Fermented Date Paste with Toasted Cumin Seeds

Name: Fermented Date Paste with Toasted Cumin Seeds
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 30 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 400 g fresh dates, pits removed, flesh cut into bite-sized chunks; 100 g water; 10 g kosher salt; ½ tsp whole cumin seeds, lightly toasted

Tanja Enke May 22, 2024

The high sugar content in fresh dates makes them more amenable to shorter-length fermentations of less than three days, as the fruit quickly converts into an alcoholic product if given too much time to sit at room temperature. To arrest the fermentation, quickly transfer the product to the fridge after it is blended and mixed with the toasted cumin seeds.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Fermentation duration: Approximately 2-3 days.

Serves: 30

Note: This is an example of a fermented fruit puree that serves as a perfect accompaniment to a cheese and charcuterie board. The sweetness from the date paste perfectly complements the salty and earthly flavors from the cheeses and cured meats. Add a few nuts to the mix and call it dinner.

If you prefer to omit the toasted whole cumin seeds, feel free.

Prep 20 min

Servings 30

Difficulty Beginner

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Ingredients

0/4

400 g fresh dates, pits removed, flesh cut into bite-sized chunks

100 g water

10 g kosher salt

½ tsp whole cumin seeds, lightly toasted

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Instructions

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When you are ready to begin your fermentation, clean and sanitize your mason jar or fermentation vessel.

Cut the dates and remove the pits, and cut the flesh of the dates into bite-sized chunks.

Add the pitted and chopped dates to the bottom of the fermentation vessel.

Stir together 100g of room-temperature water with 10g of Kosher salt.

Mix until the Kosher salt is completely dissolved in the water.

Pour the salt water brine on top of the dates until they are completely covered.

Add a glass or ceramic weight to keep everything submerged below the surface of the salt water brine as best you can.

Secure the contents with a lid, and make sure that the lid isn’t too tight, as gas needs to be released from the jar periodically during the fermentation process.

Note at this stage that your ideal fermentation environment should be dark with a steady temperature of roughly 65˚-70˚F.

Every day, open the jar to release the built-up CO2, and to check on the progress of your fermentation. Give things a taste and see how the flavors are evolving!

After you have waited for roughly two days, you will notice that some bubbles have begun to form on the surface of the dates.

Transfer the dates to a container meant for an immersion blender, and blend the fermented dates with a small quantity of the salt water brine (roughly two or three tablespoons). You can also do this in a food processor or regular blender.

In a separate small sauté pan over medium heat, add the whole cumin seeds and lightly toast them while shaking the pan until they are aromatic. This takes roughly one minute.

Add the whole toasted cumin seeds to the date puree, and stir to evenly incorporate the seeds.

Transfer the date puree with toasted cumin seeds to a small container, and store covered in the fridge.

Try to consume the fermented date paste within a few weeks of transferring it to the fridge after being blended.

Fermented Date Paste with Toasted Cumin Seeds

Instructions

When you are ready to begin your fermentation, clean and sanitize your mason jar or fermentation vessel.

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Instructions

When you are ready to begin your fermentation, clean and sanitize your mason jar or fermentation vessel.

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