While visiting Xinjiang in the summer of 2012, I came across a stand in Kashgar selling ground nuts and honey. Xinjiang is very famous for its fresh honey and has many different varieties. A few of us bought honey so fresh that the vendor had yet to scoop the dead bees out of it. The owners let us taste-test their different types of honey and told us that you can tell the quality of honey by the amount of bees that swarm around it. To prove his point, he opened the most expensive and highest quality honey and all of the bees immediately swarmed it, leaving the lesser quality honey behind.

Ladling the dead bees out of the fresh honey

After selecting our honey, it was time to choose from a variety of nuts. My friend and I chose almonds and walnuts. The nuts were added to a bowl and fresh honey was poured on top. The man mixed the nuts and honey together and fed the mixture through a grinder until it was a rough consistency and could be eaten with a spoon.

pouring fresh honey over the nuts

feeding the nut honey mixture through the grinder

I couldn’t wait to try a spoonful; it was nutty, creamy and sweet. As we were ordering and taste testing, a crowd grew around us as locals came to sit and watch the foreigners try this delicious snack. If you ever go to Kashgar, Xinjiang, be sure to find this shop by crossing the main square outside the Id Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China.

What do you think? Does this mixture sound good or weird (or both?!). Anyone going to attempt this at home?

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