Forums » Off-Topic Discussions

Trying classic Chinese candies: a nostalgic sweet tooth

    • 3280 posts
    July 23, 2023 10:16 PM EDT

    Trying classic Chinese candies: a nostalgic sweet tooth

    Memories often are their strongest when they are linked with sensory perceptions. A memory from our past that is tied to a particular song, aroma, or taste can heighten the sense of nostalgia we feel when reminiscing about a pleasant experience from our past.To get more news about chinese candy, you can visit shine news official website.

    This is particularly true when thinking back on our favorite childhood treats. The candies, snacks and sweets we enjoyed as kids often hold a special place in our hearts, even if they've long since ceased production and left the market. Even those sweet treats that are still around, for me, I likely wouldn't even enjoy if I were to indulge in them now. I don't really eat sweets anymore, and the junk I ate as a kid was so jam-packed with sugar that now, I'd probably wince the second it touched my tongue.

    Even so, memories of the ice cream truck and snow cones and other treats of yore really bring me back right into a specific moment in time, evoking vivid memories of my life back then.

    I've always found it intriguing to learn about what snacks my local friends and peers had during their youth that elicit similar feelings of nostalgia. Let's discuss some of the more widespread nostalgic candies in China. The first one that comes to the forefront is both well-known and fitting for the present time.
    These have been floating around a bit more than usual over the last few weeks, which makes sense given that we're still less than a month removed from welcoming in the Year of the Rabbit. This renowned chewy treat was born in Shanghai and first hit the market in 1959, and it has been a classic for generations since. It's even been featured in music and films in China as a staple, A-lister of a candy.

    As for the product itself, it's a simple, milk/cream flavored candy that, while soft, does have a certain degree of toughness to it and needs to linger in the mouth and heat up a bit before it can be easily chewed. It's sweet but not overly so, which is a common feature of not only candies but also cakes, cookies, and other various dessert items in China.

    This, in my view, is good for a number of reasons. The first is health-related ― as we know, consuming excess sugar can have a variety of deleterious health effects ranging from weight gain to diabetes to tooth decay and many others. The White Rabbit, though, is more modestly sweetened and thus only has 20 calories per piece.

    Also, growing up in the United States, the concept of something being "too sweet" was an unfamiliar idea. Sweets, be they candies, cakes, pies, or anything else, were all ten out of ten on the sweetness scale. Either something was sweet, or it wasn't, with essentially no gray area in between. Now, I quite prefer the nuance of a sweetness gradient, and savoring a dabaitu, whether of the original cream flavor or one of the plethora of other flavors available these days, can hit that perfect spot.
    This small hard candy is made with powdered orange peel, which gives it an extra zesty kick when compared to regular fruit-flavored candies. It has less of an artificial imitation flavor profile and tastes more like it's seasoned with some sort of cinnamon or nutmeg, even though, according to the ingredient list, it's not.

    The unusual flavor is enjoyable and a bit unexpected. You'll often find it in the little glass tray on a receptionist's desk in a random office building or waiting room. Worth a shot; it's interesting.