Twenty-three honeydew melon sticky refers to "eating stove candy", not eating persimmons. It is important to say it three times. This melon paste actually refers to stove candy.

What does stove candy mean?

Boiled sugar is an ancient traditional name. It is not only food for the Spring Festival, but also a sacrifice. The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is what China people often say, and the custom of this day is to "send the Lord". It is said that the kitchen god will ascend to heaven on this day, so every household will offer honeydew melons (also called kitchen god candy) to keep the kitchen god's mouth shut and not talk nonsense in front of the jade emperor. Some people say that it is to make the kitchen god sweet, put in a good word in front of the jade emperor, and let the family have a more prosperous future.

Legend has it that Lord Zao is a god sent by the Jade Emperor to supervise good and evil. He has the responsibility to communicate with people, contact the feelings between heaven and earth, and convey the information between fairyland and human beings. When it went to heaven, people gave it stove candy, hoping that it would eat sweets and say good things in front of the Jade Emperor. It is also said that the candy used for offering sacrifices to the stove is not stuck on the mouth of the stove owner, but on the mouth of the grandmother who is greedy and loves to gossip.

What's the name of the candy eaten on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month?

1, sugar melon

There is a folk song in Beijing, "Melon Sacrifices to the Kitchen". The first food to enter the festival is honeydew melon for "offering sacrifices to the stove". Melon is round and plump in appearance, made of maltose and slightly sour in sweetness. It's a good snack, but it's rare now. When it is put outside in winter, because of the cold weather, the honeydew melon solidifies very firmly, and there are some tiny bubbles in it, which tastes crisp, sweet and sticky and has a special flavor.

2. popcorn candy

The folks in Jing' an county are known as "small years and small years, and the rice is sweet." On the "off-year" day, people make popcorn candy with maltose and popcorn, which means that the new year will be rich and sweet.

Popcorn is full of sugar, satisfying and tasty when chewed. The more direct reason for the popularity of popcorn candy is its taste: it is a favorite food of men, women and children in Xian Yi, which combines the crispness of popcorn with the sweetness and softness of brown sugar and caramel.

3. Sesame candy

Sesame sugar is a kind of square sugar that sticks fried rice, peanuts and dates together with syrup. Used to "paste" the kitchen god's mouth so that he can put in a good word in front of the jade emperor. There is a saying in the northwest of Shanxi that "you can't chew your fingers with sesame candy." Sesame candy is famous for its unique flavor of fragrance, sweetness and crispness. It is fragrant but not flowery, sweet but not greasy, and has endless aftertaste. It is nutritious, contains protein, glucose and vitamins, and has the effects of warming lung, nourishing stomach, nourishing liver and tonifying kidney. It was once a tribute of the Qing Dynasty and a dessert that prevailed for a hundred years.

4.kwantung sugar

Guandong Sugar is also called Chef King Sugar and Big Sugar. After one year, it will only be sold around the next year. Guandong sugar is a sugar product made of malt and millet, which is used to worship the kitchen god. The Chronicle of Yanjing written by the Qing Dynasty records that there are "Guandong Sugar" and "Sugar Cake" in the offerings of the Qing Dynasty.

Why do you want to eat sugar in off-year

According to folklore, Kitchen God was originally a star in the sky. Because he made a mistake, he was demoted to the world by the Jade Emperor and became an "oriental chef". He sat in the middle of the kitchen stoves, observed how people lived and acted, and recorded all the good and bad things in detail. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, he turned to the next day and told the Jade Emperor about the good and evil of every household. On the night of the twelfth lunar month, he returned to earth to punish evil and promote good according to the jade emperor's will.

Therefore, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, people will offer sacrifices to the kitchen god, give him sticky and sweet honeydew melons and stick his mouth, so that he can "speak well in the sky and keep peace underground".

Rural customs, every year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, on the day of offering sacrifices to the kitchen god, take pieces of maltose, put it in an iron pot, heat it to soften it, add sesame seeds, roll it into thin slices about 3 mm thick with a rolling pin, separate it with a knife, and eat it after the temperature subsides. The taste is mellow, crisp but not greasy. It's hard to see now.