Shun'an Black Sesame Crisp 顺安酥糖

Ingredients

A 2024 Anhui Daily (安徽日报) feature lists pure black sesame, white sugar, wheat flour and maltose as the main ingredients, worked by traditional hand methods. An older Tongling civic page gives the base as good wheat flour, refined white sugar and pure black sesame, finished with measured amounts of osmanthus, green plum and candied kumquat (金桔饼). The same page remembers the simple paper pack that held four pieces.

Flavour and texture

The Anhui Daily feature describes a strong sesame aroma, a body that is crisp yet soft, and sweetness as soon as it reaches the mouth. The Tongling page calls it "松柔甜润、成条不散" (loose, soft, sweet and moist, yet holding together as a bar), and quotes the local saying that Shun'an Black Sesame Crisp keeps its shape as a block but melts once in the mouth.

Where it comes from

The Tongling page dates the sweet to the late Tang dynasty and, citing the Tongling County local records and other historical material, says its name spread from the time a post station called Linjin Station (临津驿) was set up at Shun'an in the Tang, with sales across the county and neighbouring areas. A local story it records tells of a son surnamed Dong who ground sesame, mixed it with maltose and shaped cakes for his mother, who had asthma and found eating difficult; later people copied it.

The same Tongling account describes the sweet as a household staple for receiving guests, honouring elders and festivals. After 1949 the Shun'an supply and marketing co-operative (顺安供销社) took over all production and sales in its own workshop, where the work was still done essentially by hand.