Types of Dates: Soft, Semi-Dry and Dry, With USDA Data

Date palm sources sort the types of dates by the texture of the flesh into soft, semi-dry and dry groups, and UC Cooperative Extension writers name ‘Deglet Noor’ and ‘Medjool’ among the most important date cultivars in California. In USDA FoodData Central, one pitted ‘Medjool’ date weighs 24 grams and lists about 66 calories, against 7.1 grams and 20 calories for one pitted ‘Deglet Noor’ date. Below: the texture groups, the ripening stages at which dates are sold, the date varieties these sources name, and USDA tables with FDC IDs and FDA percent Daily Value. Our dates guide covers the fruit in general.

Peptide Labs does not sell foods. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

Types of dates by texture: soft, semi-dry and dry

A 2024 paper on Algerian dates in the journal Food Science & Nutrition states that date palm cultivars are classified by the texture of their flesh into three groups: soft, dry and semi-dry. The same paper describes ‘Deglet Noor’ and ‘Arechti’ as semi-dry varieties. In FAO’s manual on date palm cultivation, the table of fruit characteristics gives the consistency of dates as ranging from soft to dry, and the manual notes that ‘Medjool’, although classified as a soft date, is firmer than varieties such as ‘Barhee’ and ‘Khadrawy’.

The FAO manual describes the date fruit as a single, oblong, one-seeded berry with a fleshy pericarp, borne by the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera. According to the same FAO chapter, ‘Medjool’ flesh is firm, meaty and thick, while ripe ‘Barhee’ fruit at the rutab stage becomes very soft.

Ripening stages: khalal, rutab and tamar dates

The FAO manual names five stages of date fruit development, using Arabic terms: hababouk, kimri, khalal, rutab and tamar. FAO says whole dates are harvested and marketed at the last three, depending on variety, climate and market demand:

• Kimri: the green stage; FAO describes the fruit as quite hard and not suitable for eating.
• Khalal: hard ripe; in FAO’s description the color changes from green to yellow, pink, red or scarlet, depending on the variety, and varieties such as ‘Barhee’, ‘Hallawi’, ‘Hayani’ and ‘Zaghloul’ are eaten at this stage.
• Rutab: the soft ripe stage; FAO says the tip turns brown or black and becomes soft.
• Tamar: fully ripe; FAO describes dull brown to almost black fruit with soft flesh and the least water, the stage it compares to the raisin in the grape and the dried prune in the prune type of plum.

In FAO’s variety description, ‘Medjool’ fruit is amber at the rutab stage and dark brown to black at the tamar stage, and FAO says ‘Barhee’ is marketed in international commerce only as fresh fruit on strands at the khalal stage.

Date varieties named in Extension and FAO sources

UC Cooperative Extension writers Hodel and Pittenger explain that date palm cultivars are clones that must be propagated vegetatively, from offshoots or by tissue culture, and they name ‘Deglet Noor’, ‘Medjool’, ‘Zahidi’ and ‘Barhee’ as examples. The date varieties below come from those sources:

• ‘Medjool’: a soft date in FAO’s classification, firmer than ‘Barhee’ and ‘Khadrawy’; a UC ANR article calls it one of the most important date varieties in California.
• ‘Deglet Noor’: a semi-dry date in the Food Science & Nutrition paper; the UC ANR article calls it one of the most significant cultivars in California and worldwide.
• ‘Barhee’: very soft at the rutab stage and sold fresh at the khalal stage, per FAO.
• ‘Khadrawy’: softer than ‘Medjool’, per FAO.
• ‘Zahidi’: one of the named clones in the UC Cooperative Extension article.
• ‘Hallawi’, ‘Hayani’ and ‘Zaghloul’: varieties FAO lists as eaten at the khalal stage.

The UC ANR article counts over three thousand date cultivars grown worldwide and notes that identifying them relies mainly on the fruit, leaf bases or spines; it adds that a date known by one name at one oasis might be called something completely different a few hundred miles away. The same UC ANR article reports that UC Riverside genetic work found almost no differences among 33 ‘Deglet Noor’ palms but identified 20 different types among 23 ‘Medjool’ palms.

'Medjool' and 'Deglet Noor' per date in USDA data

USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) lists only two date varieties, and the table uses USDA’s own portion for each: one pitted date. The percent Daily Value (%DV) compares each amount with the FDA Daily Values for adults and children 4 and older: 28 grams of fiber, 4,700 milligrams of potassium, 420 milligrams of magnesium and 0.9 milligrams of copper. Total sugars and sucrose have no FDA Daily Value, so those columns show grams only. Rows are ranked by fiber.

One pitted ‘Medjool’ date weighs more than three pitted ‘Deglet Noor’ fruits in USDA data, 24 against 7.1 grams, so it lists more of everything per piece: about 66 calories, 1.6 grams of fiber, 167 milligrams of potassium and 16.0 grams of total sugars, against 20 calories, 0.6 grams of fiber, 47 milligrams of potassium and 4.5 grams of total sugars for one ‘Deglet Noor’ date. The ‘Medjool’ date also lists about 0.09 milligrams of copper, 10% of the FDA Daily Value. Our lists of high fiber fruits, high potassium fruits and foods high in copper put these numbers next to other foods.

Date types gram for gram

Per 100 grams in USDA SR Legacy, the comparison removes the difference in size between the two varieties. Rows are ranked by fiber.

Gram for gram, the two varieties are close in USDA SR Legacy: about 282 and 277 calories and 20.5 and 21.3 grams of water per 100 grams. ‘Deglet Noor’ lists more fiber in USDA data, about 8.0 against 6.7 grams, and ‘Medjool’ lists more potassium, magnesium and copper, about 696 against 656 milligrams of potassium. The largest gap in USDA data is sucrose: about 23.8 grams per 100 grams of ‘Deglet Noor’, against 0.5 grams for ‘Medjool’, with total sugars of 63.4 and 66.5 grams. Our foods high in sugar and high calorie fruits lists set dates next to other foods.

Labels, packaged dates and other notes

• Daily Values: the FDA Daily Values in the tables (21 CFR 101.9) are label reference values, not personal targets.
• Packaged products: chopped, rolled or coated dates, date paste and date syrup have their own recipes, so the Nutrition Facts label on the package is the figure for that product.
• Varieties missing from USDA: SR Legacy has no entries for ‘Barhee’, ‘Khadrawy’, ‘Zahidi’ or the other varieties named above, so their values are not shown.
• Values vary: USDA SR Legacy figures are averages; variety, growing area and ripening stage change the numbers for any single date.
• Other dried fruit: our figs, raisins and prunes guides cover fruit often sold next to dates.
• Related fruit: our sibling page on types of plums covers European, Japanese and prune plums.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a health condition. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Types of Plums: European, Japanese and Prune Plums, Dates Fruit: Benefits, Medjool Dates and USDA Nutrition Facts, Types of Plums: European, Japanese and Prune Plums, Tropical Fruits List: Types of Tropical Fruits and USDA Values.