What is "zaotang"

Zaotang (Chinese: 灶糖; Pinyin: Zào Táng; Literally "hearth candy") or "candy for the Kitchen God" is a kind of candy made of maltose that people in China use as a sacrifice to the kitchen god around the twenty third day of the twelfth lunar month just before Chinese New Year. According to its difference in shape, zaotang is also called Guandong tang (Chinese: 关东糖； Pinyin: Guān Dōng Táng) or Tanggua (Chinese: 糖瓜; Pinyin: Táng Guā; Literally "sugar melon"). Guandong tang refers to stick shaped candy with a thickness of 2 cm and a hollow in the center. Tanggua is made into melon shape and sometimes with sesame on the surface.

As the legend goes, the Kitchen God is sent to the earth by the Jade Emperor to supervise life of every household. The Kitchen god will return to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the past year to the Jade Emperor on the 23rd of 12th lunar month, which is called the Kitchen God Festival or the Little new year. People offer the Zaotang to Kitchen God to sweeten his words to the Jade Emperor or to stick his teeth together to prevent him saying bad words.

Zaotang are only produced around the Kitchen God Festival when most part of China is experiencing freezing weather. The candies are sold outside on the street so that they won't melt and the tiny bubbles inside the candy create a special crispy and fragrant taste.