In this guide
Quick answer
Walk into any dry fruit shop in Ramzan and the dates on the counter are mostly kimia. It is the soft, dark, heavy date that households buy by the half kilo, and it is also the one people pay medjool money for by mistake, because at a glance the two look alike.
What do kimia dates cost?
At our counter kimia is at today's shop rate a pack, read off the shop as this page loads. Against the other dates on the shelf it sits low — well under medjool, under ajwa, and close to kalmi — which is most of the reason it moves in the volume it does.
Dates across the shelf run at today's shop rate at our counter, and what each variety works out to is set out on the khajur price page, which is worth a minute before ordering, because the gap between the cheapest and the dearest date is wider than the gap between two different nuts.
How is kimia different from medjool, ajwa and kalmi?
| Date | What it is like | Where it sits on rate |
|---|---|---|
| Kimia | Dark, very soft, wet, mild | The everyday one |
| Kalmi or safawi | Firmer, drier, less sweet | A little above kimia |
| Medjool | Large, caramel-sweet, fleshy | Several times kimia |
| Ajwa | Small, dry, mild, dark | The dearest of the four |
Kimia is grown in Iran and arrives moist, which is both what people like about it and the reason it needs more care than any other date in the house. It is not a lesser medjool. It is a different variety that is meant to be soft and is priced for daily eating rather than for a gift box.
How do you tell a good kimia from a tired one?
- Look for sheen without wetness. A good kimia is glossy because of its own moisture, not because syrup has been added.
- Press one. It should yield easily and spring back a little, not squash flat.
- Check the skin. Some wrinkling is normal; skin peeling away from the flesh means it has been stored warm.
- Look for white specks. A light sugar bloom is harmless, but a thick white crust means the date has dried out and resugared.
- Smell it. Fresh kimia smells faintly of molasses. A sharp or winey smell means fermentation has started.
That last one is worth taking seriously with this variety specifically. Kimia carries more moisture than any other common date, and a box left in a warm shop for months can begin to ferment. It is the one date where buying from a shop that moves stock quickly genuinely matters.
Should kimia be kept in the fridge?
Yes, and more so than any other date. A sealed box in the fridge will hold for months and the dates stay loose and separate. The same box in a kitchen cupboard through a Mumbai or Chennai summer will be a solid sticky block in a few weeks, and may start to smell within two months.
Take out what you need for a week and leave the rest cold. If they have hardened at the edges from the fridge, ten minutes out on a plate brings them back. Our orders start at ₹1,000 and every order ships free, so a month of dates usually travels with the rest of the order rather than on its own.
Who should buy kimia rather than something else?
Anyone eating dates every day. For breaking a fast, for a child after school, for the thing you reach for instead of a sweet after dinner, kimia does the job at a fraction of what medjool costs and most people prefer its softness anyway.
Where it is the wrong buy is a gift. It is dark, soft and inclined to stick together, which is everything a gift box does not want, and it photographs as a dark smudge. For that, medjool holds its shape and reads as generous — the boxes on the gifting page use it for that reason. There is more on judging any date in the guide to buying khajur, and the rest of the shelf is on the dry fruits page.
Questions people ask
Are kimia and medjool the same?
No. Kimia is a soft, dark Iranian date and medjool a large, fleshy one usually from the Gulf or North Africa. Medjool costs several times as much.
Why are my kimia dates stuck together?
Warmth. They carry more moisture than other dates and will fuse into a block in a warm cupboard. The fridge keeps them separate.
What are the white spots on my dates?
Sugar coming to the surface as the date loses a little moisture. It is harmless. A thick crust all over means the box is old rather than unsafe.
How many dates a day is normal?
Two to four is what most households here settle on, more in winter and during a fast. They are sweet, and a handful is a lot of sugar in one go.
Written at our counter, where these questions get asked every week.
