What Are Dayri Dates?

Dayri (sometimes spelled Dairi or Derrie) is one of the old Iraqi varieties — a long, slender, dark red-brown date sometimes called the “monastery date,” from the Arabic word dayr. A few Coachella Valley farms keep it in their collections, and date lovers seek it out for a flavor that’s all its own.

Taste and texture

Dayri runs long and elegant where Medjool runs plump, with firm-tender flesh and a deep, dusky sweetness — less candy than Medjool, more layered, with a dried-fruit richness some compare to raisins and brown sugar. It cures from red to nearly black as it ripens, and it’s a striking date on a platter.

We grow these. Golden Zahidi Dates — Nutty, Less Sweet, Never Sticky | California Farm-Direct from our family farm in Sky Valley, California — from $15/lb, shipping included. See them →

Where Dayri grows

Like Halawi and Khadrawy, Dayri came to California a century ago with the first imported offshoots and survives on a handful of valley farms with deep variety collections. It’s a farmers-market and specialty-shop find, rarely sold online.

The honest note: we don’t grow Dayri

Our Sky Valley grove grows three varieties built for farm-direct shipping: jumbo Medjool, golden Zahidi, and seasonal Barhi. If Dayri’s layered, less-sugary profile is what you like, golden Zahidi is the one to try — drier-leaning, nutty, with that same grown-up sweetness. If it’s the dark, rich end of Dayri you love, a fully ripened jumbo Medjool covers it.

From our grove instead

Farm-direct with shipping included to the lower 48: golden Zahidi and jumbo Medjool. One harvest a year — this season’s fruit is selling now.

Desert Sun Dates is a family farm in Sky Valley, California. Curious about other varieties? See our guide to the different types of dates.