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You won't find jujubes at your average farmer's market stall. If you want to buy the olive-sized, black and brown fruits, hunt out Asian-themed markets or tables selling Asian ingredients.
We're not sure why Chinese dates, as they're also called, haven't made more inroads into Western cuisine, though some historians think that Homer's lotus-eaters were riding a jujube high. The chalky texture of a raw jujube isn't very appealing, but the flavor—a subtle mix of green apple and dates with lots of sugar and little acid—makes it an enjoyable snack or ingredient in a salad. Each crunchy bite will give you twice as much Vitamin C as the equivalent weight of oranges, so maybe you should consider eating more as cold season approaches.
Photo by Melissa Schneider
Traditonally, cooks have candied their jujubes, which isn't nearly as risque as it sounds. Score the flesh and cook in a sugar syrup (1 part sugar to one part water) for about 30 minutes. Cool, cover, and chill overnight in the syrup. Simmer again for 30 minutes, and then dry in a low-heat oven. Watch for the big pit in the middle before you bite down.
The USDA offers a recipe for jujube butter, sort of a blend of English farmhouse cooking and Asian ingredients. And Gourmet recently published a recipe for Eight-Treasure Pudding that places a variety of dried fruits atop a rice pudding.
What are your favorite jujube recipes? Let us know in the comments.
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I saw those at the civic center farmer's market a couple of weeks ago and was intrigued!
Any tips how how to buy ripe ones or if they ripen off the vine? most of the ones I saw were green!
Suze,
A friend of mine who buys them often for snacking says to go for the darker hues. I didn't see anything that suggests they ripen off the vine, though you could put them into a bag with a banana, the old trick of letting the off-gassed ethylene ripen the fruit, and see if that works.
Twin Girls Farms at the Ferry Plaza has them every year when in season!
Where can I buy jujubes? I need 5-10 pounds.
I don't want to buy jujubes from store, little bag by little bag. Thanks.
korean grocery .99/lb --what do you do w/5lbs?