Let’s Make Homemade Date Honey!

This week, we want to show you how to use dates – one of the popular fruits in Israel – to make traditional biblical honey, or in Hebrew it’s called devash. By trying this recipe, you, too, can celebrate God’s blessings and join those in Israel in trying a new fruit!

• 2 cups pitted Medjool dates (they’re larger, sweeter, and juicier than other varieties)
• 3 cups water
• Cheesecloth for straining

Directions

1) Chop dates into small pieces, cover with cold water, place in a wide-mouth pot, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover pot, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture is thick, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. While dates are cooking, bruise them with the back of a wooden spoon to help break them down.

2) Pour through 2 layers of dampened, fine-mesh cheesecloth. Squeeze the cheesecloth bag well to retrieve as much juice as possible from the cooked date mixture. Return this liquid to the rinsed-out cooking pot. Simmer the juice, reducing it by half or until it has thickened to the consistency of honey (or a little thicker), stirring occasionally. This process should take about 15 minutes. (Keep a close eye on the simmering juice to make sure it doesn’t overcook past the syrup stage to become hard and bitter. You should wind up with about a ¾ cup of authentic biblical honey.

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