Chinese jujubes are both a delicious food and a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for promoting longevity. They contain proteins, organic acids, vitamins, trace elements, and are known as the "natural vitamin pill." Traditional Chinese medicine holds that they are warm in nature and sweet in flavor, with the effects of tonifying the spleen and Qi, nourishing blood to calm the spirit, promoting the production of body fluids, and detoxifying.
Feng Hange, Chief Pharmacist and Director of the Pharmacological Research Department at Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, explains that there are many varieties of jujubes, such as golden thread jujubes, pear jujubes, snow jujubes, winter jujubes, round jujubes, and egg jujubes, but their medicinal and dietary effects are similar. As for processed jujube products, they are mainly divided into three types: fresh, dried, and candied. Fresh jujubes are not only sweet, crisp, and juicy, but they also have the highest vitamin C content and are the most nutritious, but they are not durable for storage. Dried jujubes are easy to store, but they lose moisture and water-soluble vitamin C, and other nutrients are also somewhat affected. Dried jujubes can be steamed, stewed, braised, or boiled. It should be noted that it is best to make straight cuts on the surface of the red dates with a small knife during processing, so that the nutrients in the dates can be fully released.