Jujube

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the candy, see Jujube (confectionery). For the person, see Jujubee (drag queen).
Not to be confused with Jojoba.

Jujube
Ziziphus jujuba,
habitus

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Ziziphus
Species:
Z. jujuba
Binomial name
Ziziphus jujuba
Synonyms[2]
  • Paliurus mairei H. Lév.
  • Rhamnus jujuba L.
  • Rhamnus soporifera Lour.
  • Rhamnus zizyphus L.
  • Ziziphus muratiana Maire
  • Ziziphus nitida Roxb.
  • Ziziphus orthacantha DC.
  • Ziziphus poiretii G.Don nom. illeg.
  • Ziziphus rotundata DC.
  • Ziziphus sativa Gaertn.
  • Ziziphus sinensis Lam.
  • Ziziphus soporifera (Lour.) Stokes
  • Ziziphus tomentosa Poir.
  • Ziziphus trinervia Roth nom. illeg.
  • Ziziphus vulgaris Lam.
  • Ziziphus zizyphus (L.) H.Karst.
Jujube, raw
Fresh jujube fruit
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy331 kJ (79 kcal)
20.23 g
0.2 g
1.2 g
Niacin (B3)
6%
0.9 mg
Vitamin B6
5%
0.081 mg
Vitamin C
77%
69 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
2%
21 mg
Iron
3%
0.48 mg
Magnesium
2%
10 mg
Manganese
4%
0.084 mg
Phosphorus
2%
23 mg
Potassium
8%
250 mg
Sodium
0%
3 mg
Zinc
0%
0.05 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water77.86 g
Link to USDA Database entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[3] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[4]
Jujube, dried
Jujube fruit naturally turns red upon drying.
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy1,201 kJ (287 kcal)
73.6 g
1.1 g
3.7 g
Niacin (B3)
3%
0.5 mg
Vitamin B6
0%
0 mg
Vitamin C
14%
13 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
6%
79 mg
Iron
10%
1.8 mg
Magnesium
9%
37 mg
Manganese
13%
0.305 mg
Phosphorus
8%
100 mg
Potassium
18%
531 mg
Sodium
0%
9 mg
Zinc
2%
0.19 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water19.7 g
Link to USDA Database entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[3] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[4]

Jujube (UK /ˈdʒuːdʒuːb/; US /ˈdʒudʒub/ or /ˈdʒudʒəbiː/[5]), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name Ziziphus jujuba and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube,[6] is a species in the genus Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Indian Jujube, Z. mauritiana. The Chinese jujube enjoys a diverse range of climates from temperate to tropical, whereas the Indian jujube is restricted to warmer subtropical and tropical climates.[7]

Description

It is a small

leaves are shiny-green, ovate-acute, 2–7 centimetres (3⁄4–2+3⁄4 inches) long and 1–3 cm (3⁄8–1+1⁄8 in) wide, with three conspicuous veins at the base, and a finely toothed margin. The flowers are small, 5 millimetres (1⁄4 in) wide, with five inconspicuous yellowish-green petals. The fruit is an edible oval drupe 1.5–3 cm (5⁄8–1+1⁄8 in) deep; when immature it is smooth-green, with the consistency and taste of an apple with lower acidity, maturing brown to purplish-black, and eventually wrinkled, looking like a small date. There is a single hard kernel, similar to an olive pit,[8]
containing two seeds.

  • Bark
    Bark
  • Plate from the book Flora de Filipinas
    Plate from the book
    Flora de Filipinas
  • Foliage in Hyderabad, India
    Foliage in Hyderabad, India
  • Leaf margin
    Leaf margin
  • Flowers
    Flowers
  • Close-up of flowers
    Close-up of flowers
  • Fruit
    Fruit
  • Fruit cross section
    Fruit cross section
  • Seeds
    Seeds

Chemistry

Leaves contain saponin and ziziphin, which suppresses the ability to perceive sweet taste.[9]

Flavinoids found in the fruits include Kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside, Quercetine 3-O-robinobioside, Quercetine 3-O-rutinoside. Terpenoids such as colubrinic acid and alphitolic acid were found in the fruits.[10]

Taxonomy

The ultimate source of the name is

which?
]

The binomial name has a curious nomenclatural history, due to a combination of botanical

tautonyms (repetition of exactly the same name in the genus and species) are not permitted in botanical naming. However, because of Miller's slightly different spelling, the combination of the earlier species name (from Linnaeus) with the new genus, Ziziphus zizyphus, is not a tautonym, and was therefore permitted as a botanical name. This combination was made by Hermann Karsten in 1882.[8][13] In 2006, a proposal was made to suppress the name Ziziphus zizyphus in favor of Ziziphus jujuba,[14] and this proposal was accepted in 2011.[15]
Ziziphus jujuba is thus the correct scientific name for this species.

Distribution and habitat

Its precise natural distribution is uncertain due to extensive cultivation, but its origin is thought to be in

southeastern Europe though more likely introduced there.[8]
It grows wild but is also a garden shrub, kept for its fruit.

The tree tolerates a wide range of temperatures and rainfall, though it requires hot summers and sufficient water for acceptable fruiting. Unlike most of the other species in the genus, it tolerates fairly cold winters, surviving temperatures down to about −15 °C (5 °F), and the tree is, for instance, commonly cultivated in Beijing. This wide tolerance enables the jujube to grow in mountain or desert habitats, provided there is access to underground water throughout the summer. The jujube (Z. jujuba) grows in cooler regions of Asia. Five or more other species of Ziziphus are widely distributed in milder climates to hot deserts of Asia and Africa.[16]

This plant has been introduced in Madagascar and grows as an invasive species in the western part of the island, threatening mostly protected areas. It is cultivated in parts of southern California.[17]

Ecology

Jujube date attacked by an insect larva

Witch's broom, prevalent in China and Korea, is the main disease affecting jujubes, though plantings in North America currently are not affected by any pests or diseases.[18] In Europe, the last several years have seen some 80%–90% of the jujube crop eaten by insect larvae (see picture), including those of the false codling moth, Thaumatotibia (Cryptophlebia) leucotreta.[19]

In Madagascar, it is widely eaten by free-ranging zebus, and its seeds grow easily in zebu feces.

Cultivation

Jujube was domesticated in South Asia by 9000 BC.[20] Over 400 cultivars have been selected.

The fruit, when the plant is kept as a garden shrub, is picked in the autumn.

Varieties

  • Chico (also called GI 7-62) developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the 1950s[21]
  • Li, major commercial variety in the US[21]
  • Shanxi li, very large fruit[21]
  • Lang, major commercial variety in the US[21]
  • Sherwood [21]
  • Silverhill (also known as Yu and Tigertooth) can be grown in areas with high humidity[21]
  • So[21]
  • Shui Men[21]
  • GA 866[21]
  • Honey jar, small juicy fruit[21]
  • Sugar cane[21]
  • Winter delight, major commercial variety in China[21]

Uses

Culinary

The freshly harvested, as well as the candied dried fruit, are often eaten as a snack, or with coffee. Smoked jujubes are consumed in Vietnam and are referred to as black jujubes.[22] A drink can be made by crushing the pulp in water.[23] Both China and Korea produce a sweetened tea syrup containing jujube fruit in glass jars, and canned jujube tea or jujube tea in the form of teabags. To a lesser extent, jujube fruit is made into juice and jujube vinegar (called 枣 醋 or 红枣 醋 in Chinese). They are used for making pickles (কুলের আচার) in west Bengal and Bangladesh. In Assam it is known as "Bogori" and the pickle, Bogori aachar (বগৰি আচাৰ), is famous. In China, a wine made from jujube fruit is called hong zao jiu (红枣酒).

Sometimes pieces of jujube fruit are preserved by storing them 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 zui zao (醉枣; literally "drunk jujube"). The fruit is also a significant ingredient in a wide variety of Chinese delicacies (e.g. 甑糕 jing gao, a steamed rice cake).

In Vietnam and Taiwan, fully mature, nearly ripe fruit is harvested and sold on the local markets and also exported to Southeast Asian countries.[24] The dried fruit is used in desserts in China and Vietnam, such as ching bo leung, a cold beverage that includes the dried jujube, longan, fresh seaweed, barley, and lotus seeds.[24]

In Korea, jujubes are called daechu (대추) and are used in

samgyetang
.

In Croatia, especially

rakija
(fruit brandy).

On his visit to

Jordan valley and around Jerusalem.[26] The bedouin valued the fruit, calling it nabk. It could be dried and kept for winter or made into a paste which was used as bread.[27]

In

Persian cuisine, the dried drupes are known as annab, while in neighboring Armenia, it is commonly eaten as a snack, and is known as unab. Confusion in the common name apparently is widespread. The unab is Z. jujuba. Rather, ber is used for three other cultivated or wild species, e.g., Z. spina-christi, Z. mauritiana and Z. nummularia in parts of India and is eaten both fresh and dried.[clarification needed
] The Arabic name sidr is used for Ziziphus species other than Z. jujuba.

Traditionally in India, the fruits are dried in the sun and the hard seeds removed, after which the dried flesh is pounded with

red chillies, salt, and jaggery. In some parts of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, fresh whole ripe fruit is crushed with the above ingredients and sun-dried to make cakes called ilanthai vadai or regi vadiyalu (Telugu).[28]
It is also commonly consumed as a snack.

In Northern and Northeastern India the fruit is eaten fresh with salt and chilli flakes and also preserved as candy, jam or pickle with oil and spices.

In Madagascar, jujube fruit is eaten fresh or dried. People also use it to make jam. A jujube honey is produced in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.[24]

Italy has an alcoholic syrup called brodo di giuggiole.[29] In Senegal and The Gambia, Jujube is called Sii dem or Ceedem, and the fruit is used as snack and also turned into a dried paste favoured as a sweetmeat by schoolchildren. More recently it has been processed and sold in Dakar by women.

In Australia jujube beer is made.[30]

The commercial jujube candy popular in movie theaters originally contained jujube juice but now uses other flavorings.

Traditional Chinese medicine