut-butter like spread that is a perfect healthy energy boost for the day.
Once you taste silan’s caramel, complex sweetness, you’ll want to incorporate it into as many dishes as you can.
In Israel, a main producer is Kinneret Farms, making pure versions with no sugar-added and organic. They also have a line of marinades, which are just too sweet to feel healthy for cooking.
Outside of Israel our favorite option is from D'vash Organics.
About California-based D'vash Organics
The founders David and Brian became close friends while studying abroad in Israel, where a shared passion for local cuisine led them to discover what they consider the region's best-kept culinary secret: silan.
D'vash Date Nectar is a sweet, delicious, and healthy sweetener and natural honey alternative that's made entirely from organic California dates. Non-GMO and totally vegan, D'vash also has a rich history that spans thousands of years and has been a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine since the biblical era.
In fact, when ancient Middle Easterners reached for a bottle of "honey" to sweeten a cup of tea, marinate chicken, dress a salad, or top off some yogurt, historians believe that they were actually using date nectar!
Thousands of years later, David and Brian are thrilled to finally share D'vash with you.
Since we love their product, and want you to enjoy it as well, we partnered with them for a great discount.
Use the code "DVASH_DELICIOUS_ISRAEL" to receive a 15% discount on any order!
D'vash offers date honey in a convenient 16.6 ounce bottle, or fun Date Nectar Sticks.
