Joolies Organic Medjool Date Syrup Completely Changed How I Make Salad Dressings

Using fruit as a natural sweetener is nothing new: “Healthy” recipes for decades have called for naturally sweet fruits from bananas to raisins in place of sugar, in everything from cakes to quickbreads. Using fruit as a sweetener serves to add a dessert-like quality from a whole food source, rather than a refined one, like table sugar. You won’t necessarily be ingesting a smaller quantity of sugar, but it will be much less processed, and includes vitamins and minerals that table sugar can’t offer. 

Dates have long been popular among those who prefer to get their sweetness in this manner due to their high sugar content and caramel-like flavor, but they haven’t been the easiest to work with, as they are sticky to the point of gooey and have a pit in the center that needs removing. To use dates in a dessert, you typically have to soak them in hot water and then blend–and don’t forget to watch out for any stray pits that could ruin your blender.

Enter Joolies, a date brand that has brought a liquified, easy-to-use version of dates to the mainstream. Date syrup isn’t a new idea, but Joolies is the first to be so widely available, carried at big box grocers rather than only international markets. It’s a take on what Israelis call silan, which they use for drizzling on pancakes and as a dessert sweetener. 

While it’s a natural choice for sweet recipes, my favorite use for Joolies is in savory applications. I love punchy salad dressings, but I don’t enjoy the sourness that a high vinegar ratio can involve. A drizzle of Joolies syrup cuts right through that tang, enabling me to make dressings that are lower in oil than average without feeling too sharp on the palate. 

With the vegetable slaws I regularly make for my private chef client, I compose dressings directly in the mixing bowl with Dijon mustard, white balsamic or Champagne vinegar, high-phenolic olive oil, torn fresh herbs, salt/pepper, and a hearty dash of date syrup. The date syrup adds thickness to the dressing in addition to a sweet flavor that balances and mellows the other, stronger tasting, ingredients. 

Joolies date syrup is also available in both cocoa and blueberry flavors in addition to the original, and I appreciate their nutritional profiles staying simple despite adding flavoring ingredients. Those are fun to use on top of ice cream, or, as silan is typically used for, as a breakfast topping for items like pancakes or waffles. My favorite is the original version, though, as I find it the most versatile for cooking. Your savory recipes will never be the same again with this sweetener.

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Ariane Resnick is a special diet chef, certified nutritionist, and bestselling author. She has more than 20 years experience in the food and writing spaces and believes in a joy-filled approach to health and wellness.