Fresh ju ju be

[hzrt8w]

Yesterday I saw, for the first time, some FRESH ju ju be on sale in the Milpitas 99 Ranch market.

I never had the fresh ju ju be before, only the dried one in Chinese soups. I didn't what to expect so decided not to pick up the whole bag (more than 30 in all).

Have you eaten fresh ju ju be? How would you describe the taste and texture? Are they crispy like fresh pear/apple?

[Ce'nedra]

I'm afraid I can't share my thoughts here. I've only had the dried variety

[Joe Blowe]

Funny, we're currently battling them in our backyard! The previous homeowners planted several jujube trees, and they like to pop up via suckers. We keep knocking them down, and they keep popping up!

As for flavor, they're alright when picked at the right stage, and they do compare somewhat to apple or Eugenia berries. After they start to shrivel, which happens too soon IMO, the flavor goes "off" and I have no interest in them...

[eje]

Many vendors have them in the late summer and fall at our local farmer's market.

Only once have I tried them and been "wowed" by the flavor.

Most of the time they taste like slightly less flavorful and somewhat mealy apples.

Dunno if that one time was a specific variety or if they have a brief time when they are at their best. It was at my favorite exotic fruit vendor, someone I would expect to take some care picking out what variety she grows and when she sells it.

[djyee100]

Fresh jujube were at Berkeley Bowl when I was shopping there last week. I didn't buy any--didn't know what to do with them. If anybody wants to check them out, they were in that little stand of exotic fruits with the passion fruit, the starfruit, and fresh dates.

Edited September 23, 2007 by djyee100 (log)

[junehl]

I love fresh Jujube's. They do taste like mealy apples. I love it when you first bit into it, there is slight tang, and as you eat it, it gets a muted sweetness to them.

I would enjoy growing them if they didn't have so much suckers, like joe blowe indicated. Wonder if they would do well in a pot.

My grandmother has a jujube tree, she likes it, but whenever they start getting soft and slightly off, she just leaves them out in the sun and dries them. She mails them out to family every year.

[milgwimper]

I love fresh Jujube's.  They do taste like mealy apples.  I love it when you first bit into it, there is slight tang, and as you eat it, it gets a muted sweetness to them.

I would enjoy growing them if they didn't have so much suckers, like joe blowe indicated.  Wonder if they would do well in a pot. 

My grandmother has a jujube tree, she likes it, but whenever they start getting soft and slightly off, she just leaves them out in the sun and dries them.  She mails them out to family every year.

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I remember them being a little bit crispy, but not has cruncy as an apple. I love fresh jujubes! One of my fav things when I was a child was picking fresh jujubes with my korean Grandmother, and eating as many as I can before taking the rest home.

Now I don't remember what we did with them when we brought them home, maybe the rest the family ate some and then dried the rest, but I don't remember making anything out of the fresh jujubes.

[Adam Balic]

There are quite a few different cultivars and I think that the Asian and European/Near Eastern types are different species.

I have seen them for sale fresh in Southern Spain (Cadiz province) and in Singapore as "Chinese Winter Dates". Several varieties are occasionaly sold in Australia.

When perfect, they taste of caramel to me, quite odd in a fresh fruit.

Out of interest what names are they sold under in China? Especially the dried version.

[hzrt8w]

...Out of interest what names are they sold under in China? Especially the dried version.

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In Chinese, they are called Hung Zho [Cantonese], which loosely translates to red date. Dried ones: same name.

[Kouign Aman]

They are mildly sweet, very little if any tang. Its a fairly one-dimensional flavor. Very crunchy. Crunchier and dryer than apple, closer to underripe pear in texture (but without the stonecells). The dryness brings mealiness to mind, but its not really mealy, in my experience. It might be interesting to cut them into something like an apple salad for contrast.

[junehl]

...Out of interest what names are they sold under in China? Especially the dried version.

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In Chinese, they are called Hung Zho [Cantonese], which loosely translates to red date. Dried ones: same name.

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Oh and we always used to call them Chinese dates. It caused me a world of confuse, when I first encountered the other dates.

[Adam Balic]

Thank you for the information, I thought that this was the case.

For your entertainment:

Jujube as sold in Singapore

Jujube as sold in Spain (these are much larger)

Cross section of the Spanish fruit

The types sold in Australia are similar to the Singapore variety, but I have also seen fruit that are shaped like a small pear.

[Naftal]

I am familiar with the Spanish jujube. This is the one that I too associate with the taste of apples.

[hzrt8w]

Thanks for posting the pictures Adam! What I saw in the 99 Ranch market looked the same as the ones in your second and third picture. The fruit in the first picture seemed to be of a different variety? I read the Chinese label said "Dung Zho" [Cantonese], which translates to winter date, and not "Hung Zho", which translate to red date.

I am intrigued to just buy some and try it out. Unfortunately they sell these fresh jujubes in bundles (over 30 in a bag). "What if I don't like it?" it would be too much of a waste.

[Adam Balic]

I guess they will only be known as "red dates" once they are dried, so the fresh form will have another name.

I haven't quite got this all worked out, but I think that there are at least three species that are eaten in Asia.

Common Jujube (Ziziphus zizyphus)

Chinese Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) maybe the same species as above

Indian Jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana)

There are many varieties developed from these species and in China multiple species are grown.

There are also a lot of other plants in the genus, some of which have fruit which is eaten or used in traditional medicine (Suan Zao Ren (Ziziphus spinosa) for instance)

Edited September 24, 2007 by Adam Balic (log)

[heidih]

I am intrigued to just buy some and try it out. Unfortunately they sell these fresh jujubes in bundles (over 30 in a bag). "What if I don't like it?" it would be too much of a waste.

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[Seitch]

When they are freshly picked, these fruits are both juicy and crunchy. Very similar to apples. The taste is sweet and may be a little sour depending on the ripeness. According to TCM they're supposed to be good for the blood.

[Tepee]

Is thiswhat you are all talking about? And, am I to understand that these same fruits become hoong jo? Gosh.

[hzrt8w]

The ones I saw in the 99 Ranch market, where the workers labelled "Fresh Jujube" (they actually wrote it as "Fresh Ju Ju Be"), were reddish brown with patches of yellow in color not like the ones shown in the post you linked to. The ones I saw looked the same like those in the picture Adam Balic provided.

[junehl]

teepee, that fruit from the other post looks very similar to a spondias, but larrylee's description doesn't really mention the spindly core.

[eje]

I'll get some fresh jujube on Saturday and take pictures of them cut, etc.

Not sure if larrylee's fruit is jujube. Looks kind of large and the shape seems wrong.

I suppose it could be a different variety than the ones commonly grown here.

teepee's look more similar: Thai Apple

[eje]

Here are a couple pictures of fresh jujube from this morning's farmers' market:

I had to struggle to find ones still with green, most are starting to dry and are entirely brown.

[hzrt8w]

I couldn't hold my curiosity any longer. I bought some fresh jujubes to try them out. They are kind of like apples, but much lighter (less dense). The texture is not as solid and crisp as apples. The taste is quite familiar. The dried jujubes (which I eat often) taste pretty much the same as fresh jujubes, except the flavor is much more concentrated. I suppose that is kind of like sun-dried tomatoes versus fresh tomatoes. It is amazing that dried and fresh jujube look so different. Well... like raisins versus grapes. The water content makes a big difference.

[Tepee]

I saw jujubes at a local supermarket, exactly like those shown by eje. Think I'll get some to try during my next trip. Thanks for the review, guys.