Narr: Coming up on America's Heartland, meet a farmer growing dates in the California desert, including his own variety that he calls black gold.

Sam: I tasted it and my eyes are open and I said, This is good.

I could sell this.

Narr: And speaking of dates, are they a smart choice if you have diabetes?

Nutrition expert Dr. Daphne Miller explores the latest research on eating these sweet treats.

Plus, meet the two sisters behind this prune orchard who work with their parents every day and say they wouldn't have it any other way.

Farmer: I decided to come back because I wanted to be a part of a business with my parents.

I wanted to spend time with them.

I wanted to be here with them.

Narr: We'll also show you how to cook a spicy roasted red bell pepper pasta topped with burrata and parmesan cheese, and visit a cooking class for elementary school students that teaches them how to properly slice, mix, prepare and enjoy fresh vegetables.

It's all coming up next on America's heartland.

Annc: America's Heartland is made possible by: ♪♪ ♪ You can see it in the eyes ♪ ♪ of every woman and man in America█s ♪ ♪ Heartland living close to the land.

♪ ♪ There's a love for the country ♪ ♪ and a pride in the brand ♪ ♪ in America's Heartland ♪ ♪ Living close... Close to the land ♪ Narr: Sam Cobb is taking the sweet fruit, dates, to new heights.

Sam: We grow seven different varieties of dates, including medjool dates and barhi dates, safawi dates and our very own variety called black gold.

Black gold is only available at Sam Cobb Farms, and it was developed by Mr. Cobb himself.

Narr: Sam Cobb grows 60 acres of dates near the town of Blythe in Southern California.

His passion for agriculture started with a tractor that drove past his home when he was just three years old.

Sam: That has been my life ever since.

I have never stopped chasing that tractor.

Narr: It was in high school that Sam first understood the big picture, the challenges and rewards of working the land Sam: I could not wait to join the Future Farmers of America.

In the ninth grade, and unfortunately, I was the only African-American guy in the program.

And I said, Shucks, this is not good.

So now I'm 60 years old, or in my sixties... 61, actually.

And I'm still the only African-American doing what I'm doing.

Narr: Cobb studied agriculture at Fresno State and went on to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 30 years, helping other farmers while he and his wife started their own farm in the 1980s.

Sam: Finally, when I turned 40, I realized that I had all the pieces of the puzzle.

Officially, 2019 retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and went full time into agriculture.

Narr: Putting together that puzzle wasn't easy.

He had to find the right land and he had to negotiate some deals to get what he wanted.

That included an important question for his wife, Maxine, on their first date.

Sam: Do you think you could see yourself being married to a farmer if everything worked out?

She said, Yeah, I can see that.

That was 43 years ago.

We█re still together.

Narr: Sam and Maxine made several attempts at farming.

2002 was the date when they finally decided on their ideal product.

Sam: Dates are a very difficult thing to grow.

You have to be patient, and it helps to know that it's going to be 20 years.

Narr: Mesh bags protect the ripening dates from birds and insects.

No pests mean no pesticides.

Sam: Dates are harvested by hand.

Everything with a date tree by -- in the field, is by hand.

Once it goes into the packers, the packers are able to use the latest technology.

Within the fields until it gets to the packer dates are still all by hand.

Narr: Of the seven varieties of dates he grows, Cobb has a definite favorite.

His own variety.

Black gold.

Sam: Black gold.

We found this date on the side of the road.

It was just a piece of garbage tree.

And then about three or four years in, it bloomed.

I tasted it and my eyes are open and I said, This is good.

I could sell this.

Narr: Black gold dates have a flavor that's hard to identify even for Cobb.

Sam: Once it mellows, it begins to taste kinda caramely a hint of chocolate.

The third flavor is a mystery flavor, which, to this day, in 20 years, no one can agree what it tastes like.

And one lady, she cut it short, “That third flavor is sassy.

This date tastes sassy” Narr: Cobb found his dream date.

Now he has a bigger dream for his farm.

Sam: I hope to hand it off to my children to keep in business.

But my biggest dream is for my grandchildren to go and study agriculture or science, engineering, law, accounting, not to go and work for someone else, but to come and work and improve the family business.

That's my dream.

Narr: Sam Cobb doesn't take success for granted.

Sam: The saying says, luck favors the prepared.

So if you're prepared, when luck happens, you will be lucky.

You know, I've been preparing since I was three years old.

I'm doing my part in the world and I'm leaving my mark in agriculture.

♪♪ Dr. Miller: Desert Springs, California, is known for its hot springs and its wonderful dates.

And when I'm talking about dates, I mean the edible kind.

These date trees are not native to this area.

They were imported from the Middle East and North Africa in the late 1800s as a USDA experiment.

Agriculturalists realized that the dry, hot conditions here are similar to conditions in those desert countries where date trees flourish.

I love dates.

I love how some of them taste like creamy butterscotch, and other ones are more like chewy toffee.

For me, they're a favorite dessert.

But I was actually wondering our dates literally, Candy.

Humans have been eating dates for thousands of years.

They're one of the oldest cultivated plants.

But should we be avoiding them if we're trying to prevent or treat diabetes?

Almost 12% of U.S. adults have type two diabetes and another 38% have prediabetes.

Can dates be a healthy part of your diet if you have trouble controlling your blood sugar.

Well, it turns out that there is a number of studies looking at this, and not surprisingly, a lot of the research is being done in parts of the world where they're growing lots of dates.

These are areas like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

These are also places like the United States where there has been a dramatic increase in the rate of type two diabetes.

Consensus is that instead of raising blood sugar, dates might actually play a role in managing or lowering it.

This is probably because of all the fiber that's in dates.

They have something called a low glycemic load, meaning that each state is not delivering a lot of sugar into your bloodstream.

So how many dates should you have for dessert?

Probably about 3 to 5.

And I love to have them with the mandarins because the acid cuts the sweetness.

But they can be a part of your diet if you're working to control your blood sugar.

Thanks for joining me to learn how a date farm can offer us some great, delicious, sticky medicine.

♪♪ Narr: Still ahead on America's Heartland, see how this school district built its own cooking, school and farm to teach students about the importance of eating vegetables.

We'll also show you step by step how to make a spicy bell pepper pasta using your own roasted bell peppers.

But first, discover how prunes are grown and harvested in this northern California city that's also become a major destination for immigrants from India.

♪♪ Narr: In the shadow of the Sutter Buttes in the Sacramento Valley, Yuba City is home to rich farmland known for its peaches, prunes and nuts.

It's also home to the largest rural Punjabi community outside the Indian subcontinent.

Here, ties are forged across continents and across generations.

Sureena: But the fruit looks good.

The size looks amazing.

Look at this.

Let's look at the fruit size.

Ooo.

Yeah, Joginder: That█s where the money is.

Sureena: And that's where the money is.

Narr: Joginder Bains immigrated to Yuba City from India more than 70 years ago, followed by his wife, Kulwant.

He worked as a laborer and she is a teacher while saving up money for land.

Land which their daughters, Sureena and Manpreet now farm together after returning to their hometown as adults.

Sureena: When you're younger, you take off and you kind of want to go do your thing and you want to have that freedom, and then later in life, you want to support.

I decided to come back because I wanted to be a part of a business with my parents.

I wanted to spend time with them.

I wanted to be here with them.

My dad still drives around the ranch and tells me “Ten rows in and six rows over that tree is dying.

Like I don't know what you did, but you should go check it out.” They're very much still involved, and I think that's why they're still here at 85 and 90.

Joginder: In farming, weather never is good.

Sureena: I know!

It's always the unpredictable variable.

Narr: Sureena manages the orchard while her sister, Manpreet, oversees the financials.

Their farm, Manseena Orchards, is a combination of their first names.

They grow prunes and walnuts and partner with other local farmers on almonds.

Manpreet: We all want to be stewards of the land.

This is why we own what we own.

And we came back to do what we... we do.

I think it's something that we need to protect and grow and invest in and create space for the next generation.

Narr: Prunes, made from dried plums, are one of this region's top crops, typically harvested in late summer.

A mechanical shaker moves quickly through the rows at an impressive rate of five trees per minute.

The fruit rolls onto a receiver and is collected in bins.

Then they're transported to a drier where the fruit goes through a deep tank and on to trays.

Those trays are rolled into tunnels heated up to 185 degrees.

They'll emerge from the same tunnels about 24 hours later, cured and then shipped as part of the Sun Sweet Growers Cooperative.

Sureena's husband, Ravi Thiara, operates the drying facility.

That processes her fruit.

It's located on his family's farm called Thiara Orchards.

Like the Bains, the Thiaras are originally from India and collectively share a passion for farming and continuing a tradition from their homeland.

Sureena: My dad came here in 1953, and like many Punjabi farmers that are here today, they come from an area called Punjab, and it is an area surrounded by five rivers, which is what Punjab means.

They farm there because of the soil being very rich.

So when the Punjabis move here to the United States, they tend to then go right back into farming because that's what they do back home.

Narr: Immigration rapidly grew after the 1960s, and about 18,000 Punjabi residents live in the greater Yuba City area today, and the city draws five times as many people to its annual Sikh parade.

One of the largest events outside India.

Narr: They really built a homeland here based on the homeland that they left behind.

So with temples and gurdwaras and food places and all of that, it just became more and more of the cultural fabric of of Yuba City and the wider Sutter County area The sisters say that Punjabi women play a big role in fostering this tight knit community.

While women only make up about 37% of the farmers and ranchers in California, that number is growing.

And the sisters say it gives them hope that they can be role models to the next generation.

It's a trait they learned from their own mother.

Sureena:My dad always said she's the brains behind our business.

The... the kind of manifester of things.

And my dad would put it into action.

Manpreet: He's the dreamer of sorts, but it's because it's due to my mom's credit.

And everyone will say that... that... that they have what they have today.

Narr: As American farmers grow older, the question of what will happen to their land and their legacy is often uncertain.

But here in this fertile land cared for by generations, the Bains family knows that whatever comes next, they'll be doing it together.

Manpreet: Being with them at 90 years old and 85 years old, I'll never get that time again.

So watching them, um, just slowly, graciously hand everything over to my sister and I, and then being there for them as they get older has been a gift that I didn't anticipate or expect.

So that's been probably one of the most positive parts of coming back to the farm.

Sureena: And it's super... it's just super important that I keep learning from them.

My sister keeps learning from them.

My kids are learning from them and the story goes on.

The California prune industry owes its success today to a Frenchman named Louis Puglia, the son of two winemakers.

He arrived in San Francisco during the gold rush but didn't strike it rich.

Instead, he started a plant nursery in San Jose.

He sent his brother back to France to retrieve cuttings of the dish on plum tree, which were transported in trunks by ship back to San Francisco.

The cuttings were grafted onto a wild plum tree and flourished.

Today, California produces 99% of the nation's prune crop and 70% of the world's prunes.

♪♪ Sharon: There are many ways to enjoy red bell peppers.

And today we're making a spicy roasted red bell pepper pasta for this dish.

We'll start with red bell peppers.

These red bell peppers are perfect, and now we need to roast them for this recipe, Begin with fresh bell peppers.

You can use red, yellow or orange varieties.

Slice each pepper and a half through the stem and remove the seeds and the thick white parts.

Set the peppers on a baking sheet skin side up, then transfer to an oven at 450 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes or until the skin is beginning to darken and blister.

Once the peppers have cooled, remove the outer peels.

Transfer the peppers to a storage container and keep them in the fridge for up to five days.

If you don't have time to roast the peppers, you can buy roasted red bell peppers from the grocery store.

They are just as lovely and they usually come jarred, which is what I have here.

Let's get started on the sauce.

For that, I have a pan heating over medium heat here.

The base is really those red bell peppers.

And since they're roasted, they're going to impart more of a smoky flavor.

I have this pan on medium heat, and to that, I will add butter.

Typically, I like to sauteed onion and garlic and olive oil.

But for this recipe, I want a really creamy sauce.

So we're using butter as the base.

Onion goes in.

And since we've sliced this garlic, I can go in at the same time.

We're just looking to soften these veggies.

We don't really need to brown them at all.

A little salt or peppers are roasted.

Our onions and garlic are sauteed.

So now let's make the sauce.

We'll add all of our ingredients to the blender.

Then our roasted bell peppers go in.

Since these are jarred, they get stored in water.

So I'm trying not to include too much of that juice to this will add a tablespoon of tomato paste that adds a little bit of sweetness.

And then this is a spicy pasta and the spice will come from a Calabrian chili paste.

For this you can adjust according to your spice levels.

I'm going to add a tablespoon.

If you can't find Calabrian chili paste, you can use chili flakes.

Just start with about a half a teaspoon and then build up from there.

We're adding one ounce of parmesan cheese.

Now add the juice of half a lemon.

Red bell peppers are naturally pretty tangy, and so I like to accentuate that flavor by adding more tang.

And in this case, we'll use Lemon to do that.

Finally, we'll do about five leaves of Basil, a nice big pinch of salt and black pepper.

Okay, we'll blend this and then I'll add half a cup of heavy cream to finish up the sauce.

Okay, I'm going to add half a cup of heavy cream now that our pasta sauce is ready and the pasta has cooked, we can assemble this dish First.

Let's put our sauce into the pan.

Let's heat up the sauce.

Okay.

This is heating up beautifully.

So to this, I will add our pasta up, and then we'll gently start to incorporate it.

So I pulled out about a cup of the pasta water.

It's really good to get into the habit of doing that, because when you're combining the pasta with the sauce, you may notice that it starts to thicken up and you want it to get a little bit looser and so I can see that happening here.

So I'm just going to add a quarter cup of the pasta water at a time just to keep it loose and silky.

I like my spicy, pretty spicy.

So I'm going to add a little bit more of that Calabrian chili.

And at this point, it's a good time to also add, Yes, more Parmesan cheese.

Give it one final stir.

Our pasta is nearly done.

I'll turn off the stove.

The finishing touch, just to put it over the top is one eight ounce ball of burrata and parmesan.

Of course.

And this wouldn't be a pasta dish if we didn't garnish it with a little bit of beautiful, fresh basil.

That's our red bell pepper pasta.

And now all that's left to do is eat ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Students chatter ] Amber: I think we have an attitude in this country that if we want kids to feel special, we'll give them a treat.

Well, if you want kids to feel special and all they get is treats all the time, they're actually going to feel very special when you come and show up and give them a fruit or vegetable because you're adding something to their life that they don't often get.

Narr: Amber Stott has been on a mission to get kids to eat their fruits and veggies for more than a dozen years.

She's the founder of a nonprofit called the Food Literacy Center.

They run afterschool programs in several Sacramento schools showing students how to prepare healthy meals.

Amber: Kids want to eat fruits and vegetables.

The kids actually tell us that they know we care about them because who shows up?

What crazy people come in and say, “yay!

we're here to eat broccoli!” And because that's our message, it comes across, as we care.

Narr: Sacramento City Unified School District was so enthusiastic about this message that when an opportunity came up to turn vacant land into a farm, they turned to the Food Literacy Center.

Amber: And they asked if we'd be willing to run a farm.

And I said, “Well, if we had a farm, there would be vegetables being grown.

And we really want people to know what to do with those vegetables.

So it really does need a cooking school on site.

Fast forward many years, a lot of meetings and a lot of planning.

This site is an example of government gone right?

Narr: The one acre farm is still taking shape, but once it's completed, it will double as a public park.

There's another half acre community garden in front and inside a brand new cooking school where students from Sacramento City Unified can come for field trips.

Teacher: And that's all of your ingredients.

And then you'll make it in the bowl too.

Narr: On this day, students on a field trip from Ethel Baker Elementary School are learning how to make veggie tostadas served with fruit flavored water.

Evelyn: Students here, they build not only cooking skills and nutrition knowledge, but also resiliency and confidence when it comes to being able to make a healthy meal on their own.

When we give our students kidsafe knives and graters and cutting mats, for some of them this is the first time they've been able to use a knife and learn how to use it safely.

Narr: The mission of the Food Literacy Center ties in directly to Sacramento City Unified's goal of improving nutrition for its 40,000 plus students.

The district's new Central Kitchen opened in 2022, where meals are cooked from scratch and fruits and vegetables are sourced from local farms.

Diana: And we have seen a lot of students just throwing away all the fresh fruits and vegetables that we had sourced locally from local farmers, all the effort that we put into this produce.

But then it would go in the trash.

And so our goals are to align with the goals of food literacy center to get the kids to eat their vegetables and fruit.

Narr: Then the district found something interesting in the schools where students had been exposed to the Food Literacy Center's programs.

The students were more likely to pick healthy options.

Diana: Those students come through the lunch line and they will try nearly anything that we serve, even if they're not sure what it is, they will try it and often they will like it.

Amber: Sacramento is 1,000% one of the leaders probably in the nation of what they're doing with school lunch.

And part of that is because of our unique situation of being an America's farm to fork capital.

And part of that is the leadership of the nutrition services program here.

This model, to our knowledge, hasn't been done in other districts.

And so it's our opportunity to gather the data and show that this really works.

Narr: Sure, you could collect data or you could just pull up a seat at one of the picnic tables here.

Dig in and join the students eating veggie tostadas topped with tomato lime brown rice, cabbage, jalapeno slaw and pickled onions.

Evelyn: I love this job because I see it work every week.

I see kids try a new fruit or vegetable every week, and I see kids buying joy and making a new recipe.

Annc: That's it for this edition of America's Heartland.

For more stories, full episodes and recipes, visit AmericasHeartland.Org , or connect with us on Facebook.

♪ You can see it in the eyes ♪ ♪ of every woman and man in America█s ♪ ♪ Heartland living close to the land.

♪ ♪ There's a love for the country ♪ ♪ and a pride in the brand ♪ ♪ in America's Heartland ♪ ♪ Living close... Close to the land ♪ Annc: America's heartland is made possible by: ♪♪