Ooey Gooey Date Shakes
by Erin Fletter
Photo by nblx/Shutterstock.com
prep time
10 minutes
cook time
makes
4-6 servings
Ooey Gooey Date Shakes
Date shakes are a tasty culinary creation, commonly made in the date-growing region, near Palm Springs, in southern California. These shakes may sound strange, but they're fabulous!
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Chef Erin, Food-Geek-in-Chief
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- blend :
to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.
- purée :
to blend, grind, or mash food until it is thick, smooth, and closer to a liquid.
- soak :
to immerse a hard food for a certain amount of time in a liquid to soften it.
Equipment Checklist
- Blender (or pitcher + immersion blender)
- Small bowl
- Liquid measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
scale
1X
2X
3X
4X
5X
6X
7X
Ingredients
Ooey Gooey Date Shakes
- 2 to 4 T raisins
- 2 to 4 pitted dates
- hot water, to soak dried fruit
- 2 C milk, divided **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub 2 C dairy-free/nut-free milk)**
- 4 frozen bananas (or 4 bananas + 1 C ice)
- 1 C ice
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract **(for CELIAC/GLUTEN ALLERGY use gluten-free pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavor—check label)**
- 1 pinch pumpkin pie spice
Food Allergen Substitutions
Ooey Gooey Date Shakes
- Dairy: For 2 C milk, substitute 2 C dairy-free/nut-free milk.
- Celiac/Gluten/Wheat: Use certified gluten-free pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavor.
Instructions
Ooey Gooey Date Shakes
1.
soak + purée
Soak 2 to 4 tablespoons of raisins and 2 to 4 pitted dates in hot water in a small bowl for at least 5 minutes and up to an hour before preparing the shakes. Using a blender (or pitcher + immersion blender), purée the soaked dates and raisins in 1/4 cup of milk until smooth.
2.
add + blend
Add 1 3/4 cups milk, 4 frozen bananas, 1 cup ice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 pinch of pumpkin pie spice and blend until well mixed. The goal is to achieve a smooth and thick texture with minimal chunks of fruit.
Photo by Rahou Maachou
Hi! I'm a Date!
"You wouldn't know from looking at me, but I'm a deliciously sweet fruit! We dates don't have much water in us, so we are naturally dehydrated, and we have lots of fructose—that's a sugar found in fruit. We're better than candy because we're a tasty and healthy source of fiber and energy!"
History & Etymology
- Dates are the fruit of the date palm, a flowering plant in the palm family.
- It is uncertain where dates originated, but they may have initially started growing in the Middle East or the Persian Gulf. They are considered one of the oldest crops and have been grown in areas of North Africa and the Middle East for around 5,000 years.
- Fossil records indicate that the date palm has been around for possibly 50 million years. Archaeological evidence for dates goes back to about 7000 BCE in the Middle East.
- Because the date palm tree and its fruit have so many uses—from food to building materials—the date palm is known as the "tree of life" in the Middle East, and it is the national tree of Saudi Arabia. It is also an important symbol in Jewish and Muslim religions.
- Spaniards had introduced date palm trees to the United States by 1769, where they grew at the Franciscan Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego, California.
- The trees are used for shade in the desert; their leaves are used to make baskets, carpets, and trays; the trunks are used as a frame for tents and for making furniture; and the fiber is suitable for ropes, fish traps, brushes, and filling mattresses and pillows.
- The word "date" comes from the Greek word "daktylos," meaning "finger," due to its shape.
Anatomy
- Date palm trees can grow up to 100 feet tall. They grow slowly and can reach 100 years of age. Their fronds or leaves are 13 to 20 feet long, and they have spines along their stalks.
- Dates, the fruit of the date palm, grow in clumps near the top of the tree, just below the fronds. The fruit can be oval or cylindrical in shape, one inch in diameter, and one to three inches long. Depending on the variety of dates, their color may be yellow, amber, red, or dark brown.
How to Pick, Buy, & Eat
- Choose dates that are plump, shiny, and not too wrinkled or hard. They should have a delicate fragrance rather than a pungent smell.
- When dates are dried, they become very sweet. The low water and high sugar content give dates a long shelf life of many months to years! People have taken them for long boat trips, crossing deserts, and even living in fortresses as survival food throughout history.
- You can eat dates whole or chop them up and add them to cakes, muffins, smoothies, shakes, cereals, or salads. For an appetizer, you can stuff dates with soft cheese, honey, and chopped nuts, wrap them with a thin slice of bacon or prosciutto, and then bake them for about 15 minutes.
Nutrition
- Dates are full of potassium and fiber. One cup of dates has 27 percent of the recommended daily potassium requirement and 48 percent of the daily fiber.
- Dates also contain vitamin A and several B vitamins. In addition, their high fructose content makes them a great natural source of energy.
History of the Date Shake!
Photo by ZahyMaulana/Shutterstock.com
- The date shake may have been invented by Russell Nicoll in 1928. He and his family opened a date shack near Thermal, California. A date shake consists of chopped dates blended with milk and vanilla ice cream. Today, several places in California's Coachella Valley sell date shakes. It is the unofficial drink of the valley and the city of Palm Springs.
- Annually, in February, the town of Indio, California, hosts the annual National Date Festival with an Arabian Nights theme. The festival's specialty is the date shake.
Let's Learn About the Coachella Valley!
Photo by Kamil Zelezik/Shutterstock.com (Palm Springs and San Jacinto Mountains at sunset)
- The Coachella Valley is an arid rift valley in Riverside County in Southern California. It may also be referred to as the Greater Palm Springs area. The valley is in the Colorado Desert, part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It is about 45 miles long and 15 miles wide. It runs from the San Gorgonio Pass (or Banning Pass) to the Salton Sea, between the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains.
- The most well-known city in the Coachella Valley is Palm Springs. Other cities in the valley include Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, and Rancho Mirage.
- The Coachella Valley began to expand in the 19th century due to the discovery of many artesian wells in the area and the creation of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
- Mount San Jacinto, in the San Jacinto Mountains, is the highest peak at 10,834 feet. The lowest elevation is in the Salton Sink, at 273 feet below sea level. The Salton Sea is in the southern end of the Coachella Valley, extending into the Imperial Valley. It is a salty lake with no outlet and lies on the San Andreas Fault, which follows the northeastern side of the valley.
- Summers are dry and hot, and winters are mild, so winter is the most popular time of the year to visit the area. There are more than 350 days of sunshine each year. Several resorts are available for short and extended stays. Retired senior citizens, called "snowbirds," make their way to the area to escape the cold winters where they live the rest of the year.
- Several professional golf and tennis tournaments are held in the winter in the Coachella Valley, where players are most likely to have mild weather. Other events include the famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, usually shortened to "Coachella," and the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival. The Palm Springs International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals showcasing foreign films in the United States.
- Many fruits and vegetables are grown in the Coachella Valley in the fall and winter, including artichokes, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, citrus fruit, dates, eggplant, grapes, and leafy greens.
- The valley is known for its fresh Californian farm-to-table cuisine, Mexican cuisine, and date-filled dishes and beverages, such as date shakes.
That's Berry Funny
What fruit can't see?
A blind date!
THYME for a Laugh
What do you call an old, stale date?
An expiration date!
Lettuce Joke Around
How do you make a milkshake?
Give a cow a pogo stick!
That's Berry Funny
Why did the fig take the raisin out to the movies?
She couldn’t find a date!
