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Stewed Dates
Wash and cover a pound of dates with one pint of water and let stand over night. In the morning place on the stove and let them come to a boil. Let them simmer gently
A two-ingredient compote that depends entirely on the overnight soak. Note that the text as printed breaks off mid-sentence, so the finish is left to the cook's judgement.
- PitsDates a century ago were often sold whole and unpitted, and this recipe says nothing about removing the stones. Pitting before soaking is easier and makes the fruit cook evenly.
- A pint of waterTwo cups to a pound of fruit. That is enough to cover pressed dried dates but will look generous over plump modern Medjools, which have far more moisture in them to begin with; expect a looser syrup.
- Which datesThe dates behind a recipe like this were most likely hard, sugar-crusted imports, sometimes compressed into slabs. Deglet Noor is the closer match today. Medjool needs less soaking and can go to mush if simmered long.
- The overnight soakThis is the working step, not the cooking. The fruit rehydrates and the soaking water becomes the syrup, so do not drain it off in the morning.
- How long to simmerThe printed instruction stops short. Ten to fifteen minutes at a bare simmer is enough for the skins to soften and the liquid to thicken slightly; a hard boil splits the fruit and clouds the syrup.
- SeasoningNothing is added, and dates need nothing. A strip of lemon peel or a slice of lemon dropped in for the simmer cuts the sweetness if the result seems cloying.
- Yield and servingNo yield is given; a pound of dates will stretch to about four servings. Serve warm or chilled with cream, or spoon over rice pudding or plain cake.
Dates were imported into American kitchens in quantity by the late nineteenth century, shipped pressed and dried from the Persian Gulf and North Africa and often sold by the pound from the grocer's box rather than in packets. Because they arrived hard and often sugared over, cookbooks of the period could treat them much as they treated prunes or dried figs: soak overnight, then stew in the soaking liquid. Commercial date growing in California's Coachella Valley was only getting under way in these years, so the fruit was still largely an import and something of a treat.