Jujube substitute

Substitutes for Jujube with ratios

1. 2Dried Longan

   Different taste

   Use the same amount by count

   The peeled, dried flesh of the longan fruit, sold in bags at any Chinese grocer, often alongside the jujubes.

   What changes

   It is used in exactly the same soups, teas and sweet broths.

   Best for

   Chinese herbal soups, sweet dessert soups and tong sui, daechu tea, congee, chicken broths

   Functionally the most authentic swap, because it plays the same role in the same recipes: a small dried fruit that perfumes a long-simmered liquid. It is sweeter and much muskier, with a smoky raisin aroma, so the finished broth tastes darker and more scented rather than clean and appley. Use slightly fewer if you are sensitive to sweetness.

2. 3Medjool Dates

   Taste and texture differ

   Use Half a date for every jujube, pitted

   The swap most people reach for because of the name Chinese date, and it works if you respect the difference in sweetness.

   What changes

   Pit them and cut them in half so they do not dissolve into the pot.

   Best for

   braises and stews, rice dishes, tea and infusions, Middle Eastern dishes, porridge

   The important correction: Medjool dates are two or three times sweeter than jujubes and their flesh is sticky and jammy rather than dry and spongy, so they melt into a broth and thicken it, whereas jujubes stay intact. A soup made with a full one-for-one substitution will taste cloying and look cloudy. At half quantity, cut in halves and added late, it works well. A dry Deglet Noor date is a better shape and sweetness match than a Medjool if you have the choice.

3. 4Dried Apricots

   Different taste

   Use the same amount by count, halved

   Good in savoury braises and pilafs where you want a whole piece of fruit that softens without falling apart.

   What changes

   Choose the unsulphured brown kind if you can, since bright orange ones are sharper.

   Best for

   braises and tagines, pilaf and rice dishes, stuffed poultry, compotes

   Holds its shape as well as jujube does, which is its main advantage, but it is distinctly tart and its flavour is unmistakably apricot, so a Chinese or Korean broth made with it tastes like a different cuisine. Reserve this for Middle Eastern and Central Asian dishes where jujube appears, and use apple or longan for East Asian soups.

4. 5Prunes

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 1 prune for every 2 jujubes

   A workable stand-in for a long braise or a dark stew, where a soft dried fruit is contributing body and a background sweetness rather than a distinct fruit flavour.

   What changes

   Best for

   braised pork or beef, stews, soy-braised dishes, compotes

   Much sweeter, much darker and more assertive, and it will tint a clear broth brown, so keep it out of anything you want to look pale. In a soy-braised dish it is genuinely good and adds a glossy richness. Halve the count, then taste, since prunes go from pleasant to dominating quickly.

5. 6Fresh Jujube or Fresh Apple, in Tea

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 1 thin slice of apple for every dried jujube

   For daechu tea or a light infusion, a few thin slices of a crisp sweet apple simmered in water with a strip of ginger gets you a comparable drink, especially with a little honey.

   What changes

   Best for

   daechu tea, infusions and tisanes, hot fruit drinks, simmered ginger tea

   Fresh fruit gives a thinner, brighter drink than dried jujube, which has a concentrated, slightly toasty sweetness that fresh apple cannot match. Simmer for at least 20 minutes and add honey to taste at the end. If you want a closer result, dry-toast the apple slices in a pan until they colour before adding water, which brings out a hint of the caramelised note dried jujube has.