Cultivated for over 4,000 years, it occupies a space in people’s hearts (and plates) that is comparable in significance to what the apple is to America—but with a much longer history and a wider set of uses.

Jujube is a tree that is reliable, resilient, and extremely long-lived. Even in the high desert SW where we grow it. Plant once, and you have a potential drought tolerant crop for 1000 years without ever disturbing the soil again.

They contain 18 of the 24 essential amino acids and eaten fresh, contain 100X the vitamin C of apples, and 4-10X that of citrus.

Jujube is also rich in phytochemicals with beneficial implications for everything from inflammation to memory and learning to lifespan to cancer to anxiety.

Once dried, the fruit becomes wrinkled, chewy, and sweet, with caramel undertones—very date-like, but without the stickiness. Because they are naturally very sweet, added sugar is often unnecessary when cooking with them.

From savory to sweet to sour to spicy, we have been inspired (and sometimes overwhelmed) by the adaptability of this fruit as an ingredient.