Detailed Explanation of Black Jujube Processing Methods and Technical Points

Black jujube is also processed from fresh jujubes. The technical points are as follows:

1. Raw material selection: Choose large fruits with small pits, thick and loose flesh, and low juice content, using fresh mature fruits as raw materials, and remove broken and rotten jujubes.

2. Grading: Separate and process according to fruit size, maturity, and variety.

3. Blanching: Put water in a pot and bring to a boil, add fresh jujubes and heat for 5-10 minutes. After boiling until the flesh is slightly soft, take them out to dry, and prepare for smoking.

4. Smoking preparation: Dig a pit underground 180 cm deep and 160-200 cm wide, with a suitable length. About 50 cm from the edge of the pit, build a rack with bamboo strips or bamboo poles, and pile the jujube fruits on the rack surface.

5. Smoking: Pile the jujube fruits on the rack surface, generally 13-16 cm thick is appropriate. Too thick is not suitable for drying, and too thin wastes firewood and grass. Cover the jujube fruits with reed mats, burn firewood and grass at the bottom of the pit, and control the temperature of the jujube layer at about 60-70°C. Pay attention to adjusting the fire intensity. After about 12 hours of smoking, turn the jujubes over from top to bottom, and continue smoking for another 12 hours to complete the smoking stage, then prepare to take them out of the pit. The output rate is 30-33% of fresh jujube segments.

6. Softening: In order to make the moisture content inside and outside the jujube fruits more uniform, the smoked jujube fruits must be piled in a relatively dry and ventilated warehouse, with a height generally not exceeding 1 m, and can be taken out for packaging after 7-10 days.

7. Grading: Jujubes of the same variety are all graded by size and black jujube color.

8. Packaging: Most are packed in gunny bags or cartons, and attention should be paid to ventilation.

9. Quality requirements:

(1) The jujubes are required to be dry, with firm flesh, unchanged in shape when pinched, and without peeling.

(2) The skin of black jujubes is glossy black and shiny, with red showing through the black.

(3) The granules are large and uniform, short, plump, and round, with fine and shallow wrinkles on the skin surface.

(4) Those with light yellow flesh color, firm and fine flesh, small pits, and a sweet and glutinous taste are considered good.