How Danish Cookies Became Hong Kong’s Favorite Lunar New Year Snack

” It’s like an old childhood friend you never saw, but unusually miss when you live thousands miles far from home,” says Calif Chong, a born-and-raised Hongkonger that currently lives in London. “The cookies are delicious, however the most effective part is the tin! My mama has actually put needles, patches, and switches she makes use of for stitching inside considering that I remained in key school.”

Success in Hong Kong inspired the brand name to change its emphasis from Denmark to the Asia-Pacific area. Presently, over 80 percent of Kjeldsens’ result is shipped abroad. You might register a couple of confused looks when giving out the brand name’s buttery treats around Nyhavn, however thousands of miles eastward, a “blue tin cookie” can earn you an auspicious red package from an auntie as the Year of Snake rolls around.

According to Kjeldsens, their message was clearly received: 86 percent of Hongkongers either purchase or consume their butter cookies around the Lunar New Year. This lines up with the United Country’s trade data, which indicates exports in the “wonderful biscuits” classification from Denmark to Hong Kong escalate every October and November, as retail stores stock up the cookies just in time for the January shopping frenzy leading up to the huge vacation.

Few Hongkongers have a clue about exactly how the brand name is obvious– they’re in your area called “blue tin cookies” after the typical container– nor does the tin’s navy color enhance the red combination dominating Lunar New Year parties. “The cookies are delicious, yet the ideal part is the tin! Given that 1977, the company has actually spun out neighborhood commercials nearly every year stressing the worth of gifting a Kjeldsens cookie tin. According to Kjeldsens, their message was clearly obtained: 86 percent of Hongkongers either purchase or consume their butter cookies around the Lunar New Year. You may register a few baffled appearances when handing out the brand’s buttery treats around Nyhavn, however thousands of miles eastward, a “blue tin cookie” can gain you an advantageous red packet from an auntie as the Year of Serpent rolls around.

That all altered with Hong Kong’s economic boom of the 1970s. “Living criteria grew rapidly ever since, and people started looking for something to munch on in between meals,” Lui says.” This led to the appearance of Chinese-style pastries, complied with rapidly by Western treats.”

“Substance identified just how a present was gotten back then. Loading butter biscuits, for instance, were chosen to candies,” Lui states. “But kind brought equally as much weight. The large size of the container sufficed to make its discussion a phenomenon. Its shiny surface area and sophisticated graphics transformed the theatrics up another notch.”

When they first showed up in Hong Kong, Kjeldsens’ cookies were taken pleasure in by tiny, upscale circles. “Snacking had not been popular in the ’50s and ’60s, when a lot of the populace was much more worried regarding surviving,” claims Ka Chun Lui, a long time Hong Kong food author and the founder of Word by Word Collective, an author and book shop concentrating on food culture.

With the center classes able to afford the imported treats, Kjeldsens kicked local advertising and marketing right into high gear, specifically when it pertained to advertising their product for Lunar New Year and other holiday events. The hook? That trademark tin: A prominent gift that assisted purchasers assert their social standing among their peers on big occasions.

Considering that 1977, the firm has actually churned out neighborhood commercials practically each year highlighting the worth of gifting a Kjeldsens cookie tin. The early ads of the ’80s and ’70s included youngsters at family members events, often flaunting their Western music chops to boot, passing the baked delights to a group of beaming loved ones. Appealing jingles hammered the message home. Verses such as “it’s inadequate manners to bring a number of bananas [an allegory for vacant hands] to visit buddies and family members” and “Danish blue tin cookies constantly excite” basically set out the dos and do n’ts for Hongkongers if they were to rack up social factors at vital congratulatory rituals.

This Lunar New Year in Hong Kong the likes of wu ha (taro fritter spheres), yau gok (fried wonderful dumplings), and roasted melon seed will certainly rest upon tables at family members celebrations, beneficial guests as they outsmart their siblings at the mahjong table or reconnect with a far-off cousin they have not seen in ages.

Yet the title of the best seasonal treat mosts likely to an unlikely candidate: cookies made in Denmark by the nearly century-old brand name Kjeldsens. Couple of Hongkongers have a clue about just how the brand is obvious– they’re locally called “blue tin cookies” after the emblematic container– nor does the tin’s navy shade enhance the red combination dominating Lunar New Year events. Just the same, myriad cookie box sets are piled like fortresses at supermarkets before locating their way into essentially every household. People dispute over whether the ring-shaped bread is superior to its pretzel-like, sugar-adorned counterpart, and the other way around. Even the tins are developed into objects of sentimental value, kept for keeping trinkets.

According to Kjeldsens, we have Roger Lobo, a Hong Kong businessman, to thank for this amazing episode of social exchange. He purchased an example from Kjeldsens, only for the cookies to arrive in crumbles in a cardboard box.