Processing Methods and Technical Key Points of Golden Thread Candied Jujubes

The jujube is a fruit cultivated relatively early in China, and it has high nutritional value. Golden thread candied jujube is a traditional product among Beijing-style preserved fruits, named for the many thread-like stripes on the product. The processing technique is as follows:

1. Material selection: choose varieties with large fruit shape, small pits and thin skin.

2. Scoring: after grading, wash the fresh jujubes with clean water, drain them, and use a needle row or a scoring knife, or machinery, to score 50-100 longitudinal cuts on the fresh jujubes (depending on the size of the jujube fruit), with a depth not exceeding half of the fruit. The score spacing should not exceed 1 mm, and the cuts should be neat, so that after the fresh jujubes are made into candied jujubes they form many thread-like stripes, creating the unique characteristic of candied jujubes. After scoring, rinse the fresh jujubes clean with water and air-dry them.

3. Sulfur fumigation: put the scored jujube blanks into bamboo baskets, then stack the bamboo baskets in a sulfur fumigation room, ignite sulfur, with a sulfur fumigation dosage of 10 g per cubic meter, and fumigate for 30-40 minutes, until the jujubes turn golden yellow or light yellow.

4. Boiling: the ratio of white sugar used to raw material is 0.8:1. The white sugar can be added in two portions, using the one-time boiling method. First prepare a 40% sugar concentration solution, then put the sugar solution and jujube blanks together into the pot to boil. When the fruit flesh has softened, add the other half of the white sugar. During the boiling process, an appropriate amount of 0.1% citric acid may be added, or an appropriate amount of honey or maltose may be added; the product will not develop granulation, and will have a soft texture and a shiny surface. Boil together with the sugar until the jujube surface is glossy and translucent, then stop heating. The entire boiling process takes about 1.5-2 hours.

5. Soaking: when boiling reaches a sugar concentration of more than 65%, pour the boiled jujube blanks together with the sugar solution into a vat and soak for 24 hours, so that the jujube blanks fully absorb the sugar solution.

6. Baking: scoop the jujube blanks out of the sugar solution, spread them on bamboo sieves or baking trays, and put them into a drying room to bake for 12-16 hours. Pay attention to the baking temperature and turning so that the jujube blanks are heated evenly and dried uniformly. Generally, bake until the fruit flesh has increased toughness and no longer sticks to the hand, then stop; the moisture content is about 20-24%.

7. Shaping: while the fruit flesh is still soft, use hand labor or machinery to pinch the jujubes into a flat round shape.

8. Re-baking: the shaped jujube fruits are dried again, with the temperature controlled at 60-65 degrees Celsius, until the moisture content reaches 16-18%, then packaged after cooling.

9. Packaging: golden thread candied jujubes are famous at home and abroad. Before packaging, strict quality inspection must be carried out, and the packaging should be refined. Regardless of whether the packaging is large or small, it must be sealed to prevent moisture absorption.