What happened to the old funny Haw Flakes Description?

There is no such thing as bad publicity, only bad advertising

Asia Grocery got a little publicity when I [Marty] posted the CardHouse.com Haw Flakes article.  I wanted to throw together a page to play a joke on my best friend Ky. The  page was never meant for mass web consumption, but the page did make it into Google.  In the year the article was up the web site attracted, April foolers, numerous bots, the USDA and FDA, and ultimately, the article author, who demanded I take down his article. I had said the article was written by a clueless American, also I took the article without permission. Two insults to someone I have never met and who's writing I know from only one article. For this I apologize.

The Haw Flakes Anecdote

Though the original article seemed to look down on Haw Flakes; the fact remains that it is a very accurate account of the typical occidental reaction to Haw Flakes.

I have taken Haw Flakes to schools in North Carolina where the kids know candy when they see it, but adults see the chinese characters on the package and inevitably drawl, "I'm not eatin' 'em 'til you can tell me what's in 'em." This coming from a person who probably ate souse for breakfast.

At one time haw would have been well known in rural areas.  Haw is now all but forgotten.  I have on been able to find a handful of people who could remember their grandmother putting haw in many dishes she made. 

These days hawthorn is primarily used as a landscaping plant, and the berries are left for the birds.  Parents tell their kids, "Don't eat the berries or you'll die!" 

Haw Flake are not made of pig guts and they are not made of flowers. They're made of berries

What exactly are haw flakes? Haw Flakes are a great portable fuit snack.  The taste is similar to cranberry or crabapple. Flake consistency is slight granular, dry and has a kind paper feel,  but don't let that stop you from trying Haw Flakes.

Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) is a small flowering tree with thorns. The hawthorn produces berries in the fall, and it is the berries that are called haw. The Haw Flakes package has a good depiction of hawthorn leaves and berries on the outer wrapper. Mashed and sugared liberally, the hawthorn berries are made into Haw Flakes (contrary to popular belief, you are not eating the hawthorn flower ). There are several varieties of hawthorn and they are very hard to tell one from another.  You are probably more familiar with the hawthorn than you realize, as hawthorn can be mistaken for holly. Holly has spiked leaves and produces berries years round. Please refrain from eating holly berries.

Thorn and Buds

Don't Eat The Flowers

The hawthorn herbal myth.

There have been people on the 'net saying that haw speeds up the metabolism and aids in weight loss. Maybe, but Haw Flakes are sugared before being cooked (4 grams of sugar per 12.5g Roli [sic]). And I doubt that any herbal qualities remain in Haw Flakes after cooking. I asked one Chinese woman if she thought Haw Flakes had any special properies. She told me she gives Haw Flakes (this person called them "sahn sah ban" in Cantonese) to her kids to enhance their appetite before dinner.  A thought echoed by many of the people I asked.

Source Information for this page

Merriam-Websters Dictionary take on haw and hawthorn.
(From the book or http://www.m-w.com/)

Haw - a hawthorn berry

Hawthorn - (Crataegus) of spring-flowering spiny shrubs of the rose family with glossy and often lobed leaves, white or pink fragrant flowers, and small red fruits

(From http://www.etymonline.com/)
haw - fruit of the hawthorn (see below)

hawthorn - O.E. hagaþorn, earlier hæguþorn. First element is obsolete haw "hedge or encompassing fence" (corresponding to M.Du. hage, as in The Hague), from O.E. haga "enclosure, hedge," from P.Gmc. *khag-.

Export sources

• Bamboo Brand
• Happiness Brand (Yantai Foodstuffs)
  

(this is the company for the product shown below)
Haw Flakes (Happiness Brand) are exported by:

Yantai Foodstuffs I/E Corp (Established 1956)
Shandong, China
Address 11 Taiping Street, Yantai, CHINA

Project Manager and Company Owner: Cai Zhi Fang

Telephone Number +86-535-6215217
FAX Number +86-535-6214702
E-mail Address ytfiec@public.ytptt.sd.cn

Photos of Haw Flakes packaging
Classic:

	Roll Seal
	Roll Wrapper
	Haw Flake Disk

	Ego, from Malayasia.  Http://www.keeweehupkee.com/

Made from Haw, but not haw flakes.  Yida uses a more modern packing.  The haw cookie is about 15% larger than the original Haw Flakes product.  Shelf life is listed as 1 year, and you can exchange them if you think you got a bad pack (according to the information on the back).

Return to the Asia Grocery Home Page

By, Marty - 4 April, 2003
Send comments to: sancharban@asiagrocery.com

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