Known as red dates, or hongzao (红枣) in Chinese, the native southeast asian fruit has long been heralded as a superfood, making appearances on TCM prescription pads and in locals’ kitchens, where they’re still used to decorate buns, porridge, soup or desert as a kind of spice. You can get them fresh during the autumn, when they’re crisp and green as apples, or dried, when the fruit take on a deep red color and sweet, chewy texture. So how did red dates get their reputation as China’s favorite cure-all fruit?

Nutritional and Health Benefits

Though red dates are actually classified as drupes (a category of pitted fruit that also includes mangoes, olives and coffee), in Chinese they’ve been labeled as “the king of nuts” (百果之王 bǎi guǒ zhī wáng) for their rich nutritional value. Seventy to 80 times higher in Vitamin C than grapes and apples, red dates also abound with Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron and magnesium. This vitamin-packed punch makes red dates great for people who are recovering from serious diseases. Making it even better for the sickly, red dates are said to stimulate the production of white blood cells, which improves immunity, and decrease the levels of cholesterol in your bloodstream, which helps protect the liver. Like acai berries and other antioxidant foods, they’re even believed to suppress cancer cells. Red dates can also guard against more common ailments. Because of their high levels of Vitamin C, dates convert excessive cholesterol into bile acid, which helps prevent gallstones. Meanwhile, phosphorus and iron play an important role in preventing osteoporosis and anemia, both common in women.

Here are our recommendations on dried red dates that you can buy on Alibaba :