Jujube Cake

Jujube Cake

　　  Chaozhou-Guangdong cold dishes have long been renowned both in China and abroad. The Raoping Jujube Cake is truly unique—it is made from the flesh of wild jujubes and is rich in various vitamins. With its tender texture and pleasantly sweet-and-sour flavor, it stands out among Chaozhou preserved fruits and is also recognized as a well-known green food.

    The Raoping Jujube Cake has a golden, translucent hue. When eaten, it offers the authentic taste of the fresh fruit—sweet and tangy, tender yet not sticky, refreshing and appetite-stimulating. Chemical analysis shows that it is high in vitamin C, vitamin B, and vitamin E, and contains ingredients such as citric acid, malic acid, pectin, fructose, and tannins. It is not only a nutrient-rich food, but also helps reduce cholesterol, dilate blood vessels, improve blood circulation, lower blood pressure, and aids digestion, stimulates appetite, and relieves hangovers. In recent years, it has consistently been rated as a quality product by the light industrial and food industries in Guangdong Province and Shantou City. Deeply popular in domestic and international markets, it is in high demand. Especially for overseas Chinese residing in Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia, it is considered a delicacy, often requested to be purchased and brought back by relatives visiting from China.

    The main ingredient of the Jujube Cake is sourced from the unique wild jujubes of Raoping County. The jujube is an evergreen tree that flowers in spring and bears fruit in autumn. The fruit is oval and smooth, similar in shape to loquats, and turns golden yellow when ripe. When eaten raw, it tastes mildly sweet with a slight sourness. Raoping has vast mountainous areas with fertile soil, mild and moist climate, making it especially suitable for jujube growth. In recent years, cultivation has been strongly promoted and expanded to over 10,000 acres, particularly in areas like Yucun and Xintang, where both yield and quality are highest.

    The production of Jujube Cake is said to date back to the late Qing Dynasty, boasting a history of over a hundred years. Before liberation, there were several manual workshops in Huanggang Town, Raoping, such as those run by Wu Shengquan and Wu Changquan, producing about 20 dan (a traditional unit of weight) annually. The method of making Jujube Cake is strict and complex, all done by hand with considerable technical skill. Fresh jujube fruits must be carefully selected, boiled, and then peeled and deseeded. Impurities are removed to extract the pure fruit pulp, which is mixed with premium white sugar. The mixture then undergoes multiple processes including stirring, boiling, infusion, and drying before the final product is created. Due to limited raw materials, production remains low and cannot meet full demand. In 1956, the “Raoping County Fruit Products Factory” was established. Over the years, the factory expanded, building modern workshops, adding a range of mechanized equipment, strengthening scientific research, and focusing on improving the Jujube Cake recipe. With semi-mechanized production techniques and enhanced packaging methods, the annual output of this specialty product increased to around 500 dan, with quality reaching new heights.