Shicun Honey Dates

Shicun Honey Dates

　　Shicun honey dates are a specialty of Shicun Village in Qiuzhen Town, Guangde County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. The production of honey dates in Shicun has a long history. These honey dates feature a golden-yellow surface without burnt patches, are crystal clear and translucent; their surfaces are covered with sugar frost, dry yet non-sticky to each other; the cut patterns are even and neat, and the pieces are uniformly sized; the sweetness is pure, rich in taste, with thick flesh that is soft and not tough, making them highly favored by honey date enthusiasts.

　　The production of Shicun honey dates is carried out on a household basis. Once the honey dates hit the market, simply walk into Shicun, and you’ll find that every ordinary farming family is engaged in making them. They blend their simple kindness and white granulated sugar together, infusing it into each “agate-like” date, offering the public these beautiful and sweet honey date fruits.

　　There are many jujube trees in Shicun, and a variety of cultivars, including milk jujubes, red milk jujubes, and water milk jujubes, among others. Among them, milk jujubes are considered the best choice for making honey dates due to their large size, small pits, loose flesh, thin yet tough skin, and relatively low juice content. Every year starting in late August of the solar calendar, people begin harvesting milk jujubes. After removing misshapen, worm-eaten, or overripe jujubes, the fruits are pressed into a jujube-cutting machine and sorted by grade according to the size of the inlet and outlet. Then, the carefully selected jujubes are fed into the cutting slots of the machine according to their grades to create slits. The depth must be strictly controlled at half the thickness of the flesh—cutting too deep can cause breakage, while cutting too shallow prevents the sugar syrup from penetrating adequately. The freshly slit jujubes are then washed in clean water and drained before cooking.

　　Cooking is done in pots, typically using large iron stoves specially built for making honey dates. The ratio of sugar to fresh jujubes during cooking depends on experience but generally follows a 1:2 proportion. The moisture level, ripeness of the jujubes, cooking time, and heat intensity are all adjusted manually. First, some water is added to the pot, then the water and sugar are heated to dissolve into a syrup, which is then poured into the jujubes. The mixture is stirred, and the cooking continues over high heat with constant stirring and removal of any floating foam. When the jujubes become soft and yellowish, the heat is reduced and the stirring continues. As the syrup changes from white to yellow, the heat is further lowered, and the jujubes are simmered slowly over low heat. The cooking process generally requires about 50 minutes. The cooked jujubes, along with the syrup, are then poured into a cold pot to rest, allowing the syrup to evenly permeate the fruit. The mixture is stirred at intervals, after which the syrup-coated jujubes are transferred to a sugar-draining sieve to remove excess syrup. The drained jujubes are then sun-dried. In case of rainy or cloudy weather, they are promptly moved to a drying room. Drying is done with gradually increasing heat, usually taking about one day. Whether sun-dried or oven-dried, the jujubes need to be turned every few hours.

　　During the turning process, the jujubes are flattened into round shapes either by using a pressing machine or manually, to promote drying or improve appearance.

　　After the sugar frost becomes visible on the sun-dried honey dates, they are moved indoors to dry further through turning in the shade. For oven-dried honey dates, a dry-baking process is applied. The heat should start strong and then ease to help the sugar frost appear on the surface, after which the heat is gradually reduced while the jujubes are turned regularly to ensure even drying. For quality inspection, the jujubes should not deform under pressure, exhibit a golden, translucent color, and show a visible layer of sugar frost on the surface.

　　The final step involves grading the honey dates, packing them into plastic film food bags, and then bringing them to market.