I'm not sure why I was thinking the syrup would be clear and thin, similar to agave, but it's quite dark and somewhat thicker than I assumed. It looks very much like chocolate syrup or balsamic reduction.
The flavor is super sweet, but it's distinctly different than most sweeteners. To me, it's not a completely neutral flavor. It really tastes like dates. So it's fruity in that sense. But it's also a "dark" sweetness, more similar to molasses in a way than plain old sugar or something like Karo. Neither Sonia nor I particularly like molasses, but we both like this. It's like...what we always wished molasses would taste like...if that makes sense.
It worked great as a sweetener in our smoothies. We've been putting a bit of honey in them as of late, but this functions pretty much in the same manner. There is that deep, dark, almost caramel-like flavor to the date syrup, so it enhances the taste of the fruits and juices even more.
I won't say it's a replacement for good old maple syrup. I don't think there's anything you could put on a pancake or waffle that's hands down better than real maple. But if you wanna mix things up a little, this stuff sure isn't bad in that regard. The pic up above is Trader Joe's Organic Date Syrup on a piece of French toast. It was pretty tasty. Not better than maple syrup. Just different. I'm always down for a bit of novelty, but I think I'll return to the old standby for my next stack of flapjacks.
$3.49 for a 6.09 oz squeeze bottle. There's nothing but organic Deglet Noor dates in there. Pretty impressive product. Trader Joe's Organic Date Syrup gets four stars a piece from Sonia and me.
Bottom line: 8 out of 10.
I don't really enjoy eating dates, but love the flavor. It's a texture thing. Especially with deglet noors. Medjools are better but $. I have pureed dates for recipes but the texture is not like syrup. Even when adding water, it's just thinner puree. More spoonable than pourable. What is the mysterious process that makes them syrupy? Trade secret, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteAnother good question. Maybe they use a hydraulic press?
DeleteWhen I ran out of my date Syrup, I thought no big problem. I'll just drive the 45 minutes down to traderJoe's to get another bottle only to find out it had been discontinued. I no longer look forward to waking up on avocado toast day three days a week.. How can they get you hooked on something like that? And just discontinue it without any warning. At least if I knew they were going to do it. I would have stocked up on it. This is not the first time this has happened to me. At least warn us so we can stock pile.
ReplyDelete