How to Eat Jujubes

Once the jujube fruit is ripe, it can be cooked and eaten in a variety of ways. Here are some of the most popular ways to eat jujubes:

• Raw: The skin and flesh of jujubes is completely edible. Snack on them out of hand, and avoid the hard pit in the center. Chop raw jujube and sprinkle it over your granola, yogurt, salads and desserts.
• Baking: Fresh jujube fruit can be baked into cakes, desserts and breads and roasted with savory meals alongside vegetables and meats.
• Soups: Jujube adds sweet, malty flavor to rich soups, stews and chutneys.
• Sauces + Dips: Cooked down, jujube lends jammy, tart sweetness to hearty sauces and flavorful snack spreads.
• Confection: The apple-sweet jujube is delicious in jams, jellies and candy making. Jujube is also a popular ingredient in puddings, fruity tarts and rich, flavorful compotes.

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. Here are some easy ways use jujube in your drinks:

• Tea: Jujubes are renowned for the delicious tea made by brewing the very ripe fruit in hot water, then adding optional ingredients like ginger, honey, sugar and spices.
• Juicing: Remove the pit from fresh ripened fruit, and feed the pulp into your juicer. Because jujubes aren’t especially juicy, it’s best to include them with other juices when you want a more hefty final fruit drink. Jujube tastes great with other produce like pear, apple ginger, oranges and leafy greens.
• Smoothies + Nut Milks: If you like adding dates to your smoothies and nut milks, you’re gonna love jujubes! Not as carmely-sweet as dates, very ripe jujubes are sweet and tart like apples, with a spongy flesh that can look like nougat candy. It’s especially delicious with cashews, peanuts, almonds, orange citrus fruits, honey and warm spices.
• Cocktails: Whether cooked into a flavorful syrup, fermented into liqueurs or used as a garnish, jujube adds an unexpected twist to your favorite libations.

Jujubes take just a few days to ripen, and have a slightly longer shelf life than some other hard to find fruits. Here are some of the most common ways to store jujubes:

• As they ripen, jujube fruits can be left on the countertop for up to a week. Keeping jujubes in an airtight container can keep them fresher for a few days longer. In a sealed container in the refrigerator, jujube fruits can stay fresh for up to two weeks.
• To freeze jujubes, wait until they are fully ripened. Freeze jujube fruits whole or sliced in halves with pits removed, on a cookie sheet with space between each piece. Once frozen, store the fruit in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a year.
• Once dried or cooked into recipes like tea and candies, the shelf life will vary. Dried jujubes can stay fresh, when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place, for over a year. If you live in a warmer or more humid climate, you may find better storage success by keeping your fresh or dry jujubes in the fridge.

Do you feel like a jujube eating expert now? Show us your favorite ways to prepare and eat jujube by tagging us in your culinary masterpieces on Instagram @Fruitstandcom!