sharing raw, vegan recipes and advice
i was looking for an alternative to constantly using agave, as i am trying to wean myself away from the processed (even raw agave has some sort of processing), and accidentally stumbled across the wonderful, slightly sweet and slightly syrupy texture of halawi date soak water. so far, this has been a great substitute, when used along with dates, or with a banana or other solid fruit sweetener. it simply helps to carry the flavor into a flowing, liquid form, without the overbearing tendency of agave nectar. i hope you to can rethink what we consider sweet and delicious, and train your brain and taste buds to appreciate subtlety. enjoy!
water from 6-8 halawi dates, soaked overnight. (i used 8-10oz for soaking).
strain the soak water from the dates, and pour into a glass jar. i've found it to keep well in the fridge for up to a week or so, and the colder *but not frozen* the more of a thick, syrupy texture the water has!
I buy dates from "The Date People". I have always hated throwing out the water after soaking for recipes and I am sick of spending money on agave and it is too sweet. I love the idea of the mellow date water....why didn't I think of that? ;)
As an alternative to agave, I tried chopping/mushing them up and then dehydrating them to make date sugar, but that doesn't work. Even after a week of dehydrating I still had a sticky mess that would not crumble into a sugary type product. I don't know how the people that do that do it, but at home it does not work.
Thanks!
oh and here's a tip: more dates= sweeter syrup!
what a great idea! i've been looking for an alternative to honey in my smoothies - can't wait to try this. thanks!