As many parents may know, there is a National Day/Month for just about everything. From National Bloody Mary Day (January 1st) to National Condiment Month (September), there is always something to celebrate.
Guess what month June is? National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month. I had no idea that it existed, but yay for celebrating health!
When I heard there was such a thing, I obliged when my daughter asked to make a fresh fruit recipe she found on TikTok. My 8-year-old daughter is an adventurous eater. My son is more part of the ‘I only eat beige foods club.’ I still have no idea how my daughter found this recipe, as she doesn’t have a TikTok account yet, but that’s another issue.
She showed me a video of how to make Tanghulu, a Chinese candied fruit snack. Tanghulu, also known as bingtang hulu, is a fruit skewer in a hardened crystallized sugar coating. Traditionally, it is made with red hawthorn berries and is also eaten as a snack in Japan and Korea. Many people are now recreating it using other fruits like strawberries, grapes, or clementines. It has become a viral sensation; celebrities are making Tanghulu, and influencers are making it and using it in their ASMR videos.
In honor of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, we made Tanghulu. My daughter loves it and wants to make it constantly, and my son, who seldom digests fruits or vegetables, ate a few, so I’m calling that a win.
To make Tanghulu, you only need water, sugar, and fruit (washed and dry).
Instructions:
- Boil one cup of water and two cups of sugar on medium heat. Do not stir, and boil until 300 degrees (I put a thermometer in; boiling takes approximately 20 minutes).
- Prepare an ice bath and a bowl of cold water with ice cubes, and put them aside.
- Put fruit on skewers toward the bottom of the skewer.
- When the sugar water is ready, turn the heat off or to low.
- Dip the fruit skewer into the sugar water mixture.
- Put the skewer into the ice bath for a few seconds (it should be hard).
- Place on a baking sheet to cool
After a few tries, we have learned you have to dip rather quickly because the sugar coating overheats and then burns. We only do one or two pieces of fruit on a skewer because it’s easier to dip.
