A Detailed Guide to the Processing Technology and Methods of Multi-flavor Jujubes

Multi-flavor jujube is a new type of jujube product between candied jujubes and red jujubes, with a variety of flavors, which makes up for the shortcomings of candied jujubes being too sweet with a single flavor and red jujubes having thick skins that are inconvenient to eat.

I. Production process flow

Raw material selection - washing and grading - scoring and sulfur dipping - sulfur fumigation and rinsing - soaking and draining sugar - baking and packaging.

II. Processing key points

1. Raw material selection: choose fresh jujubes with large fruit, small pit, loose flesh, relatively little juice, thin skin, nine-tenths ripe, white with a touch of red in color, free of pests and diseases, and not sprayed with pesticides within half a month as raw materials.

2. Washing and grading: put the selected raw materials into a washing tank, wash with running water or agitation by an air compressor, then scoop them out and drain the water. Fresh jujubes are divided into 3 grades by large, medium and small.

3. Scoring and sulfur dipping: according to the different sizes of the jujubes, use a row of No. 3 or No. 4 sewing needles (8-10 needles per row, with a needle spacing of less than 1 mm) to score 50-80 longitudinal lines on the jujubes, reaching 1/3 deep into the flesh (about 1.5-2 mm). The scoring should be uniform and neat, scoring from one end to the other, and both ends must be scored. Do not score back and forth, repeat the same needle line, score crosswise, or score randomly; the depth must be consistent.

Pour the prepared 0.5% sodium bisulfite solution into a vat already filled with the scored jujubes, until the jujubes are submerged, soak for about 4 hours, then scoop them out and drain off the soaking liquid.

4. Sulfur fumigation and rinsing: put the jujube blanks after draining the soaking liquid into baskets, arrange them on racks; the baskets must not be too full or hold too many jujube blanks. Place the large and medium grades on the upper racks and the small grade on the lower rack, and fumigate with sulfur in a sulfur fumigation room for 40 minutes. The amount of high-quality sulfur used is about 0.04% of the weight of the jujube blanks. The purpose of sulfur fumigation (sulfur dipping) is to destroy enzyme activity, prevent oxidative discoloration, increase the retention rate of vitamins, enhance the permeability of jujube flesh cells, maintain a bright and vivid color of the finished product, and improve the preservation capacity of the product. After the sulfur fumigation treatment is completed, rinse with clean water to remove the residual sulfur dioxide smell on the jujube blanks.

5. Soaking and draining sugar: first prepare a soaking liquid with white sugar, acetic acid, salt and water in a ratio of 40:0.2:2:57.8, and add an appropriate amount of natural spices such as cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and clove. Heat the soaking liquid in a jacketed pot with steam to about 80 degrees, then pour it into the jujube blanks until the jujubes are submerged, and soak for 72 hours. Filter out the soaking sugar liquid, heat and boil it, add sugar until the sugar content (measured by refractometer) is 55%, and pour it while hot into the jujube blanks to soak for 48-72 hours. The sugar liquid soaking is accompanied by slight fermentation, which will help increase the flavor of this product. Scoop out the jujube blanks that have been well soaked in the sugar liquid, drain the sugar liquid thoroughly, and prepare for baking.

6. Baking and packaging: arrange the sugar-drained jujube blanks on trays and send them into a drying room, or a baking oven or toaster oven. The temperature is controlled at 50°C-55°C. The baking temperature in the early stage should not be too high, so as to avoid the surface of the jujube blanks drying and hardening, which affects the release of moisture. In the later stage, the baking temperature should be kept at 55°C-70°C and must not exceed 70°C, so as to avoid caramelization of the sugar, which affects the color of the finished product and causes loss of vitamins. Bake until the moisture content drops to 18-20%, then stop baking, and package after cooling.