Sugar Taffy

Sugar Taffy

　　The Xuwen area is rich in sugarcane, and sugar taffy is a type of traditional candy snack made from cane sugar using local folk methods. It has a sweet, fragrant, and chewy taste, with a slight cool sensation that arises from the back of the tongue when you bite into it. It’s loved not only by children but also by adults who can’t resist its tempting flavor. In earlier times, sugar taffy was a kind of barter snack, carried by “sugar taffy uncles” (itinerant peddlers) who walked from town to village with shoulder poles and jingling hand drums. They would wrap the taffy in cellophane or pack it in glass bottles, and children would trade scrap metal or old coins from home for it. Nowadays, the itinerant peddlers of Xuwen are no more, replaced by vendors who ride bicycles or motorcycles through streets and alleys calling out their wares. Sugar taffy can even be easily found on the market.

　　Sugar taffy is made by boiling cane sugar syrup, cooling it, and repeatedly pulling and beating it. The finished taffy is stretched into strips and then cut into large or small pieces with scissors when sold. During the making process, ginger juice can be added to make ginger sugar taffy; fried peanut bits can be mixed in to create peanut sugar taffy; a proper amount of potato starch and black sesame can be added during the boiling of the syrup to make sesame sugar taffy; or even white sugar and peppermint oil can be included to make mint sugar taffy. There are many variations in how it’s made, catering to the tastes of a wide range of snack lovers.