Sphinx Date Company Announces New Harvest Arrivals

Sphinx Date Company Palm and Pantry, located at 3039 N. Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale, is pleased to announce the early arrival of the 2018 Medjool date harvest. Shipping of these family-farmed and hand-sorted Arizona Medjool Dates has already begun, with product now available on the shelves as the sorting for these “best picks” has reached completion.

The company, co-owned by mother-and-daughter duo Sharyn and Rebecca Seitz, is also bringing in some new lesser-known date varieties this harvest season. “We look forward to getting Black Sphinx dates in by mid-September,” says Rebecca. “We are also excited to introduce date aficionados to some rare varieties that we’ve not had in-store before such as the Khadrawi dates.” Pre-order for the Black Sphinx is now available online or by calling (800) 482-3283.

The harvesting process generally takes place over the course of several weeks as the dates ripen to their perfect picking point and multiple harvesting occurs throughout September and October. Sphinx Date Company expects to have between five and 10 specialty date varieties available for online order and in-store throughout the harvest season.

In celebration of the early harvest, The Seitz family shares an easy recipe for Classic Date Bars:

Ingredients

•        3 cups Medjool dates
•        ¼ cups granulated sugar
•        1 ½ cups water
•        ¾ cup shortening or butter
•        1 cup brown sugar
•        1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
•        1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
•        1 tsp. salt
•        1 tsp. baking soda

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. For the filling, combine dates, sugar,­ and water in med/large sauté pan.
3. Cook at medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Set aside to cool.
5. Puree if desired.
6. To make the crust, beat shortening or butter in large bowl with brown sugar.
7. Add flour, baking soda and salt to brown sugar/butter (in small amounts).
8. Mix or cut w/ pastry cutter.
9. Add oats and stir to combine.
10. Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish.
11. Pat ½ of crust along bottom.
12. Spread filling evenly, leaving 1-2 cm. space from edge.
13. Take remaining crust and sprinkle over filling until covered.
14. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

For more information, or to place an order, visit www.sphinxdateranch.com or call 1.800.482.3283.

ABOUT: Sphinx Date Ranch and Company has been an Arizona institution for more than 60 years, providing customers with the freshest locally source dates and edible gifts with a traditional family approach. Today’s Palm and Pantry offers time-honored farm- and artisan-sourced products, including farm-direct dates, gift tins and trays, dried fruit and nut gifts and Arizona wines and craft beer. For more, www.sphinxdateranch.com