Village's sesame candy has ancient history

Luotuoya village has enjoyed much fame for its sesame candy, starting centuries ago. According to the introduction, the first inheritor of Zheng's Sesame Candy was Zheng Guoyu in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and now Zheng Shaoxu is the seventh. His grandfather, Zheng Guangzhi, is the fifth.

It is said Empress Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) especially preferred the sesame candy in Dengfeng. When standing at the summit of Songshan Mountain, she looked down toward the city, and thought the sesame production base resembled a camel, which is how the place got its name: Luotuoyuan or Luotuoya, "Camel Garden".

Sesame candy is an important food during Chinese Spring Festival. According to traditional custom, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month people offer a sacrifice to the Kitchen God, and dispatch him to the Jade Emperor to report on the family's conduct over the past year. Among the offerings, the most important are sweets, including sesame candy, which is meant to seal the Kitchen God's mouth and encourage him to only say good things about the family when he makes his report.

The whole process of making Zheng's Sesame Candy is quite complicated and needs a great deal of labor. First, the malt must be soaked in water, and watered twice each day to promote sprouting. When the malt sprouts to 3 centimeters, it is smashed. Second, corn grits are boiled into syrup in a large pot. Then the smashed malt is put into the pot and stirred. Third, the mixed liquid is cooled down and then fermented to make the final syrup. Fourth, the sugar sticks are removed and stained with sesame.