Peanut Pastry (花生糕, Hua sheng Gao) is a traditional local snack from Kaifeng City in Henan Province, China, with a long history and unique craftsmanship. Its origins can be traced back to the Song Dynasty and have been passed down for over 600 years through the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, becoming a part of ancient palace cuisine. Today, Peanut Pastry has become a famous specialty snack in the Kaifeng region and is deeply loved by the local people.
The main ingredients of Peanut Pastry are carefully selected peanuts, supplemented with white sugar, maltose, and other ingredients. The peanuts are pre-roasted and peeled, with each peanut split into two halves for better sugar coating. The production process includes several steps:
- Sugar Cooking: Water is added to a pot, and white sugar is added, then boiled until the sugar syrup turns brown, and the heat is reduced.
- Sugar Coating: The roasted peanuts are placed into the boiled sugar syrup and stirred thoroughly to ensure the peanuts are fully coated.
- Base Preparation: A small amount of crushed peanuts is sprinkled on a mound to prevent sticking.
- Shaping: The mixed peanut sugar is poured onto the prepared base and shaped into a lump. Then a knife is used to fold the mixture from the edges to the center repeatedly until the peanuts are evenly distributed. Finally, both sides are folded to the middle to form a long strip.
- Stretching and Cutting: While the sugar is still warm, the length is stretched by 1/3 to 1/2. Then it is cut into pieces for consumption.
The finished Peanut Pastry is in the form of slices, with multiple layers and a clear network structure, showing strong looseness. It has a crispy and crunchy texture, sweet and fragrant taste, and melts in the mouth, leaving an endless aftertaste. The crispiness is the most prominent feature of Peanut Pastry, as it is prone to breaking into large pieces upon slight impact. Additionally, it has a crispy texture without being hard and a delicious flavor without being greasy.
Peanut Pastry comes in various flavors, such as original, five-spice, nutty, osmanthus, salt and pepper, sesame, rose, walnut, almond, and more. Depending on the packaging, the taste varies, catering to the diverse taste preferences of different consumers.
