Sri Lankan Jujubes, A Sweet Traditional Family Recipe

As a kid I LOVED jujubes and every time I visited family in Colombo I would receive bags of store bought jujubes. I have encountered various types of Jujubes over the years and the main difference in Sri Lankan or South Asian Jujubes (vs. European ones) is that they are a bit softer and dusted in sugar. They come in various colours and flavours. If you’re unfortunate enough to get your hands on an old bag, like I recently did, you’re in for some major dental work as they can be dangerously hard! The kids loved the idea of jujubes and my mom recently took the kids into the kitchen and made some Sri Lankan Jujubes with them. This is a recipe passed on by my mom’s brother who was the best chef in the family when I was growing up in Dubai (he was also a professional chef by trade).

Unlike the Marshmallow disaster last week, this one turned out really well. This easy Jujube recipe will yield soft chewy ones that will disappear rather quickly, even if there are only adults at home! The best part about my mom’s Jujubes recipe is that there’s no corn syrup or preservatives and uses very few ingredients. I’ve always eaten them shaped like lemon wedges or rectangles but my mom took it up a notch by using some chocolate molds she had at home. Read one and I’ll share some tips on how to make these Sri Lankan Jujubes!

Cooking with Kids | Jujubes

Ingredients:

350 g (just about 1 cup) Sugar

25 g (3/4 cup) Gelatine Powder

2 tsp Lime Juice

100 g (1/2 cup) Simple Syrup (This is easy to make at home with water, sugar and lemon juice- see notes below. If you use corn syrup at home, you can substitute that in)

100 ml (smidge over 1/2 cup) hot Water

100 ml (smidge over 1/2 cup) room temperature water

oil for the mould

Food colours and essences (if desired to colour and flavour the jujubes)

Moulds or baking tray

This batch yielded 58 pieces which were about an inch in width.

Easy Sri Lankan Jujubes Recipe

Put 25 grams of Gelatine powder into a bowl and add 100 ml hot water. Mix it well and set a side for 10 minutes.

Take your molds and oil well (use avocado oil if available as it doesn’t have much flavour). If you only want simple squares, you can ignore the molds and get a baking pan. The baking pan can be lined with cling wrap and that can be oiled. Personally, I like molds and you can even use things like measuring spoons or ice cube trays if you’d like!

In a pan add 200 g sugar and 100 ml room temperature water and boil while constantly stirring. Bring sugar to a hard ball consistency. Approx. 121 to 130 °C (250 to 266 °F). If you don’t have a candy thermometers at home you can do the hard ball test. Take a spoon, dip it in the sugar concoction and then drop it in cold water. If the temperature is right, it will form a squishy ball as you roll it with your finger and you can hold the ball in your palm.

Now add the gelatine mixture into the sugar mixture and stir well. When boiling and bubbling add the 100 grams of Simple Syrup stir a bit and then add 2 teaspoons of Lime Juice. Stir well.

If you want to make simple syrup, over medium heat mix 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup of water. When it bubbles add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice. Boil mixture over low heat until it’s thick and sticky (coats a dipped spoon, similar to honey).

Now bring it to boil till it gets thick. When you lift the spatula, thick strings should form and drip.

Immediately remove from the fire and divide it into 3 equal portions (or however many flavours/colours you want).

You can add colour and flavours into these 3 bowls as you desire. We added lemon into the yellow, rose into the pink, almond into the green and vanilla into the blue. You only need a few drops but you can adjust it according to your taste and colour preference.

Mix well.

Now with a teaspoon pour this into the oiled moulds. If you decided to use a baking pan, just pour it all into the cling wrapped and oiled pan. Ensure it’s not too hot to melt through the cling wrap!!

Let it sit outside in the mould for 8 hours.

Remove from the mould and roll each candy in sugar. If you are struggling in removing the jujubes from the mould, use a toothpick to poke the sides of each candy and that will make it easier to lift it up.

If you set it in a tray you’ll have to lift it off the cling wrap and cut them into desired cubes.

Remember to let the jujubes sit out for an hour at least once they have been sugar coated. Then place them in an airtight container and gobble them up whenever ~~you~~ your kids feel like it!