RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — It’s a simple tradition, centuries old and honored by millions: a bite of date taken at sundown.
This Muslim ritual is said to have begun with the Prophet Muhammad around the seventh century. Today, it often is used to end the daily fast during Ramadan, Islam’s holy month during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan begins Sept. 1.
That tradition has transformed the date into a massive industry in the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia alone, more than 21 million palm trees produce 884,000 tons of dates a year, making the kingdom one of the largest date producers.
Those dates are eaten fresh, dried and in any number of treats. Gourmet date shops sell date-filled chocolates, date mustard, date syrup and date bars.
Visit any home or office in the kingdom, and you invariably will see a small plate heaped with dates on a coffee table. The sweetness of the fruit balances the bitter taste of the cardamom-scented coffee served to guests in small cups.
Date baskets, containing different varieties of the fruit, date cookies and date juice, are common gifts. Dates also feature in many desserts, where the fruit is the most prominent ingredient.
In Lebanon, the dates are turned into a paste that fills cookies served at the feast of Eid al-Fitr (marking the end of Ramadan) and the Feast of Sacrifice, which falls less than three months after Ramadan.
