What jujube means
Jujube is the fruit of a small, thorny tree native to China and grown across Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The fruit is small and oval, about the shape of an olive, with a hard stone. When fresh, it is green or mottled reddish-brown, with crisp, white, juicy flesh and a sweet, slightly tart flavour similar to an apple. As it ripens and dries, the skin turns deep red and wrinkled and the flesh becomes chewy, spongy and sweeter, which is why dried jujubes are often called red dates or Chinese dates, although they are not related to true dates.
Jujubes have been cultivated in China for a very long time and are an important ingredient in Chinese and Korean cooking. Dried jujubes are added to soups, especially chicken soups, braises, congee and rice dishes, where they lend a gentle sweetness. They are steamed into cakes and buns, made into sweet pastes for pastries and mooncakes, simmered into teas and candied. In Korea, where they are called daechu, they are used in samgyetang, a stuffed chicken soup, in the sweet rice dish yaksik and as a garnish.
Fresh jujubes can be eaten raw like apples. The word jujube is also an old name for a fruity sweet. You will see jujubes in Chinese and Korean recipes and Asian supermarkets.