What is li hing powder made of

Q: What is li hing mui powder used for?

Youll also find red li hing, a ground-up powder of plum skin that was soaked in a combination of sugar, salt, licorice, and food coloring. The fine powder is then used to coat candies, like gummy bears, fruit belts, and other sticky sweets. Its also used to make syrups for shave ice.

Photo: Martha Cheng

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Where is li hing powder from?
Does all li hing mui powder have aspartame?
What is li hing mui powder used for?
Is li hing powder vegan?

I’m not sure how many people out there really care that most li hing mui powder contains artificial food coloring and aspartame. Not being able to add li hing powder to my grocery cart at Whole Foods isn’t on my list of Things I Fret About (Whole Foods prohibits artificial colorings and sweeteners in the products they carry). But I love that OnoPops is crazy and passionate enough to have recreated our favorite crackseed powder by blending white licorice and pharmaceutical-grade pure ume for their own all-natural mix. It’s like having the gall of trying to reproduce Coca Cola.

And so, like a Coca Cola copy, OnoPops’ li hing powder doesn’t taste exactly the same as "the real thing", but I love the OnoPops product for its differences. It’s salty-sweet with the strong pucker of ume, unclouded by the lingering tongue-ache of aspartame.

But what about the color? White li hing powder? Did no one learn their lesson from Crystal Pepsi? It turns out, OnoPops does sell a pink li hing powder at the farmers’ markets. It’s made with carmine, a natural red dye, but for Whole Foods, OnoPops leaves the dye out because carmine’s fine print is that it’s made from crushed beetles, making the powder vegan-unfriendly.

Beetles or no, I love this stuff.

OnoPops’ Li hing powder available at Whole Foods Kahala and Blaisdell Farmer’s Market, Wednesdays 4-7pm

Where is li hing powder from?

Li hing mui is a Hawaii dried plum treat that comes in the form of a seed (for snacking) and powder (for sprinkling on anything from shave ice to fresh fruits). It is sweet, salty, and sour!

Does all li hing mui powder have aspartame?

Also, please be aware that anything with Li Hing Mui powder does contain Aspartame.

What is li hing mui powder used for?

You'll also find red li hing, a ground-up powder of plum skin that was soaked in a combination of sugar, salt, licorice, and food coloring. The fine powder is then used to coat candies, like gummy bears, fruit belts, and other sticky sweets. It's also used to make syrups for shave ice.

Is li hing powder vegan?

It turns out, OnoPops does sell a pink li hing powder at the farmers' markets. It's made with carmine, a natural red dye, but for Whole Foods, OnoPops leaves the dye out because carmine's fine print is that it's made from crushed beetles, making the powder vegan-unfriendly.

li hing powder made