United With Earth Organic Medjool Dates - 1lb (4-pack) | Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Paleo, Certified Organic

I bought these dates based on the ratings. Initially, I was very pleased with the product, however, since I use them in my VitaMix, I decided to remove the pits ahead of time. Well, it's a good thing that I did because the second package of four that I opened had 4-5 dates that were literally black inside and had the odor of mold. Just be careful if you decide to order them. I threw mine out because I didn't want to take a chance.

These dates are wonderful! They are moist on the inside and deliciously sweet/complex/creamy/caramelly in flavor. I've bought dates in the past that have a "papery" outer layer that is unpleasant; these do not have that issue. These are NOT the dates you find in the baking section of your grocery store - nothing wrong with those for baking, but these are much better & good for snacking or eating as they are. I like these for dessert. I have a 1/2 Cup of plain Greek yogurt (Fage 2% is my favorite) & 1 or 2 of these dates. My sweet tooth is completely satisfied by the dates and the yogurt is like eating pudding; delicious and healthy. Also great as an appetizer: just make a slit in the date, take the pit out & put in goat cheese, blue cheese, mascarpone or any creamy cheese. Warm them under the broiler for about 3 minutes or skip the broiler & eat at room temp. Or go all out & wrap bacon or prosciutto around the stuffed date & broil for about 4-5 minutes, turning them after about 3 minutes. The combination of salty and sweet is delicious. The package has the "Packed Date" and the "Best By Date" on the back. I received my dates on 5/22/10....they were packed on 3/15/10 and will be best by 9/15/10. I have not found it necessary to store the dates in the refrigerator and I prefer to eat them at room temperature. I just store them in an airtight container in the cupboard after opening the package; of course they aren't lasting long in my house! The plastic container is recyclable: 1 PETE UPDATE 10/2010: I've now ordered these dates 3 times. This last time, I noticed the dates are not as nice as the first 2 times...not bad, just not fabulous. They are a bit more papery skinned & there are dry "lines"/patches on some. Also, the packer has stopped putting "Packed On" dates on the packaging. Now there is just a "Best By" date. I prefer the old way because then I know how old they are when I get them. The inside of the date is still very good, creamy, delicious. Perhaps these dates are older? Or maybe weather conditions have been poor for the grower? These are an agriculture product grown organically so weather can be an issue. I'll order another batch when I finish these & let you know how they are. UPDATE 1/2011: I ordered again & this batch was similar to the previous (10/2010) batch - several (maybe 25%) dates in each package with papery skins & dry line/patches. However, I still enjoy these eating dates. UPDATE 2/2011: I decided to order the non organic version of these dates to see how they compare & maybe save a couple bucks. I concluded that the organic version is superior but the non organic is good too. FYI/ I reviewed them on their page: United With Earth Medjool Dates, 16-Ounce Containers (Pack of 4)

It's such a pity that for the price they didn't taste better. Costco medjool dates (though not labelled organic) are far far superior in taste and better in price--- I'd give those 5 stars. Even my husband wasn't impressed with the taste and said the Costco dates were much better. The taste of the United with Earth dates is not consistent. One might be quite nice and then another might have an odd bitter after taste. I bought these from Amazon because Costco is about 70 miles from where I live otherwise I wouldn't have bought them at all. I gave two boxes away and I have one and a half boxes left. I'm thinking of making a cake with the remaining dates because I don't feel like eating them straight out of the tub. I am disappointed.

Not quite the extremely-soft (almost gooey) fresh Medjools I remember enjoying in California, but pretty close. Overall, really good dates at a good price.

While these packages had an attempted seal on them, it was loose and the dates could be accessed within the package. They cannot be eaten because of the bad seals. I am really disappointed and won't purchase this brand again.

These are smaller and less tasty than the average medjool dates that I have tasted over the years. I will not order them again.

I've been eating dates for a decade now. I bought this package of dates 3 weeks ago and half of the dates in the package were full of black (and in one case, grey) mold. I have never seen this before. I don't trust this brand anymore.

I used to buy my dates at Whole Foods when they sold them in bulk and I could pick and choose. They were pretty soft and plump, depending on the batch/age I guess. Well they stopped selling them like that, and began to only carry packaged dates. I stopped buying them because they were too hard and shriveled for my taste, and seemed old. Basically I stopped buying dates all together, as I had been spoiled from the good dates Whole Foods used to carry, and couldn't find dates anywhere that could compare. I'm happy to report that United With Earth Organic Medjool dates are by far the best dates I've found to date! (no pun intended) I am truly a "date snob", so I am very picky. We use these dates in our smoothies which we make with plain Kefir and frozen berries. (4 dates per serving) They add just enough sweetener to our sour berries and sour kefir to make a delicious smoothy. Dates are excellent to add to oatmeal, cereal/granola, breads/muffins, or to just eat on their own to satisfy a sweet tooth after a meal. I am thrilled that Amazon carries these dates. I'll be a loyal customer! You won't be disappointed!