The flavor of the season - Chinese dates

Early October is the time of year when mountains of mottled green and brown fresh jujubes (or Chinese dates, zao) can be found piled up in the green grocers. These crisp fruits are similar to apples in flavor with a slightly drier texture. I find I can sit munching on them for hours. As the month progresses, they lose their lime green color and become progressively mahogany brown.

The fully mature fruit is plump and reddish brown in color. As time passes they lose their moisture and become shriveled, giving their flesh a somewhat spongy texture. At this point they are usually referred to as hong zao (red dates) and are commonly used as flavorings in tea, hot pot stock or as ingredients in sweet congee.

Hole-in-the-wall bakers often sell film-wrapped slices of sticky rice cake made with jujube at breakfast and early lunch, and if you're lucky you may find an early morning street vendor serving it up hot. Dried jujube are widely available in Chinese supermarkets, often sold loose alongside various other tea ingredients such as rock sugar, dried lemon slices and flowers.