188 DATEGROWING 



more purely Arab race, for the dog is to the orthodox 

 Muslim an unclean animal, and Muhammadan 

 geographers notice this habit with unconcealed 

 scorn.* Even today the gamins of Biskra take all 

 the conceit out of a pompous visitor from the Zab 

 by a piece of doggerel which they shout at him in the 

 street, taunting him with the loathsome nature of 

 his diet. 



On the authority of Muhammad, cucumbers are 

 also considered a particularly good accompaniment 

 for dates. The prophet is quoted in the Traditions 

 as saying, "the cold of the one counterbalances the 

 heat of the other and the heat of the one diminishes the 

 cold of the other," a piece of absurdity typical of 

 popular Arab medical lore.t As a matter of fact, the 

 only advantage cucumbers might have would be to 

 dilute the sugar in the dates, which water would do 

 just as well. Probably the universal habit of drinking 

 milk with dates is principally due to this same need — 

 anyone who eats a lot of sugar will realize that nature 

 calls for a drink. Milk has also the advantage of 

 adding a little fat and protein to the dates and making 

 a well-balanced diet; accordingly it will be found 

 that most of the Arab methods of using the fruit a.re 

 based on this principle. 



The simplest way, and one of the most popular 

 in the Sahara, is to split the fruit, remove the seed, 

 and then fill the cavity with a chunk of butter; this 

 is usually done at the table as they are eaten. Of 

 course the butter for this purpose must be unsalted. 

 This manner of eating the date has been popular 



*Cf. Jean Leon, Descr. de I'Afrique, p. 40. Lyons, 1556. 



tJaI41 al Din Abd al Rahman Muhammad al SuyiitI (c. 1475 

 A. D.), tr. by Pharaon, Paris, 1856. 



