Theses are crystalline sugar-coated haws, tanghulu, which is a favorite winter snack for children in northern China.
这叫做冰糖葫芦;北方的冬天里,这是孩子们最喜欢的零食。
Legends say that 800 years ago an emperor's concubine was sick an had a poor appetite.
相传 800 多年前,有个皇帝的妃子病了,胃口不好,
A doctor ordered that she eat 10 haws boiled with crystal sugar before dinner.
一位医生献上药方:用冰糖和山楂煎熬,每天饭前吃上 10 颗。
The concubine recovered within half-a-month.
半个月之后,妃子的病真的好了。
Later, the prescription was passed on to ordinary people.
后来这种方法传到了民间,
People put haws on a stick and dipped them in hot sugar syrup.
老百姓把山楂用签子串起来,蘸上热糖;
The syrup turned into a solid coating, like crystals on the haws' surface.
而热糖遇冷凝固后形成一个水晶一样的硬壳,就成了现在的冰糖葫芦。
It is a delicious and wholesome traditional snack commonly seen in stores and on streets.
糖葫芦是种非常 美味而又健康的传统小吃,大街小巷随处可见。
The haws are tart and the crystal sugar is sweet.
山楂酸,冰糖甜,那又酸又甜的味道,
The special taste often reminds us of our happy childhood.
让很多人想起自己美好的童年。