Circa 640 CE, a Chinese confectioner appears to have made the first known sour sweets.
A stone tablet discovered near the ancient city of Chang’an describes a recipe involving sugar and fermented plum juice, which would have made a treat that was extremely sour.
It is evident that the idea caught on, with Flying Saucers, Toxic Waste and Sherbet Lemons among the sweets believed to have been first produced in the period.
“The Tang people were quite fond of them,” said Professor Wei Zhang of the Institute of Ancient Gastronomic Sciences.
The discovery may also explain some of the unusual expressions found in early Chinese artwork.