What Kurma Safawi tastes like
Safawi is a Madinah date, grown in the same part of Saudi Arabia as Ajwa, and that is where the Kurma Safawi Malaysia buyers see on the shelf comes from. The first thing you notice is the colour, a deep brown that is close to black. The second is the sweetness. It is moderate rather than sugary, and it does not leave the sticky coating on your fingers that some softer dates do.
The flesh is thick and soft. A good Safawi has plenty of fruit around the stone, and the bite is smooth and slightly dense. People often call the flavour caramel-like, and that is a fair way to put it, so long as you expect a gentle caramel and not a heavy, syrupy one.
Safawi next to Ajwa
Because both come from Madinah, the two get mixed up. Side by side they are easy to tell apart, and the Safawi page linked above describes them the same way. Safawi is fleshier, smoother and blacker. Ajwa is smaller and its skin is more wrinkled. On taste, Safawi has a plain, moderate sweetness, while Ajwa is milder and more aromatic. Which one you prefer is down to your own palate. Neither is the better date.
Does the grade change the flavour?
Not really. Safawi is graded mainly on size and on how even the fruit is. Grade A is medium-sized and dense, AA is larger and more uniform, and AAA Jumbo is the biggest, with the thickest and softest flesh. A higher grade gives you more flesh per date and a softer bite rather than a different taste.
Size still matters when the dates are on show. Suppliers that sort carefully can deliver dates that meet customers' size expectations, and that counts when every piece on a buffet tray or in a hamper should look alike.
Ways to enjoy it
Because the sweetness is moderate, it is easy to eat a few Safawi at one sitting, which is one reason many households keep it as their everyday date in Ramadan and through the rest of the year. Some ways people serve it:
- Plain, with black coffee or unsweetened tea, which lets the caramel note come through.
- Pitted and stuffed with an almond or half a walnut for an open house tray.
- Chopped into overnight oats in place of a spoon of sugar.
- In a gift box as the dark date next to lighter-coloured varieties.
Keeping the flavour once the pack is open
A soft date loses its appeal when it dries out. Keep an opened pack in an airtight container, and put it in the fridge if it will take you more than a couple of weeks to finish. Take out what you need a few minutes before serving so the flesh is not cold and firm when you eat it.
Taste before you order in bulk
Flavour is personal, so if you are ordering cartons for a shop, a surau or a catering job, taste a sample pack first. Plenty of date enthusiasts start with one box bought online and only move to larger orders once they know they like it. Our wholesale guide for traders, grocers and stockists explains how bulk orders work. If Safawi is going into a mixed range, read our notes on choosing varieties for a first bulk order as well.