Two things a teen likes: candy and fruit. The TikTok media craze over the candied fruit trend called Tanghulu is increasing, but there is a dangerous downside to it.
Tanghulu is a Chinese food trend that is taking over social media. It is a fruit stick that is covered in a hard, “glass-like” sugar coating.
The famous crunch you get when you bite into a Tanghulu stick is surprisingly hard to perfect. To master this step, you need to boil your sugar at 300 degrees, which is a dangerously high temperature. This temperature is very dangerous for human skin, and if spilled on the skin it can cause third-degree burns.
Azerin Azarsina, a seventh-grader on the Champions team has experienced a burn from making Tanghulu.
“I got a burn and it scarred later on because I was dipping my fruits in the sugar, and the sugar melted on my hand,” said Azerin.
Serafina Joseph, a seventh-grader on the Dream Team, had a safer experience.
“I used oven mitts when I was handling the hot sugar and all the hot pans,” said Serafina.
This recipe originated in China but it became such a big trend in the U.S. too through TikTok.
“I was influenced by TikTok,” said Rishav Thakkar, a seventh-grader on the Dream team.
Serafina had a similar experience.
“I saw it on TikTok and thought it was a fun recipe,” said Serafina.
In order to be safe and successful, there are a few precautions bakers might want to follow when working with boiling sugar.
“It can be done safely by wearing oven mitts while working with the sugar,” said Azerin.
Using oven mitts when handling hot cups and pans and turning on your smoke detector can help you get a step away from getting hurt. Another setback with handling hot sugar is that if you use plastic pans and cups they can melt and leak, which can then expose you to possible threats. You can use stainless steel and glass pans and cups to avoid this.
The popular trending preference in seventh grade is to make Tanghulu with a partner’s aid to be safer. Among some seventh graders’ opinions, they say the trickiest step is watching to see if the sugar is maintaining its boiling state.
“I think this recipe is easier to make with a partner because the sugar cools really fast,” said Rishav.
Azerin also relates to this preference.
“One person can prep the fruits and the other watches the sugar boil,” said Azerin.
Mrs. Heather Sullivan, a FACS teacher in RCMS, is a pastry chef and has handled hot sugar many times.
Mrs. Sullivan does not think this recipe is safe for seventh and eighth graders because of the hot temperatures.
“It’s not safe because it’s candy making and it’s something you have to do at a high temp,” she said.
