Weird Food Wednesdays: Haw Flakes

Due to some recent feedback from some unadventurous eaters (you know who you are), I've decided to select something fairly inoffensive for this week's topic:

Haw Flakes - round reddish brown wafers rolled up in bright pink wrappers. If you are Chinese, you grew up eating these like candy. Haw flakes are dirt cheap (10 rolls for less than $1) so my parents never objected when I threw a package into our shopping cart. The flavor is similar to a fruit roll-up, but the texture is less chewy. They're a bit addictive, I've actually eaten an entire roll while writing this post! The ingredients haven't changed over the years - haw, sugar, water, and red food dye. But what the heck is "haw"? Never really thought to ask before - they tasted so good it didn't matter. But thanks to Wikipedia, we now know that the primary ingredient is the fruit of the Chinese hawthorn - phew! Nothing scary about fruit (unless you happen to be talking about durian). Hawthorn is also used for medicinal purposes in aiding digestion and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol (Me HUNGRY! Disclaimer: Phyllis is NOT a doctor!).

You can find haw flakes in snack aisles of Asian markets or Chinatown.

Try them - I dare you not to like them!