Jujube

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the chewy candy, see Jujube (confectionery).

iJujube

Jujube shrub

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rhamnaceae
Genus:	Ziziphus
Species:	Z. zizyphus

Binomial name

Ziziphus zizyphus
(L.) H. Karst.

The Jujube, Red Date, or Chinese Date (Simplified Chinese: 枣; Traditional Chinese: 棗; pinyin: zǎo; also hóng zǎo 红枣, dà zǎo, hēi zǎo, zǎozi; Wade-Giles: tsao; Korean: daechu 대추; Japanese: 棗 natsume) is a small deciduous tree or shrub in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. Its scientific name is Ziziphus zizyphus, synonym Z. jujuba. It is thought to be native to North Africa and Syria, but moved east through India to China, where it has been cultivated for over 4,000 years. The tree can reach a height of 5-12 m, with shiny-green leaves, and sometimes thorns. The many inconspicuous flowers are small, greenish or white, and produce an olive-sized fruit that is a drupe.

The immature fruit is smooth-green, and resembles the consistency and taste of an apple, but as it matures more, it darkens to red to purplish-black and becomes wrinkled, looking like a small date (hence the name Chinese Date). There is a single hard stone, similar to an olive stone. In Persian cuisine, the dried drupes are known as annab.

The tree tolerates a wide range of temperatures, though it requires hot summers for good fruiting. Unlike most of the other species in the genus, it tolerates fairly cold winters, surviving temperatures down to about -15°C. This enables the jujube to grow in desert habitats, provided there is access to underground water through the summer.

Many jujube trees can still be seen in the central and southern regions of Israel, especially in the Arava Valley, where it is the second most common tree. A jujube tree near Ein Hatzeva in the Arava is estimated to be over 300 years old.

1 Uses
2 References and external links

[edit] Uses

[edit] Medicinal use

The fruits are used in Chinese and Korean traditional medicine. Ziziphin, a compound in the leaves of the jujube, suppresses the ability to perceive sweet taste in humans. The fruit, being mucilaginous, is also very soothing to the throat and decoctions of jujube have often been used in pharmacy to treat sore throats.

[edit] Culinary use

In addition to their medicinal use, the candied dried fruits are often eaten as a snack, or with tea. They are available either red or black (called hóng zǎo or hēi zǎo, respectively, in Chinese), the latter being smoked to enhance their flavour [1]. In Korea, China, and Taiwan, a sweetened tea syrup containing jujube fruits is available in glass jars, and canned jujube tea or jujube tea in the form of teabags is also available. Although not widely available, jujube juice[2] and jujube vinegar are also produced.[3]

In China and Taiwan, a wine made from jujubes called hong zao jiu (红枣酒) is also produced.[4] Jujubes are sometimes preserved by storing in a jar filled with baijiu (Chinese liquor), which allows them to be kept fresh for a long time, especially through the winter. Such jujubes are called jiu zao (酒枣; literally "spirited jujube").

[edit] Other uses

The jujube's sweet smell is said to make teenagers fall in love, and as a result, in the Himalaya and Karakoram regions, men take a stem of sweet smelling jujube flowers with them or put it on their hats to attract the opposite sex.

In Japan, the natsume has given its name to a style of tea caddy used in the Japanese tea ceremony.