HELP - Sweet Potato Snack

[foodielife123]

Hello, I got these snacks from Beijing but am not sure what exactly they are or what the wrapper says - can someone help? Is this real sweet potato or mostly sugar, and does anyone have approximate nutrition information?

 

Thanks!! <3

 

Here's a picture of the snacks - 

 

[abcdefg]

I cannot advise about those specific items, but as a general rule of thumb, processed packaged snack food in China or anyplace else in the world is not going to be very healthy. Usually full of sugar, fat and salt, or some combination of that evil magic trio.

[abcdefg]

As to more healthy snacks that are easily available here in China, think about nuts and dried fruits.

 

Some popular dried fruits, wrapped and easy to just stuff in a pocket or a purse, are plums 梅子 and hawthorne fruit 山楂。Peanuts, cashews and almonds are popular.

 

Young Chinese consume a huge amount of junk food, with middle school kids probably being the worst offenders. Their elders call this stuff 零食 which is a descriptive term for snacks with no nutritional value. 零 "ling" means zero and 食 "shi" means food. 

[li3wei1]

I find it hard to believe dried hawthorn fruit are going to get eaten without some serious additives, like sugar or salt. But I'm ready to be surprised, yet again, by Chinese dietary practices. I've got a hawthorn tree and a dehydrator, so I'm ready to give it a go.

[abcdefg]

LiWei -- That would be a great test.

 

These little individually wrapped hawthorn fruits in my cupboard don't list 白砂糖 or 食盐 as ingredients, but they do list a couple others in a type face too tiny to be legible. Probably eye of newt, toe of frog and radioactive isotopes of Chromium.

 

They are pretty tart, but not "make-your-mouth-pucker"tart.

[Demonic_Duck]

零食 just means snacks (small items of food). In this context, 零 just means fragmentary, cf. 零售 retail. Nothing to do with nutritional value.

[abcdefg]

Yes, Demonic_Duck, it seems you are correct. I still kind of like my home-made version better because it captures the spirit of "junk food." But I will not argue the point.

[foodielife123]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. These are squishy gummy-like snacks that taste only a bit like sweet potato. Does anyone know what exactly is in these? Added sugar? Starch? Potato? Thanks

[foodielife123]

Here's a better picture of the wrapper and ingredients - I really appreciate all the help! http://www.noncenbao.com/goods/281658.html