The marriage of sweet sugar glazing and sour berries exhilarates the palate, the colourful skewers threaded with sugar-glazed berries sold in the outdoor market places or from street carts, that’s it, one of Chinese most popular snack: Tanghulu.

Photo: Xmin

The legend of tanghulu

The original Tanghulu is made of hawthorns. Rich in vitamin C, hawthorns have long been known to have medicinal properties in traditional Chinese medicine and, initially, tanghulu were used to cure illness. Their popularity in China dates back to during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE), according to one traditional legend.

800 years ago one of the emperor’s favourite concubines was sick and had a poor appetite. After checking the patient’s health, a doctor told her to eat 10 hawthorn berries boiled in crystallised sugar before dinner.

Like a miracle, the concubine recovered within a couple of weeks after following the prescription. The recipe later was spread among the common folk and was gradually transformed into today’s tanghulu.

Making Tanghulu. Photo: XMin

In the entry depicting her impression of Tanghulu, the blogger also mentioned how Tanghulu was made: “Get fruits on a long stick, dip it into a pan of hot boiling sugar syrup, let it dry on a piece of waxed paper. All done in a matter of seconds.”

"These are little bombs of sappy sourness, to describe in the best way i can: they have the texture of apples, the sourness of… well, sour stuff without the juiciness of the apple. Yep, so kinda crunchy, dry and sour, with the sweet layer of candy on top," she described the taste.

According to the GB Times, the taste of Tanghulu "is a combination of sweet and tart flavours. Hawthorn berries are quite piquant, with a slightly coarse and tangy taste. The marriage of sweet sugar glazing and sour berries exhilarates the palate, and often transports nostalgic Chinese back to their childhood."

"In Beijing, sales of tanghulu generally go up when winter approaches and the temperature drops. During this season, these tasty snacks can be found on virtually every street corner. Even though they are popular in many cities in northern and north-eastern China, they have become Beijing’s unofficial "official" snack.

Tanghulus have been part of Chinese food culture for centuries and, for Beijingers especially, Spring Festival celebrations wouldn’t be complete without these scrumptious bringers of good luck.