RP Brownie question

[veggie luver]

I'd love to make RP's brownies, but I have a phoebia about using dates after reading posts about maggots or larve found inside them. What could I use as a substitute?

[Rawkinlocs]

You could try raisins...but be aware they may taste "raisin-y". But perhaps you'll like them. Maybe even dried apricots (figs will give that crunchiness due to the seeds). I've never used anything besides dates so cannot vouch for any of these substitutions...just ideas of what "might" work in the place of dates.

[greenday]

Just an opinion...raisins, perhaps. With the dates, yeah, some scary posts have gone on. But REALLY...I've bought many containers of dates this past year and never had a problem. If you are concerned, look inside. You have to pit them anyway. ;)

[subbacultcha]

Any dried fruit will do but the flavour may not be as toffee-ish or sweet as with dates. I think raisins would be your best bet.

[subbacultcha]

Haha in the time it took me to comment two other people had said raisins :o

[CrazyDelicious]

Hmmm - I have never discovered any "surprises" while pitting dates...Is this common????
I buy regular medjool dates.

[garden granny]

I always use medjool dates and they are ALWAYS fine. The only problem I ever had was with figs.

[MiahTay]

I always have to remind myself that even though there is a CHANCE of this happening it is not the norm. If you are like me and have eaten a SAD diet in the past - trust me you have eaten WAY worse. I have been buying dates for 10+ years and I can only remember this happening to me ONE time. Good luck.

Heather

[subbacultcha]

Hmmm - I have never discovered any "surprises" while pitting dates...Is this common????
I buy regular medjool dates.

If you're not buying organic then you won't find any beasties. I've never found any, I sometimes buy organic sometimes don't.

[KatK]

My last batch didn't turn out sweet - too much chocolate I think. I wound up putting raspberries in the blender with raw honey and putting that over the top of them. It was yummy. :) Maybe that would do it for you.

[GypsiAnsara]

Never ever found anything untoward in my dates. I buy all kinds.

[raweater]

I never found anything in my dates. I normally get fresh organic dates, I used to buy dried ones but stopped when I found the fresh organic ones.

By the way, even though it may be disgusting, larva or maggots are probably quite healthy, so there's really just the "eww" factor.

I'd much rather eat a larva filled date than than drink a soda, with the soda, there's real danger, with the larva, it's just disgusting, yet probably very healthy.

In fact sometimes when I see fruit flies I try to intentionally get them in my food or smoothie for that hard to get vitamin B12 which cannot be absorbed from plant sources as I prefer to avoid synthetic supplements, I do sometimes put an animal product in my smoothie every now and then for B12 but I don't think I'm allowed to talk about that here so I won't say more.

[veggie luver]

Thanks for all the responses!

I feel better about using dates now.

MiaTay, you're right, there is no telling what I've eaten in the past. :eek: In fact, I am not one to eat out, because I wonder about kitchen cleanliness. :rolleyes:

[tvillemom]

When you pit the date, look and see if you have anything moving!!:eek: YES, there have been some people who commented about finding "surprises", but I have never found any, and if I do, I will just throw that one away. No big deal.

[Carlsbad]

You could use prunes. When I would bake SAD stuff, prunes were a common way to sweeten chocolate items. But you wouldn't get the caramel taste. Worth a try though.

[NoGMO!]

apparently bugs know what is good to eat! haha.. and I don't think they exclusively go for dates. it seems impossible to keep all insects out of all foods. I would rather not eat the pesticides, than a bug in unsprayed food.
just inspect the food before you eat it.