Trees Bear a Suprise and Find a Following

Millions of Americans think of jujubes as candies to be enjoyed at the movies. Jujubes--the fresh variety--actually grow on trees. The “real” jujube (or Zizyphus jujuba, to be exact) is sometimes referred to as a Chinese date because of the two fruits’ similarity in taste and appearance.

Roger Meyer of Valley Center Kiwi, who planted his first tree two decades ago, says he is probably the largest commercial grower of jujubes in the United States. Along with a handful of others, he is attempting to take the fresh fruit mainstream.

Meyer’s jujube plantings began as a fluke. “I got hold of a tree from a nursery in Redding,” he says. “I planted it, knew nothing about it, and years later it started bearing fruit.” One day, his wife placed a few in his lunch pail. A work mate of Meyer’s from Korea, where the fruit is commonplace, noticed the jujubes and proceeded to tell his American counterpart of its uses. His curiosity piqued, Meyer began to research the subject in earnest.

Back in the ‘50s, government agriculturists began to look at jujubes seriously, Meyer found. Thousands of seedlings were planted in Chico by the Department of Agriculture, which was hoping to popularize the fruit. Promising seedlings were to be propagated. Funding for the project dried up soon afterward, however, and Meyer, who got wind of the abandoned experiment, salvaged some of the plant material.

Two hundred grown trees, representing 25 varieties of jujubes, today line his hillside orchard. The trees’ silver and green ficus-like leaves shimmer in the breeze. “They create gorgeous shadows,” says Meyer. Dozens of small, tear-shaped fruit have already turned a deep mahogany, an indication that they are ripe and ready to be picked. Meyer makes a note to direct his pickers to the area. Some fruit will be picked fresh, other left on the tree to dry. As a testament to this year’s bounty, dozens of white plastic buckets filled with caramel-colored jujubes await shipment in the shade of Meyer’s barn. The fruit is bound mainly to wholesalers in Los Angeles and ethnic markets nationwide.

The two varieties best known in California are the Li and the Lang, Meyer says.

He prefers the Li, a plum look-alike that takes on a mahogany tint when allowed to ripen on the tree. It has the largest and the sweetest-tasting fruit and can be eaten when it turns yellowish-green. The Lang, which must turn the color of reddish mahogany before it becomes edible, has a somewhat tart flavor.

Another variety, the Shui Men, was introduced into the United Stats from China at the turn of the century. The rounder Chico, and the still unnamed “GA 866,” are “as sweet as sugar cane,” Meyer says. He offers a note of caution in handling the Chico trees, though. Some seedlings have thorns almost as large as daggers--one reason jujubes are prized as hedges in countries such as China. “Some trees have spines like daggers. Some are more like fishhooks,” he said. Other trees remain perfectly smooth.

Another local authority on the subject of jujubes is Howard Jewett. The globe-trotting connoisseur never fails to hand out samples of his Wilkes jujube at the Vista farmer’s market.

The Wilkes’ claim to fame dates back to the turn of the century, when it was brought back from China by Captain Wilkes and planted at the Senate Office Building Park in Washington. The Jewetts’ trees are direct descendants of the venerable tree.

The fresh jujube has more than 3,000 years of history around the Mediterranean and throughout Asia. In China, where the same word is used to describe both jujubes and dates, jujubes are prized as gifts at certain times of the year. In countries like Iran and India, jujubes are commonly used for medicinal purposes, or steeped in tea.

Jujubes are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, fiber and fructose. Eat them right off the tree, or dry them, as you would apples. As such, jujubes can be used much like dates or any other dehydrated fruit, in breads and cakes. They can also be preserved in syrup.

Roger and Shirley Meyer, Valley Vista Kiwi. Weekends (619) 749-1955. Weekdays: (714) 839-0796. Sells grafting wood from January through June; $2 per stick and fruit (wholesale only).

Howard and Iran Jewett, 3062 Sumac Road, Fallbrook, 92028. (619) 723-0845. Will pick on request with a day’s notice. Sells at the Vista Farmer’s Market. About $2 a basket.