Rice Cakes and Fruit Roll-Ups

By Rose Mellion
July 17, 2008

I've been trying lots of snacks from the grocery store on campus and a supermarket (very large) down the street. Here are two of my favorites: 1) a very mildly sweet crunchy cake that seems to have mini puffed rice, some dried noodles, and a few black sesame seeds for good measure and 2) an unidentified dried fruit roll. The label of the fruit roll package had a small picture of an ambiguous fruit that could have been a peach, plum, cherry, or apple.

Another American who saw the picture said that she'd bought something with that picture that turned out to be fig-flavored. This isn't fig, though, because it has more tang to it. I really can't tell exactly which fruit it is, except that it tastes very natural with no trace of artificial flavor or coloring. I'm glad I can't tell exactly which fruit (or mix of fruits) it is because that would probably mean it was supersaturated with added flavor.

I also enjoy how both of these treats are sold in packaging that looks very traditionally Chinese, as opposed to many of the foods and brands here that are either US brands (Coca-Cola, Minute Maid) or are emulating them with their packaging. A lot of the snack products and beverages here are sickeningly sweet, too, which surprised me because I'd heard that Chinese appreciated foods that were less sweet than people in the US do. (Such Chinese products are probably no sweeter than their counterparts in the US that I don't normally consume--so I my taste buds were especially caught off guard.)

My professor explained that in China's new prosperity, everything is supersaturated, with sugar, with color, with bold patterns, because these things are now available and affordable. The luxury of sugar, for example, has become a way to experience the increasing wealth of the country.

Like everything in China, though, old and new are mixed side by side, and I found my "rice cakes" and "fruit roll-ups" next to bags of potato chips and chocolates. And these traditional snacks seem so connected with China's past, whereas in the US, they are the type of food that is part of the United States' recent movement toward natural foods without preservatives, added flavorings, or artificial colors.

It seems the US is moving back towards locally grown and natural food that resembles and tastes like food and China is moving towards packaged and processed food. I don't want to brand myself as judging what is best for a culture that is not my own, but I hope that China doesn't lose its traditional elements, foods, etc. in the process. For now, though, old and new coexist in the grocery aisles.