Cangwu Honey Dates

Cangwu Honey Dates

　　Cangwu honey dates are made from carefully selected ingredients and crafted with precision. The product features an attractive shape, vibrant color, a soft and crumbly texture that melts easily in the mouth, a sweet and refreshing taste, and high nutritional value, which has earned the trust of consumers. These dates are popular throughout China, sold in Hong Kong and Macau, and exported to Southeast Asian regions, making them a major traditional export commodity.

　　Dates have always been one of China’s famous fruits. As early as over 1,000 years ago, our ancestors were already cultivating dates artificially. Guangxi also has a long history of date cultivation. In the “Guihai Yuheng Zhi” compiled by Fan Chengda during the Song Dynasty, there is a record of “red jujubes.” Since ancient times, Cangwu has been one of the main production areas of dates. Places such as Changzhou, Zhuwang, Sizhong, Sizhou, Zhengyang, Xiayang, Renhe, and Longtan produce the most. The dates grown here are large, fleshy, and of high quality, making them ideal for making honey dates. Cangwu honey dates are a traditional preserved fruit product, made from the fresh dates abundantly produced in these areas through meticulous processing.

　　Cangwu honey dates have a long history, recorded in the “Cangwu County Annals” from the Qing Dynasty. By the Yongzheng era (1729–1733 AD), Cangwu honey dates had gained considerable fame and were said to have been listed among the local tributes. During the Republican era, Cangwu honey dates were sold under the label of Wuzhou honey dates in Guangzhou and Hong Kong-Macau regions, hence the saying that persists to this day: “Cangwu’s honey dates, Wuzhou’s brand.” After liberation, the traditional processing techniques of Cangwu honey dates were fully inherited and developed, with continuous improvements in both product quality and output. Thanks to their fine selection of ingredients, careful craftsmanship, beautiful shape, vibrant color, soft and crumbly texture, sweet and refreshing taste, and rich nutrition, Cangwu honey dates have earned the trust of consumers. These dates are popular throughout China, sold in Hong Kong and Macau, and exported to Southeast Asian regions, making them a major traditional export commodity of Cangwu County. The production process of Cangwu honey dates is as follows:

　　(Ingredients) Fresh dates, white sugar.

　　(Process) Divided into six steps:

　　(1) Ingredient selection. Select fresh dates that are 80% ripe—commonly known as green dates—preferably those with pale skin, no insect damage, large size, and thick flesh. Overripe fresh dates tend to break apart easily during boiling, while underripe ones absorb sugar poorly. Therefore, dates that are either too ripe or too raw are not suitable for making honey dates, as they can affect the quality of the final product.

　　(2) Scraping. Commonly called slotting, this step involves using a special tool to score each date’s skin into grooves. When scraping, the depth of the grooves should be moderate, and the pattern should be even.

　　(3) Rinsing. After scoring, the dates are sorted into large, medium, and small piles and must not be boiled together to avoid uneven cooking. Use a copper pot for boiling, and remove any date gum or white foam as it forms. Boil for about an hour, then remove and rinse in cold water to eliminate the date gum.

　　(4) Sugar boiling. Add white sugar and an appropriate amount of water to a pot and boil to make a syrup heated to 105–110 degrees Celsius for later use. Separately, place the date pieces—after rinsing and removing gum—into a copper pot, add part of the syrup, and boil for an hour. Add the remaining syrup in two portions during the process. Skim off sugar foam, date gum, and other impurities as the mixture boils. If too much foam forms, add a small amount of peanut oil before removing the surface impurities. When the grooves in the dates begin to open and absorb sugar, appearing plump and translucent, the syrup temperature will reach 115–118 degrees Celsius. At this point, remove the date pieces, place them on a sieve to cool, and set aside.

　　(5) Shaping. Manually press each date piece flat, then twist it into a saddle shape. Arrange them by size on a tray for drying to control their moisture level and grade them.

　　(6) Drying. After shaping, the date pieces should be promptly placed under the sun to dry or slowly baked in an oven to prevent “sugar leakage” caused by prolonged storage. During sun-drying, ensure frequent turning. For date pieces that do not hold their shape well, additional reshaping should be done during turning. After two days of drying, you may take them in the trays while still warm, seal them in plastic wrap—a process called “steaming the tray”—to enhance transparency and create a crispy, sugary frost. Then continue drying until they become completely dry.

　　(Characteristics) Shaped like a saddle, exquisitely formed. The dried dates are glossy with a sugary frost, crystal clear, soft and crumbly, sweet and delicious, with a rich honey aroma.