Dates have a high sugar content, making them rich in carbohydrates. People eat dates fresh or dried. Dried dates can be used in cooking and can be easily stored and preserved. Sugar obtained from the sap of the tree and juice pressed from dates serve as sweeteners. Date mash ferments into an alcoholic drink called arak, also spelled arrack.
People use the trunk and leaves as building materials.
They weave the leaves into baskets, mats, and other articles. Fiber from the bark makes strong rope. Even the pits are burned as fuel or are used as animal feed when ground up. They have a straight, rough trunk of about the same thickness from base to top. Growths called suckers sprout near the base of the trunk and may develop into new plants.