Indian jujube

What it is

Ber is Ziziphus mauritiana, a different species from Chinese jujube. Larger cultivated fruit can reach about 6.25 cm (2½ in) long. Its skin turns from green towards yellow and reddish brown as it matures. Inside is juicy white flesh around a hard stone; the texture changes from crisp to mealy at full ripeness.

Where it comes from

Indian jujube grows wild from Yunnan in southern China to Afghanistan, Malaysia and Queensland in Australia. India grows it most, as a commercial crop; growing states include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. It also has a place in the savannah food traditions of Cameroon. There, the dry fruit is called jaabi and appears in local markets both whole and as cakes made from its pulp.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Bengal, tart topa kul goes into kuler achaar, a sweet-sour pickle cooked with jaggery, a cane sugar, and panch phoron, a five-spice mixture. Tamil Nadu’s elantha vadai combines the fruit with jaggery, chilli and tamarind. The paste can be flattened on cloth and dried in the sun into small rounds.

In Cameroon, women pound the dried pulp into flour for yaabande cakes. They shape and steam the flour, dry the shaped cakes in sunlight, or wrap portions in leaves and cook them under hot ash. Fresh crunch and dried-fruit cake come from the same species.

How it's grown

Ber suits hot, dry growing areas. Growers copy a chosen tree by attaching one of its buds to a seedling; these budded trees begin bearing after about 3–4 years. Pruning during the dry resting season encourages the new shoots that carry the next crop.

When and where you'll find it

India’s usual harvest moves across the regions: October–November in the south, December–March in Gujarat, January–March in Rajasthan and February–April in the north. Swadesh, an Indian grocer in Canada, lists fresh ber by the pound. In Cameroon, local markets offer dry jaabi and yaabande.