Songyuan Maltose

Songyuan Maltose

　　Maltose is a long-established and well-known local specialty of Songyuan Town in Meixian District. Not only does it have a unique flavor, but it also helps invigorate energy and treat ailments, making it highly favored by locals in Meizhou and tourists from other regions.

　　The production of Songyuan maltose has a long history. Legend has it that during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, people in areas such as Caishan and Hengfang in the town made a living by producing and selling maltose. In the 1950s and 1960s, due to food shortages, the production of Songyuan maltose was temporarily halted. It was not until the reform and opening-up period that production resumed. Nowadays, maltose in Songyuan is mainly produced in small family workshops through manual methods. According to incomplete statistics, nearly 100 households in the town produce maltose, with an annual production and sales volume of about 100,000 kilograms.

　　The method of making maltose by hand involves first sprouting wheat until its sprouts grow as long as needles, then finely chopping and mashing the sprouts into a paste. Next, an appropriate amount of rice is cooked into rice, which is then mixed with the mashed wheat sprouts. After about eight hours of fermentation, the starches from the rice and wheat sprouts are converted into sugar. The fermented mixture of rice and wheat sprouts is then pressed to extract the juice, which is boiled in a pot to concentrate it into syrup. The freshly boiled syrup is a reddish solid, commonly called "malt stone," which is continuously pulled and twisted until it turns into white maltose. Nowadays, many producers in the town also mix maltose with seasonings such as black and white sesame seeds, peanuts, and ginger juice to create refined series of maltose products, including sesame, peanut, and ginger flavors. Although making maltose involves many steps and takes a long time, the resulting product is soft, sweet, fragrant, and melts in your mouth, making it very popular and ensuring the enduring success of Songyuan maltose.

　　Maltose has the effect of invigorating energy and treating ailments. For example, eating an appropriate amount of it with fresh ginger every morning can help with age-related stomach coldness, coughing, and bronchitis. When stewed with eggs, it serves as a great nutritional supplement for children and infants, which is why it is beloved by many. Travelers and merchants who visit Songyuan all enjoy buying Songyuan maltose to take home for tasting or to give as gifts to others. Maltose is also part of the childhood memories of the people of Songyuan. Eating maltose can evoke many people’s childhood memories, and many Hakka people who leave their hometowns to start businesses often return here to buy maltose.