Dates are the sweet fruit of the date palm. Dry or soft dates are eaten out-of-hand, or may be pitted and stuffed with fillings such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, candied orange and lemon peel, tahini, marzipan or cream cheese.
Dates can also be chopped and used in a range of sweet and savory dishes, from tagines in Morocco to puddings, ka'ak (Arab cookies) and other dessert items. Date nut bread is popular in the United States, especially around holidays. Dates are also processed into cubes, paste called 'ajwa, spread, date syrup date sugar, vinegar or alcohol.
Pitted dates are also referred to as stoned dates. Partially dried pitted dates may be glazed with glucose syrup for use as a snack food.
Recent innovations include chocolate-covered dates and products such as sparkling date juice, used in some Islamic countries as a non-alcoholic version of champagne, for special occasions and religious times such as Ramadan. When Muslims break fast in the evening meal of Ramadan, it is traditional to eat a date first.