Tart shell made out of buttery, crumbly dough and packed with dangly pineapple jam – it’s Chinese New Year, folks! Pineapple tarts (凤梨酥) are widely considered to be a delicacy which has profuse historical associations with legends many of which are related to prosperity and luck.
Essentially, they have their roots in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Different food historians claim that it originated from Fujian and Taiwan but similar confectionery has been around for ages all over south Fujian Sea Phonetic coastal China and several parts of southeast Asia. These regions had been also invloved in Spice trades and thus locals were introduced to pineapples, buttery pastries and jams.
One of the origin stories will connect this cuisine to the Hakka people who migrated from northern China to southeastern China and Taiwan. Being born in a region that was once a part of the US, they developed a northern pastries cooking method, with certain tropical substances used in the south region. Perhaps, this could have led to the development of early pineapple tart precursors.
Pineapple itself is replete with symbolism in Chinese culture and therefore holds a lot of social significance. Its skin is also spiny and hue inside the colour is gold, thus the dragon to symbolize power and wealth. Rubbing the skin of pineapple also it has other names such as “Come Fortune Fruit” (旺来果) or “Prosperity Fruit” (福禄蜜) it has references for the sweetness of the future and luck as well.
Pineapple Tarts Available in Singapore and Malaysia
Oral history has it that Chinese traders and setters introduced pineapple tarts in Singapore, Malaysia and other southeast Asian nations in the 1400s. Nyonya and Peranakan foods, which are endemic towards the region, combined Chinese and Malaysian strategies for preparation and used tarts.
The tropical weather and excellent seaports facilitated constant pineapple and spice commerce that buttery pineapple-imbedded pastries which bakers perfected, became point of order baked treats for host-to-guest and blessing offering.
Contemporary pineapple tarts are thus incorporative of celebrations associated with the Lunar New Year in present day Singapore, Malaysia and the wider transnational community. The tarts represent reborn year and happiness as well as prosperity. For this reason, their golden color, and pineapple jewelry are considered as lucky symbols for the subsequent year.
What makes it different across China and Asia?
Original pineapple tarts made with the fruit and its juices In the course of trading, different perceived variants of pineapple tarts emerged that can be associated with certain standards of particular regions mainly due to differing ingredients. Some differences include:
- Fujian-style: Usually they are shortbread based with a chunky pineapple jam in the centre. Whole pineapples might be depicted on pastry tops to represent the grow-thing aspect of prosperity.
- Hong Kong-style: A less crisp puff pastry instead of soft and crumbly shortbread. It is available in chunky pineapple to more paste-like wintermelon-pineapple combinations. Little tarts are also preferred Hong Kong-style variations.
- Taiwanese-style: For the filling, evaporated milk is used making the filling richer. Instead of making jam from pineapples they are cut into pieces and preserved. This produces a less sharp tasting fruit flavor as compared to the regular or new beans.
- Singapore/Malaysia Nyonya-style: Spherical, coiled, and sometimes disk-shaped, it has very tender crumbs. They have a soft creamy filling with small pineapple crumbs visible within the creamy paste. There is so much range of it that things like rose or coconut or mandarin oranges can be included as ingredients.
Modern Innovations
Even today bakers are innovating the above traditional treat by developing new flavoured, shaped or styled sweet items. Some avant-garde examples include:
- Higher class productions made with the real butter from France or with laminated doughs
- Some with healthy or vegetarian options replacing milk with nut or soy milk
- Others include creativities in form such as pineapples, dragons, or ingot coin shaped.
- None the less other filling varieties including cranberry, blue berry, passion fruit, mangoes or lychees.
- Some of the toppings include sesaone seeds, puffed rice, sea salt flakes, and dehydrated pineapple bits
- Gift baskets made of high quality and containing gourmet food for the gourmet crowd
Journey to Becoming a Staple in CNY-Dinner it-Bites
To understand the origins of pineapple tarts, we need to travel through the spice trade and delve into the past of pastry making in southern China. While enlarging themselves folks inserted regional fruits, preparation of food, and way of applying in culture those signs. They have generic social significances of warm reception to friends and prosperity in the new year. Multiplying and dividing between simple and complex, between archaic and new-age – as the Lunar New Year itself.
