Fuping Qiongguo Candy

Fuping Qiongguo Candy

　　Fuping Qiongguo Candy

　　Fuping Qiongguo Candy is a well-known local specialty of the Eastern Shaanxi region, especially famous for being produced in Fenghuangcheng (now Liuqu Town, Fuping County, Weinan City), the ancient Pinyang County. The Qiongguo Candy from Liuqu Town in Fuping has a production history spanning several hundred years. This candy is made using high-quality well water and premium fine millet from the ancient town, distilled and mixed with malted barley mash, fermented, and then strained. The liquid is boiled in an iron pot to form a paste-like “stove candy,” which is then removed and cooled. It is repeatedly pulled and twisted in steam-heated conditions, turning its yellow color into a white, jade-like hue. Next, it is layered with roasted white sesame seeds, along with peanuts, walnuts, rock sugar, white granulated sugar, candied fruit, dried tangerine peel, and other ingredients, and placed in a ceramic jar to be stewed with heat. Finally, it is pressed into cakes, sliced into strips, and becomes the fragrant and richly flavored Qiongguo Candy. Thanks to its crisp, sweet, and savory taste with carefully selected ingredients, it has long been a traditional health delicacy known for aiding digestion, moistening the lungs, strengthening the spleen, and nourishing the kidneys. As the candy is sensitive to heat and moisture and is thus only suitable for small-batch production in cold weather, it has become a traditional, rare, natural, and green food supplement for holidays and winter seasons, as well as an excellent gift for family and friends. It is also one of the local flavor specialties that domestic and international tourists love to purchase and taste.