All About Jujube
Jujubes are red stone fruits, no bigger than a plum, that are date-like and tart with fluffy, sweet fruit inside. In the United States, it can be pretty hard to find these exceptional fruits in their fresh state. Throughout Asia and parts of the Middle East, these sweet little fruits are used in sauces, soups, sides and dishes that are sweet and savory, along with beverages ranging from teas to juices and cocktails.
At FruitStand, we look forward to sending you a beautiful package of these extraordinary fruits from our small specialty farms partners. Keep reading to learn all about jujube!
It’s not the movie theatre candy you may have eaten by the boxful as a kid! Jujubes, pronounced “joo-joobs” when plural and “joo-joob” in the singular form, is fruit experience you won’t want to miss.
Jujubes, also known as the Chinese date, red date, or ziziphus jujuba if you love botany, taste a lot like apples. They’re also a little bit tart and a musky sweetness that’s date-like without the carmely overtones. Their flavor is magical in the way it changes as the jujubes ripen. Longtime jujube fans know they’re at their most delicious when fully ripened and wrinkly!
Fresh jujubes fruit and skin is edible, with an inedible stone in the center. Unripened, jujubes’ skin is taut and green, and the fruit inside is somewhat chalky without much flavor. As they mature, the skin turns red and the flesh begins to sweeten. Imagine a dry apple, and that gives you a sense of the jujube fruit texture at this stage of ripeness. As jujubes turn maroon on the outside, inside the fruit becomes nougat-like and spongy. This is what jujube fans around the world live for! With their fluffy texture and apple-meets-date flavor, fresh jujubes are a true fruit experience!
Loved by people for thousands of years, jujubes bring unique flavor and texture to countless recipes. Some of the most common ways to eat fresh jujube fruits are raw as a snack, dried, cooked into candies and jams, baked into cakes and pies, and stewed into flavorful syrups, roasted with meats and vegetables, in soups and added to sauces. The sweet and apple-like flavor of jujube is delicious in drinks of all kinds. Jujubes can be brewed into tea and enjoyed in juices and used in cocktails.
Because this fruit has been cultivated by humans for so long, botanists are still learning where jujubes originated. Varieties of jujube are believed to grow natively throughout China, and in areas of India and Lebanon. It’s known to be a hardy plant, so jujubes are successfully cultivated around the world today.
Jujubes are stone fruits that grow on a deciduous tree. The bushy Ziziphus jujuba tree can grow to nearly forty feet high, with green, pointy, oval leaves that are about three inches long. The branches from which the jujube fruit grow have protective thorns.
Because this fruit has been cultivated by humans for so long, botanists are still learning where jujubes originated. Varieties of jujube are believed to grow natively throughout China, and in areas of India and Lebanon. It’s known to be a hardy plant, so jujubes are successfully cultivated around the world today.
Jujubes are stone fruits that grow on a deciduous tree. The bushy Ziziphus jujuba tree can grow to nearly forty feet high, with green, pointy, oval leaves that are about three inches long. The branches from which the jujube fruit grow have protective thorns.
In the United States, jujube season peaks in October, lasting from the end of September through the end of November.
Whether a jujube is certified organic or not will depend on the farm where it was grown. At FruitStand, we only partner with the best specialty farms for exceptional quality of produce. When each harvest is available, we'll tell you whether the fruit is considered organic or conventional.
If you’ve ever wondered where to buy jujube, we’ve got great news for you! FruitStand is proud to partner with small, specialty farmers to bring you exceptional quality jujube. To be the first to know when FruitStand is shipping jujube harvests, join our email newsletter!
Don’t keep those jujube recipes to yourself! Show us how you use your shipment of fresh, hard to find jujube fruits with us in our Facebook Community or on Instagram at @FruitStandcom!