What Are the Jujube Varieties? Introduction to the Uses and Characteristics of Common Jujubes in China

Jujubes are widely distributed in China, with diverse propagation methods and a vast variety population. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 800 jujube varieties in China. The main uses of Chinese jujubes are currently three: fresh eating, drying, and processing into candied jujubes. Different uses have different requirements for varieties. Fresh-eating varieties require thin skin, crisp and juicy flesh, and a flavor that is sweet with a hint of sourness, making them pleasant to eat raw; drying varieties require thick skin, dense flesh, high sugar content, low water content, and a high drying rate; varieties for processing into candied jujubes require fruit that is large and uniform, with a small pit, thin skin, loose flesh with little juice, and low sugar content. Farmers can choose varieties rationally according to their production goals and main uses. Below, the editor will introduce the ten common jujube varieties in China.

1. Xinjiang Hotan Jujube

Hotan jujube is produced in the Hotan region of Xinjiang. Pollution-free alkaline sandy soil, abundant light and heat resources, and glacier snowmelt water rich in mineral elements make every Hotan jujube a crystallization of natural essence. Compared with other jujubes, Hotan jujube has large fruit, plump grains, thick flesh, thin skin, a small pit, and rich nutrition, with a sweeter and mellower taste. Hotan jade jujube has extremely high nutritional and health value, and can be called the finest among jujubes. The quality of Hotan jujube mainly depends on three aspects: first, whether the flesh is thick; second, whether the taste is sweet; third, whether it is dry enough. The thicker the flesh, the sweeter the taste, and the less water content, the better the Hotan jujube.

2. Hebei Cangzhou Golden Silk Jujube

Golden Silk Jujube is also known as "Xihe Red Jujube." The fruit is oblong, the skin is brown-red, and the flesh is green-yellow. When broken open, it can pull out strands of crystal-clear sugar threads, hence the name "Golden Silk Jujube." The small jujube has thin skin, thick flesh, a small pit, fine texture, and a sweet taste, and is a famous specialty of Cangzhou City, Hebei Province. It is said that in the autumn of 1737, Emperor Qianlong went hunting in the Cangzhou area and passed through Xianxian County. Seeing jujube trees swaying in the wind by the roadside and laden with fruit, he was immediately delighted. He stepped forward and picked a jujube. When he opened it, golden threads shone, and when he ate it, it was as sweet as honey. He said joyfully: "Cangzhou has been a marshy land since ancient times, yet the Golden Silk Jujube has an exceptionally fine flavor. How rare it is to find something like this!" Thereupon he imperially designated the Cangzhou jujube orchard as an imperial jujube orchard, and from then on the hundred-mu jujube orchard of Cangzhou became an imperial jujube orchard of the Qing Dynasty.

3. Shanxi Jun Jujube

Shanxi Jun jujube originates from Linxian County, Shanxi, known as the hometown of Chinese jujubes nationwide. Linxian County is located on the Loess Plateau of western Shanxi. The abundant sunshine and warm climate here make the jujubes produced exceptionally nutritious. According to identification by the Institute of Biochemistry and Physics of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, Linxian jujubes are rich in 18 amino acids, ten vitamins, and fourteen trace elements, and are praised as a good medicine for life and an excellent tonic. In addition, compared with other jujubes, Jun jujube has larger fruit, cylindrical or obovate in shape, with the saying "eight make one chi, ten make one jin," and is praised as "China's No. 1 Jujube."

4. Shaanxi Yellow River Beach Jujube

Yellow River Beach Jujube gets its name from the beach areas on both banks of the Yellow River basin, and its scientific name is "Mu Jujube." Its characteristics are large grains, cylindrical shape, and sweet, soft, moist, and fragrant flesh. It has long been called the "ginseng fruit." Because Beach Jujube has large fruit, a small pit, thin skin, thick flesh, crisp texture, long threads, abundant juice, sweet taste, rich and mellow fragrance, high sugar content, bright red color, relatively low water content, a long storage period, and excellent quality. The Ministry of Agriculture once gave Yellow River Beach Jujube the poetic appraisal: "Its flavor surpasses stone honey and its sweetness endures; its red surpasses the cherry and its color defies comparison."

5. Xinjiang Ruoqiang Jujube

Ruoqiang jujube is produced in Ruoqiang County, Bayingolin Prefecture, Xinjiang, known as "China's No. 1 County," and is also called Loulan jujube. It has large fruit, a small pit, thin skin, and thick flesh. When sun-dried, it is dark red; when freshly harvested, the flesh is crisp and the jujube is sweet; after sun-drying, the flesh is soft, sweet, and moist, leaving a lingering fragrance in the mouth after eating. It is famous because it makes a crisp sound when shaken and does not fall apart after long boiling in soup, and can be called the finest among jujubes. In addition, because it contains a large amount of calories, it can substitute for grain and was often used for disaster relief in history. There is the praise: "For the world's jujubes, look to Xinjiang; for Xinjiang's good jujubes, look to Ruoqiang; the finest of Ruoqiang is Loulan; after returning from Loulan, one does not taste jujubes."

6. Hebei Fuping Jujube

Fuping jujube is mainly produced in the Dongchengpu area of Fuping County, Hebei Province. It is one of the most excellent varieties among the more than 700 varieties nationwide for dry eating. It has the characteristics of large fruit, thin skin, thick flesh, a small pit, a high edible rate, and high sugar content in dried jujubes. Its most prominent feature is that the VC content at the crisp-ripe stage is as high as 600mg/100g, so it is called a "natural vitamin pill." In addition, Fuping jujube also contains 17 amino acids, including the 8 amino acids essential to the human body. It has the medicinal effects of tonifying the spleen and harmonizing the stomach, and replenishing qi and promoting fluid production. The cyclic adenosine monophosphate, cyclic guanosine monophosphate, and catechol contained in the jujube fruit also have certain therapeutic effects on cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other conditions.

7. Shanxi Jishan Board Jujube

Jishan Board Jujube is mainly produced in the area of Jifeng Town, Shanxi. According to legend, Board Jujube originated in Shandong. In the past, a man from Jishan named Duan Chengyi served as a county magistrate in Shandong. He saw that the local Golden Silk Jujube was very delicious, so he transported the jujube trees back to his hometown by horse cart. Due to the soil and climate, a new variety gradually formed later: Board Jujube. This new variety is red and glossy, with thick flesh and a small pit, and a sweet, fragrant taste. What is even more unique is that it does not dry out, deform, or develop insects after long storage, and after air-drying it remains plump, with skin that is flexible and elastic. Eaten raw, it is sweet and crisp; dried products are especially sweet and fragrant. As the first of China's four famous jujubes, Board Jujube is also known for "large jujubes with small pits, small jujubes with no pits." It has a delicate mouthfeel with no residue, and the highest sugar content, vitamins, and minerals among jujubes, and can be called "the king of Chinese jujubes."

8. Henan Xinzheng Jujube

Xinzheng jujube is mainly produced in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. It is also called chicken-heart jujube or chicken-heart jujube. It is dark red, glossy, and has medium-thick flesh. Its pit is small and dense, and it has high medicinal value, and is praised as "the guide of a hundred medicines." At the same time, because of its thin skin, thick flesh, and sweet taste, it is greatly favored by people. There is the praise: "Lingbao apples and Tongguan pears, Xinzheng jujubes are sweet as honey." In addition, Xinzheng jujube has a long history. On a Han Dynasty bronze mirror discovered among the people of Xinzheng, there is inscribed the verse: "Above there are immortals who do not know old age; when thirsty they drink ritual spring water, when hungry they eat jujubes." By the Ming Dynasty, jujube cultivation in Xinzheng had already reached a considerable scale. Gao Qi, one of the ten great talents of the Ming Dynasty, left the verse: "In frosty weather there are jujubes, how many hu can be harvested; peeled and eaten, they can serve as Jiangnan rice." It is no exaggeration to say that Xinzheng is the hometown of jujubes, and jujubes are the symbol of Xinzheng.

9. Shanxi Taigu Huping Jujube

Taigu Huping Jujube is mainly produced in Taigu County, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province. It is one of the best jujube varieties in China and is also a China National Geographical Indication Product. Because the fruit is small at the top and large at the bottom, slightly narrow in the middle, and shaped like a pot or a bottle, it is called Huping Jujube. The fruit is large, with thin skin and thick flesh, and a sweet flavor, and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. There is also a legendary story about Huping Jujube circulated among the people. It is said that at that time the area around Yangyi (near present-day Taigu County) was an ancient battlefield, and the Battle of Maling between Sun Bin and Pang Juan took place here. It was then autumn, and the area around Limeizhuang was covered with red jujubes on the slopes. Sun Bin saw that the jujubes could serve as soldiers' rations, adopted the stratagem of reducing camp stoves to deceive Pang Juan, and ultimately lured Pang's troops into an encirclement and put them to death.

10. Henan Lingbao Jujube

Lingbao jujube is mainly produced in the sandy loam areas along the Yellow River within Lingbao City, Henan Province, and is also called lump jujube. The fruit is large, the skin is dark red, the flesh is thick, and the pit is small. It tastes sweet and carries a delicate fragrance. The dried jujubes made from it are elastic and can return to shape after being pressed flat, making them suitable for long-distance transport, and thus they are famous nationwide. Mr. Lu Xun once praised it, saying: "The red jujubes are excellent, and cannot be purchased in the south." The famous translator Cao Jinghua also wrote a poem praising it: "The mischievous monkey pokes its head among the branches; how can flat peaches compare with the freshness of Ling jujubes."

The above are the ten common jujube varieties in China. As the saying goes, "Eat three jujubes a day, and you will not look old in your life." Jujubes are sweet and warm in nature, rich in iron, can promote blood circulation, and can tonify the middle and replenish qi, nourish the blood, and calm the mind. In the cold winter, they are an excellent tonic.

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