HARVESTING THE DATE PALM JUICE

Date Palm Tree in Bangladesh

Date palms, said to originate in the Gulf area of the Middle East, were probably brought to the lands of Bangladesh by the Arab Traders who traded here during the early last Millennium BCE and are still commonly found in Bangladesh today.

By scraping the soft part of the stem below the cluster of leaves, a sweet juice can be encouraged to ooze into a jar attached to the tree below the scrape.

Harvesting Date Palm Juice

The juice is often crystallised into sugar, although around South Asia it may also be served as a bitter sweet beverage or sometimes distilled into a wine with a rather high alcoholic content.

More commonly seen in the north of Bangladesh where the summer temperatures suit the palm better, these plants are a common sight throughout the country.