Here's the counterintuitive part: the shiniest, plumpest, most photogenic dates on the shelf are sometimes the lowest quality ones in the shop.
A natural sheen is a good sign. A wet, glassy, lacquered shine often means the fruit has been coated in cheap glucose syrup or oil — a common way to make dry, tired dates look fresh and expensive. Once you know the difference, you can't unsee it.
Seven checks, roughly in the order you can do them.
1. The Gloss Test
Look for a natural sheen, not a glaze.
Good dates have a soft, slightly uneven lustre, with the skin texture visible underneath. Varieties differ a lot here: Medjool is naturally glossy, while Ajwa and Safawi are naturally matte and dry-looking. A matte Ajwa isn't a worse Ajwa — that's what Ajwa is supposed to look like.
So the warning sign isn't shine itself. It's shine that doesn't belong to the variety, or a uniform glassy wetness across every single fruit in the pack.
2. The Stickiness Test
Slightly sticky is right. Properly tacky is suspicious.
Natural dates feel smooth, plump and faintly sticky. Syrup-coated dates feel noticeably tackier, and — the real tell — they clump together into a solid block inside the packaging rather than separating when you tip them out.
If you have to break dates apart from each other, ask why they're so wet on the outside.
3. The Squeeze Test
You're looking for balanced moisture, not extremes.
A good date is plump and yields gently. Two failure modes:
- Hard and shrivelled — it has dried out, usually through poor storage or age. Not dangerous, just past its best. (It can be revived: see our storage guide.)
- Mushy and collapsing — this one matters more. It can mean fermentation, too much humidity, or syrup adulteration. In Malaysia's climate, humidity damage is common, so this is worth checking carefully.
4. The Smell Test
Dates should smell faintly sweet and fruity. Nothing more.
Any sour, alcoholic or fermented smell means spoilage or bad storage. This is the fastest check of the seven, and the most decisive — if it smells like it's turning, it is. Don't taste it to double-check.
5. Sugar Bloom Is Not Mould
This one costs people good dates, so it's worth getting right.
A pale, dry, sparkly coating on dates is crystallised natural sugar that has migrated to the surface. It's harmless, affects nothing but appearance, and simply means the dates have aged a little. Wrap them in a damp paper towel, microwave for a few seconds, and it reabsorbs.
Mould is a different thing entirely:
| Sugar bloom | Mould |
|---|---|
| Dry, fine, sparkly | Fuzzy, hairy or cotton-like |
| Flat against the skin | Raised, growing outward |
| White or pale cream | White, green, blue or grey |
| No smell | Musty or sour |
Where to look for mould: around the stem cap, and inside the pit cavity if the date is split. Those are the spots that get missed.
6. The Ant Test (For Dates Already at Home)
A useful one nobody mentions in shops.
In genuine dates, the sugars are locked inside the flesh, so dates don't readily attract ants. If ants are finding your dates easily, that suggests sugar on the outside — which usually means a syrup coating rather than anything the fruit did by itself.
Similarly, if a date tastes sharply sweet right on the skin, before you bite into the flesh, or leaves a cloying artificial aftertaste, it has probably been glazed.
7. Read the Grade Label Sceptically
Here's the part most retailers won't tell you.
Date grades are not standardised across sellers. There's no industry-wide body defining what "AAA" or "Premium" or "Jumbo" means. One supplier's Premium may be another's standard grade. The terms are broadly used to describe size and appearance — bigger, more uniform, better-looking fruit — not flavour, and not nutrition.
Two consequences worth holding onto:
- A higher grade is not more nutritious. Across varieties and grades, dates land at roughly 270–280 calories and 6–7g of fibre per 100g. Our nutrition breakdown has the figures. You're paying for size and appearance, which is a perfectly reasonable thing to pay for — just know that's what it is.
- A grade label alone tells you nothing about glazing or freshness. A glossy "Premium" date can still be syrup-coated. The seven checks above beat the label every time.
What a grade is useful for is comparing within one seller's range, where the terms are at least applied consistently. That's why we publish grades for Ajwa, Safawi and Mariami rather than just saying "premium quality".
Origin: Stated, Not Implied
For varieties where origin carries a premium, check that it's stated plainly rather than suggested.
Ajwa should say Madinah. Medjool should name a country — ours is a product of Palestine, from the Jordan Valley. Vague wording like "Ajwa-style", "Arabian type" or simply no origin at all is information in itself, particularly on the varieties that command the highest prices.
Price is a related signal. A premium variety priced far below the market is telling you something, and it usually isn't that you've found a bargain.
Buying Online
You lose the squeeze and smell tests, so lean on the rest:
- Real photographs of the actual product, not stock images
- Origin and grade stated in the listing
- Weight and pack size clear, so you can compare price per kilo honestly
- Recent reviews that mention condition on arrival
- Seller's storage described — in Malaysian humidity this matters more than most people realise
And when the parcel arrives, run checks 1 through 6 before you commit to the rest of the bag.
A Quick Note on Variety Expectations
Several of these checks depend on knowing what the variety should look like in the first place:
- Ajwa — small, round, near-black, matte, finely wrinkled
- Safawi — oval, dark, firm, below 15% moisture
- Medjool — large, plump, glossy, reddish-brown
- Mabroom — long, slim, satiny reddish-brown, less sweet
- Rotab — fresh-stage, very soft, must be refrigerated
Our guide to the eight varieties covers all of them, which makes "is this normal for this variety?" a much easier question to answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if dates are good quality? Look for a natural sheen appropriate to the variety, plump balanced moisture, a faintly sweet smell, and no fuzzy growth. Avoid glassy, wet-looking fruit that clumps into a block.
Why are my dates sticky and shiny? They may be coated with glucose syrup or oil to improve appearance. Natural dates are only faintly sticky and don't fuse together in the pack.
What is the white coating on dates? Crystallised natural sugar — harmless. Mould is fuzzy, raised and smells musty; sugar bloom is dry, flat and odourless.
What does AAA or Premium mean on dates? Generally size and appearance, and the terms are not standardised between sellers. They're useful for comparing within one seller's range, not across the market, and they say nothing about nutrition.
Are bigger dates better? Bigger dates are bigger. They aren't more nutritious, and whether they taste better is a matter of preference — some people prefer the intensity of smaller varieties.
How do I know if dates have gone bad? A sour or alcoholic smell, fuzzy mould around the stem cap or pit cavity, sliminess, or any sign of insects. Discard rather than risk it.
Should I buy pitted or unpitted dates? Unpitted dates are generally less handled. If you buy pitted, check each one for fragments — especially before giving them to children.
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This article is for general information only. Appearance, texture and moisture vary legitimately between varieties, grades and harvests. If dates show any sign of mould, fermentation or infestation, discard them.