Jujubes or Chinese date is a fruit which to us Indians is known as “kul” in Bengali, “bogori” in Assamese and “ber” in Hindi.
Few days back when I was snacking on a bowlful of rosy tipped ber/kul I suddenly realised I did not know what this fruit is called in English. I immediately launched into an extensive research about this exotic little fruit.
This fruit has been grown from ancient times in China and has many different varieties. Colours vary from different shades of green to orange and red.
What is Jujube fruit good for?
I was surprised to know that this humble little fruit is packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre and flavonoids.(5) It has a high concentration of Vitamin C (1) which we all know is great for skin health. Recent research has linked this tiny little fruit with anti-cancer properties. (2, 3, 4)
We have an emotional connection with these tiny fruits. They are seasonal and are available only from late January to March. There was a tradition since childhood that we never used to have even a single piece of this fruit before Saraswati Puja. This is a festival celebrated in the name of Maa Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning.
Jujube fruits are her favourite fruit. This was common knowledge for us kids as we often heard this from adults. So it is common folk lore that if any child or adult has even one piece of this fruit before this festival then all of his/her learnings will be lost. This was one tradition that all the children followed without fail because immediately after this festival came the time of the much dreaded final exams where the Goddess of Learnings blessings were very much necessary.
That fear or faith is still instilled in me. So to this day I never pick up a piece of “Kul” before our festival of Saraswati Puja.
How do you eat jujubes?
The green jujubes a.k.a Narkeli kul, have a wonderful tangy, sweet and distinctive taste. They come in many varieties.
The red jujubes a k.a topa kul,are more and a bit stronger in taste and flavour.Since this fruit is available for a very short period of time, mother often used to make pickles with the red variety. The recipe is super simple but the touch of experienced hands is what makes a world of a difference.
Kul er Achaar recipe
Start by coating red jujubes with mustard oil, salt and turmeric and sundried for one to two days after cleaning them thoroughly.
Dissolve the patali gur/ jaggery in water. Strain to remove any impurities.
Add mustard oil in a deep bottom pan/ kadai.
When the oil starts to smoke, add panchforan(Bengali 5 spices) and dry red chilli.Add the sun dried jujubes and stir for a while
Add the strained liquid jaggery.
Then heat the date palm jaggery (patali gur) till it is reduced to almost half and reaches one to two string consistency.
The final touch is a magic mix of coarsely powdered dry roasted spices which include fennel, cumin, dry red chilli, coriander seeds.
This pickle has to be preserved in glass jars and kept in the sun for the taste to be enhanced. It is a hot favourite in our family and we enjoy having it with our meals or just by itself!
I remember that a dry version of this pickle was sold by a road side vendor outside my school. Throughout the year I would look at the delicious array of jujube pickles which I could not have. I saved money so that I could by small packets of this pickle after school once the festival was over. And then once it was allowed to start having jujubes for that year, then the gluttony would start!
In 2018,I hit the jackpot because not only did my mother make jujube pickle, but my next door neighbour aunty also gave me an entire jar full of it! How happy I was and grateful to God for this wonderful stroke of luck. Now this time around in 2022, I decided to take things into my own hands and made my own version of the all time favourite Kul er Achaar.
Jujubes candy history
Jujubes are also a type of sugar sprinkled colourful soft candies made of coloured jellies are also called Jujubes. I used to love them when I was young. The original recipe for these soft candies called for gum Arabic, sugar, and the date-like red jujube fruit. Later however the confectioners modified the recipes and used various flavourings instead of jujube fruits.
While writing this post I became very nostalgic and am going to soon buy a packet of jujubes candy from the market as soon as possible!
(1) Chinese Dates: A Traditional Functional Food
(Edited by Dongheng Liu, Xingqian Ye, Yueming Jiang)
(2)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28274443
(3)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29096755
(4)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22301448
(5)https://foodfacts.mercola.com/jujubes.html
I’ve never heard of this fruit. It sounds delicious. I’d like to try it some time!
Hi Alice,
Jujubes is a tropical fruit. It is not found in higher latitudes. Perhaps thats why you have not come across this fruit.
never heard of this. but very interesting. Are they available in the local grocery stores. I thought the blog was going to be about candy! I really, Really REALLY like ink pen.
I did not know about the folklore or event hat this is where these candies originate from.
What a delight to stop by today and learn about Jujubes, a fruit I’ve not heard of before. That’s one of the things I most enjoy about the A-to-Z challenge, I always learn so many interesting things.
,
I reviewed your book easy cooking. I knew you have wonderful narration even before I started reading. Love how thorough research you did and the extent of information and your personal touch with pickles is wonderful. #damurureads #myfriendalexa
Thank you so much.
Wow! Thanks for this wonderful comment. I did not come across your review. Do share the link please.