Deglet Nour

Deglet Nour
GenusPhoenix
SpeciesPhoenix dactylifera
OriginTolga, Algeria
Palm tree in an Oasis in Kebili, Tunisia
Deglet Nour dates

Deglet Nour, also spelled Deglet Noor (Modern Arabic: دقلة نور; from Classical Arabic دقْلَة النُور daqlatu (a)n-nūr, literally, "date-palm of light", "heavenly date"; from Classical Arabic دقل daqal, a kind of date palm), is a cultivar of the date palm that originated in the oasis of Tolga in Algeria.[1][2] Commonly referred to as the "queen of all dates",[3] the authentic Algerian[4] Deglet Nour date has a soft touch, a translucent light color and a honey-like taste, characteristics which distinguish it from other dates.

Deglet Nours are popular in Algeria, and its seedlings have been harvested to Libya and Tunisia, and even the United States where they are grown in inland oases and are the chief export cultivar. Sugar rationing helped the Deglet Nours grow in popularity in the US as a candy replacement.[5] Deglet Nour is one of hundreds of cultivars of the date palm but is, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the leading date in terms of export value.[6]

  1. ^ Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France (in French). vol.2, 1855, p. 46
  2. ^ Pierre Munier, Le palmier-dattier, éd. Maisonneuve et Larose, Paris, 1973, p. 34
  3. ^ "Beni Grebh dates: Organic deglet nour dates". Eco Hazoua, Hazoua, Tozeur Governorate, South Tunisia. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Deglet noor dates now protected by WTO". Algérie360, March 19, 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  5. ^ "A Brief History of Dates in America". sphinxdateranch.com. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference fao was invoked but never defined (see the help page).