the Jordan Valley. The fig tree (ficus carica) grew well in the hill country and produced two crops a season. Early-ripening figs were regarded as delicacy because of their sweetness and were eaten fresh. Figs ripening in the later harvest were often dried and strung into a chain, or pressed into hard round or square-shaped cakes called develah and stored as a major source of winter food. The blocks of dried fig were sliced and eaten like bread. The Mishna mentions figs as one of the components of the prescribed "wife’s food basket" and they are estimated to have constituted 16% of the overall calories of the basket. Dates Dates were eaten fresh or dried, but were mostly boiled into thick, long-lasting syrup called "date honey" (dvash temarim) for use as a sweetener. This syrup was prepared by soaking the dates in water for some time until they disintegrated and then boiling the resulting liquid down into thick syrup. The honey in the Biblical reference of "a land flowing with milk and honey" is probably date honey. Fresh, ripe dates were available from mid to late summer. Some were sun-dried and pressed into blocks to dry completely and then used throughout the year, especially as food for travelers. Dates were also fermented into one of the "strong drinks" referred to in the Bible as "shechar". The date palm required a hot and dry climate and mostly grew and produced fruit in the Jordan Rift Valley from Jericho to the Sea of Galilee. In these arid areas, the date was sometimes the only plant-food available and was a primary component of the diet, but it was less important elsewhere. Pomegranates Pomegranates were usually eaten fresh, although occasionally they were used to make juice or wine, or sun-dried for use when the fresh fruit was out of season. They probably played a minor part in Israelite cuisine but were symbolically important as adornments on the hem of the robe of the high priest and the Temple pillars and embossed on coinage; they are also listed in the Bible as one of the Seven Species of the Land of Israel. Other fruits and nuts The sycamore fig, carob, mulberry, and possibly the apple were also eaten. Usually, these fruits were not cultivated but were picked in the wild when they were in season. The sycamore fig (Ficus sycamorus) was very common in the