I’ve had store bought jujubes, both fresh and dried, and they were pretty good. They were very sweet, and the fresh ones had a nice texture like crisp apples, but I wouldn’t say they were amazingly delicious. Of course, these were store bought fruit, so I assume they weren’t the best examples of how good jujubes can be, just like a typical store bought peach can’t compare to real tree-ripened peaches. I don’t want to judge a fruit by the ones in the store.
So, how good can homegrown jujubes be? Do they have a distinctive aromatic flavor? What are the best varieties for getting fruit with a better flavor than store bought? The description of every variety seems to just be “sweet” so it’s hard to differentiate varieties. Do they all taste the same, as these repetitive variety descriptions suggest?
I see varieties in two categories, for fresh eating and drying. I think I’d prefer the ones for fresh eating, but I’ll also take recommendations for particularly good ones for drying. I’ll probably plant two trees.
I’ll be planting them in Georgia, USA, so ideally I’d like advice on varieties that do well here, and where to buy trees. Thanks!
On a big chart, I would rate a lot of other fruits ahead of the Jujube.
But, on the other hand, it doesn’t ask for much once it’s established in the ground.
But, I’d reach for a mulberry, blueberry, strawberry, and honeyberry and Juneberry…instead of Jujube …. if they were all lying on the table in front of me for a snack.
(But, if going on a camping trip, might choose the Jujube for the backpack.)
Honey Jar is my go to jujube for the most crunchy, sweet, and lot more juice than other varieties but best to have another variety for cross pollination like sugarcane, Li, So, or Massandra. You can buy them at Burnt ridge nursery, eat-it.com, England Orchard at nuttrees.net, Grow organic, Raintree nursery. Good luck.
Taste of jujubes is not for everyone. But for those who like jujubes, it can be one of their top 3 or top 5 fruit. To me, jujubes are addictive . I could eat pounds in one sitting.
On this board, like @tonyOmahaz5 said, Honey Jar seems to have the most fans. It is productive, too. The only negative is that HJ’s fruit size is small.
Closest to you are Isons Nursery to the South near Griffin and Willis Orchards to the NW in Cartersville. Edible Landscaping in VA is another good source.
Make sure they get full sun enough hours of the day in the growing season. Silverhill / tigertooth /massandra is supposed to fruit well with high humidity.
To me Honey Jar is the best flavor wise and the tree produces a lot of fruit but they are small. I think Autumn Beauty may be closest taste wise but my tree isn’t old enough to know how productive it will be. My favorite dried is Sihong.
Agreed, Suggest you thoroughly check Willis before buying from them. Good luck with jujubes…the one time I tried the fresh ones from a store they were surprisingly tasty. Randy/GA
I have Li and Lang trees that each bear a lot of fruit. The taste and texture are terrible to me: dry, leathery, bland. I try one every year and spit it out. I am debating sawing down the trees or top working them to a different variety. Is Honey Jar significantly better than these two varieties? I’m just wondering if I’m a person that just doesn’t like them no matter the variety. In that case I don’t want to waste my time. But if anyone thinks HJ or sugarcane are a lot better, I’ll give them a try…
It sounds like your Li is not really Li. My Li was also like that but later I had some real Li and realized that mine was not the right variety (I think it was the rootstock). The jujubes meant for drying can taste dry but the ones for fresh eating should not be. Honey Jar for example is worlds apart from those spitters. Many jujubes are somewhat dry, Sugar Cane for me is a bit dry. One thing I like about Honey Jar is it is juicy, never dry. It is every bit as good as an apple, crunchy juicy flavorful and even sweeter than an apple. Sugar Cane has a stronger flavor than Honey Jar, but I prefer Honey Jar even for the flavor (plus it is more crispy and more juicy).
HJ seems to be the runaway favorite by the majority, which is good since it seems to be one of the most(if not already the most) cosmopolitan juju cultivar in usa, being able to fruit even in borderline or out-of-zone areas. And yes, hj’s(and many other jujus) are way sweeter than apples, at least where am at
where jujus are grown definitely influence fruit qualities. Even the time of year they ripen on the same tree and on the same year(june-ripened vs november-ripened) will lead to incredibly different fruits. Here in vegas, sc is actually as juicy as hj, but tend to have an off-taste when ripened late june to early sept
Honey Jar is not in my top 10. Autumn Beauty beats it easily, as do Dae sol jo, Sihong, Shanxi Li, Black Sea, Chico, Orange Beauty and 5 or 6 more.
The best flavored for some people are those that have a combination of sweetness and tartness/acidity. Many people who think that jujubes are boring are not bored by Chico, Sweet-Tart, Porterville, and others that have some acidity.
Not only are Shanxi Li and Dae sol jo better tasting than Honey Jar, they are much larger.
Keep in mind though that jujube fruit develops differently in different climates and what tastes best in Phoenix may not taste best in Kansas City. My preferences are just my preferences based on fruit growing in my yard…
Definitely. My Shanxi Li has been consistently subpar. Spongy and somewhat dry with low sugar. I graft the tree over last year. I think @BobVance, who lives 2 hours south of me, shares a similar experience about Shaxi Li with me.
I actually had a few Shanxi Li fruit like that when I first got it so I placed it in full sun all day and watered it a lot more. The result was much better fruit.
Shanxi li is pretty good here when ripened late oct to november. Mr Meyer raved about it every time i talked to him.
btw @mamuang, is your shanxi li the round type or the cylindrical one? There are at least two types of shanxi li’s sold in usa
. I could eat pounds in one sitting.