Sour and Sweet Snack

Bingtanghulu is a traditional snack in northern China. In the past, people sold it almost every street in Beijing.

Traditional Bingtanghulu is usually made with haws and only sold in winter. The haws and the sugar outside are frozen hard because of low temperature. This makes it hard as ice and taste sour and sweet. That’s why it is called Bingtanghulu. Now, Bingtanghulu is also sold in summer. There are various tastes such as strawberry, banana and orange in addition to the traditional one.

Bingtanghulu originated from the Southern Song Dynasty. It was said that a concubine of Emperor Guangzong of Song was sick and didn’t want to eat anything. A doctor ordered that she eat 5 to 10 haws boiled with crystal sugar before dinner. In less than two weeks, she got well. Later, the practice quickly spread among the common people and they began making the healthy snack, too.

冰糖葫芦

冰糖葫芦是中国北方的一种传统小吃。过去，北京的大街小巷四处可见卖冰糖葫芦的小贩。

传统的冰糖葫芦一般由山楂制成，只在冬天售卖。山楂和外面的那层糖衣因低温而被冻硬，所以吃起来又酸又甜，十分坚硬，像是在吃冰一样，故得名“冰糖葫芦”。现在，冰糖葫芦也在夏天售卖。其种类也越来越多，除了传统的山楂口味，还有草莓、香蕉、橘子等口味。

冰糖葫芦起源于南宋。据说，皇帝宋光宗的妃子生病了，茶饭不思。一位大夫开出药方，要她将冰糖与山楂一起煎服，每顿饭前吃五至十枚。那位妃子按此办法服用后，不出半月就病愈了。后来这种做法传到民间，老百姓也开始制作这种健康的小吃。

Word Bank

haw n. 山楂

various adj. 各种不同的；各种各样的

originate v. 起源；发源

spread v. 传播；（使）流传