21 Date Recipes for Breaking Ramadan's Fast

The first full day of fasting for Ramadan this year is June 6, and the last will be July 5, 2016. Between those days, the millions of people observing the holiday will abstain from food and drink from the meal before dawn (suhoor) to the meal after dusk (iftar).

Because it's recorded in the hadith, a collection of Mohammed's words, actions, and habits, that he always broke the fast with dates and water, Muslims around the world follow this tradition, start iftar in the same way.

Whether you're celebrating Ramadan, hosting or participating in iftar, or just a fan of gooey, caramelly dates (one of the earliest cultivated crops!) here are 21 ways to eat them:

This recipe calls for brandy, but you can replace it with unsweetened apple cider, apple cider, or white grape juice (or even chicken stock or water).

Skip the vanilla-rum cream.

This creamy pie is drizzle with date syrup a.k.a. silan.

You can even skip the salad and head straight for the broiled, cheese-stuffed dates.