Oils, Salt, Sugar and Honey · FFET10410
Brown sugar (hongtang)
Hongtang is made by boiling down cane juice while retaining its molasses, for use in drinks, pastries, and baking.
Salt, powdered seasonings, cooking oils and fats, sugar, honey and syrups.
Hongtang is non-centrifugal cane sugar that retains its molasses, made by pressing sugarcane, clarifying the juice, and boiling it down. It has a caramel-like aroma and is used in drinks, pastries, and baking. In Yiwu, Zhejiang, the craft is practiced around Start of Winter and was included in the fourth batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2014.
What
Hongtang is non-centrifugal cane sugar that retains its molasses, made by clarifying cane juice and boiling it down. The Chinese term does not mean exactly the same thing as brown sugar commonly understood in Western usage.1,3
When
Traditional hongtang making in Yiwu takes place around Start of Winter, when the local green-skinned sugarcane is sweetest. The year 2014 dates the craft's inclusion in the national intangible cultural heritage list, rather than the origin of hongtang.3
Where
Yiwu City, Zhejiang, is the declaring region for the listed Yiwu hongtang-making craft, and a 2022 report calls Yiwu the home of hongtang. Zhoucun village in Zhuji, Zhejiang, also preserves a tradition of making hongtang by hand.3,4
How
Making hongtang involves pressing sugarcane, clarifying the juice with lime, and boiling it down. Yiwu's traditional craft has four stages (selecting the raw material, pressing the juice, boiling, and air-drying) with more than twenty procedures. A 2022 report on Zhoucun village in Zhuji says about 50 kilograms of cane gives about 5 kilograms of hongtang. The finished sugar is used in drinks, pastries, and baking.1,3,4
Why
Retaining molasses is a defining feature of hongtang. It has a caramel-like aroma and a gentler sweetness than refined sugar.1
Impact and influence
Yiwu's hongtang-making craft (traditional sugar-making techniques) entered the fourth batch of the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2014; the listing recognizes the craft. A 2022 report on Zhoucun village in Zhuji describes hongtang as a former festival gift and records the decline of handmade sugar production with industrialization.3,4