Fruits · Dried fruit
Dates
Sticky-sweet dried fruit of the date palm; eaten whole, stuffed, or blended to sweeten bakes and smoothies.
Also called: medjool dates, khajur, hurma, tamr
Photo: Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-2.0)
What it is
Dates are the fruit of the date palm, sold soft (Medjool, large and fudgy), semi-dry (Deglet Noor) or dry. They are oval and brown with wrinkled, glossy skin around a long, thin stone. They are much sweeter and stickier than prunes or figs.
Phoenix dactylifera
How it’s used
- Eaten whole or stuffed with nuts or cheese
- Blended into energy balls, smoothies and sauces
- Baked into sticky toffee pudding and ma'amoul
- Added to tagines and chutneys
Characteristics
- Taste
- Very sweet, caramel and honey-like.
- Texture
- Soft, sticky and chewy.
- Sold as
- dried, paste
- Cooking uses
- Usually eaten raw, Suitable for baking
- Common in
- Middle Eastern, Saudi Arabian, Gulf Arab, Iraqi, Moroccan, Egyptian, Levantine, Indian
Storage
Refrigerated. Keep sealed in a cool place or the fridge; soft dates keep better chilled. Sugar crystals on the skin are harmless.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 277 kcal
- Protein
- 1.81 g
- Carbohydrate
- 74.97 g
- Fat
- 0.15 g
- Fibre
- 6.7 g
- Sugars
- 66.47 g
USDA FoodData Central: Dates, medjool.
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
Related ingredients
Recipes with dates
See all 14Apple cinnamon oat breakfast smoothie
International · 10 min · 306 kcal · Vegetarian
Arabic coffee (gahwa)
Saudi Arabian · 23 min · 12 kcal · VeganBengali tomato-date chutney (tomato khejur chutney)
Bengali · 35 min · 100 kcal · VeganDry fruit paratha
Indian · 1 h 9 min · 392 kcal · Vegetarian
Harira
Moroccan · 1 h 40 min · 242 kcalHomemade brown sauce
British · 1 h 5 min · 41 kcal · VeganKerala plum cake (alcohol-free)
Indian · 12 h 45 min · 252 kcal · Contains eggKhajur ambli chutney (Gujarati date-tamarind chutney)
Gujarati · 1 h · 54 kcal · Vegan
Kleicha
Iraqi · 1 h 45 min · 133 kcal · Contains eggMa'amoul with dates
Levantine · 2 h 8 min · 148 kcal · Vegetarian
Saunth (sweet tamarind-date chutney)
Indian · 50 min · 55 kcal · VeganSheer khurma
Pakistani · 45 min · 339 kcal · Vegetarian
2 more
- Sticky toffee pudding · British
- Tomato khajuri khatta (Odia tomato-date chutney) · Indian
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