Changzhou Sesame Candy

Changzhou Sesame Candy

Changzhou Sesame Candy is an intangible cultural heritage of Jiangsu Province.

　　 Changzhou Sesame Candy is a long-standing and renowned traditional specialty product from the Changzhou area, belonging to the southern-style sesame candy series. It originated in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. According to the Chronicles of Changzhou: “As early as the Han Dynasty, Changzhou had the custom of using maltose to boil into solid candy for kitchen god worship. In the Tang Dynasty, based on needs, plant seeds were added to the maltose to make varieties such as sesame ball candy, which gradually evolved into the southern-style sesame candy series with Changzhou characteristics.” By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, crossed the Yangtze River on a “mud horse” and headed south to resist the Jin invaders. When he arrived in Changzhou, he stayed overnight in the southern suburbs. To support the army’s resistance against the Jin, local residents offered their local delicacy, “sesame ball candy,” to comfort the soldiers. Later, to make it easier to carry, the residents reshaped the sesame ball candy into small, firecracker-like sweets, filled them with sweet stuffing, and coated them with sesame seeds. Emperor Zhao Gou, after tasting the sesame candy brought by his attendant, happily praised, “Delicious, Changzhou Sesame Candy is truly delicious!” The soldiers, having eaten the sesame candy, were greatly boosted in morale and achieved repeated victories in battle. From then on, Changzhou Sesame Candy gained widespread fame.

　　Changzhou Sesame Candy is meticulously made from premium white sesame seeds, cane sugar, maltose, flour, osmanthus, and tangerine peel. It features uniformly thick and even strands, consistent length, fully coated sesame without exposed candy, sealed ends without filling leakage, a glossy appearance, and a sweet, fragrant, and crispy taste.

　　The production technique and craftsmanship of Changzhou Sesame Candy are refined and meticulous, involving over ten processes including ingredient preparation, soaking, sprouting, rice washing, rice steaming, stirring, fermentation, filtering, boiling, cooling, whitening, and shaping. The main production steps consist of seven major parts: First, preparation of barley sprouts: screened barley is poured into a vat and soaked in room-temperature water for 4–6 hours, then scooped onto a bamboo sieve and placed in a relatively warm room to sprout. The sprouts are rinsed with 30°C water once a day. After 3–4 days, when the barley begins to sprout, it is covered with a sack and sprinkled with cool water daily. Once the sprouts reach three centimeters in length, they are ready for use. Second, rice steaming: the rice is soaked for three hours, rinsed clean, and then steamed. Adding sprouted barley and mixing: the cleaned, sprouted barley is added to the steamed hot rice and stirred evenly. Third, fermentation: the mixed rice and barley mixture is placed in a vat to ferment for eight hours. Fourth, filtering: after fermentation, boiling water is poured in, and after about half an hour, the sugar fully dissolves in the water. The sugary liquid is then filtered through a mesh and poured into a boiling pot. Fifth, boiling: an equal amount of white sugar is added to the maltose syrup in the boiling pot, and the mixture is further boiled to allow sufficient moisture evaporation, heating up to around 150°C. Sixth, cooling: the boiled syrup is cooled down to 80°C. Seventh, whitening and shaping: the cooled candy block is placed on a whitening rack to undergo the whitening process. The whitened candy is then peeled, stuffed with filling made from kumquat slices, sugar-flour mix, sesame, peanuts, etc., hand-rolled into strips, cut into shape with a knife, and finally coated with sesame seeds.

　　In 1984, Changzhou Sesame Candy produced by Changzhou Qianjin Cold Drinks and Confectionery Factory was rated as a high-quality product of Jiangsu Province. In 2006, Kangwang Brand Sesame Candy produced by Changzhou Xilin Kangwang Food Factory was also rated as a high-quality product of Jiangsu Province and has remained popular both domestically and internationally ever since. Changzhou Sesame Candy is crispy, low in sugar, and endlessly flavorful. Whether during holidays or daily life, it makes an ideal gift for family and friends or treat for guests, and is deeply loved by the public.