ARAB USES OF THE DATE 189 



throughout the Arabic world for centuries, so that it 

 has even been recognized by the poets; a well-known 

 stanza contains the lines: 



"I placed some butter upon a date, 

 And both the food and the condiment 

 were rendered delicious." 



At Baghdad and in other regions where buffalo 

 cream is available, it is allowed to clot thickly, and 

 used as a substitute for butter. 



The names of dishes made in this manner are 

 numerous, and not worth repeating here, but one of 

 them is too famous in literature to be ignored it is 

 called khabis,* and its invention is ascribed to the 

 time of Muhammad. His friend 'Uthman b. Affar 

 is named as the inventor; it appears to have consisted 

 of dates, butter, and honey, and the merit claimed for 

 it is that inferior dates taste as good as the choicest 

 when prepared with these accompaniments. When 

 the amateur chef had concocted this dish he carried 

 it to Muhammad, who sampled it and, lifting up his 

 hands, cried, "O God, set aside they best favors and 

 accord them to 'Uthman!" The word khabis 

 has accordingly taken on the figurative meaning of 

 "complete happiness." 



Sour or curdled milk in various forms is a constant 

 accompaniment of dates, and even to an occidental 

 palate they are delicious with cottage cheese or 

 smierkase. Finally, fresh milk, especially that of 

 camels, is considered a particularly fitting drink 

 after a meal of dates; it cools the stomach and "re- 

 freshes" the partly-digested fruit. 



Dates can be eaten raw in various other 



*Described in the Qamus and in a manuscript of Al Suyuti, 

 quoted by De Sacy. 



