Tanghulu Trend: Several US Children Suffer Severe Burns While Making Viral 'Glass Fruit' At Home

From Dalgona coffee to Ema Datshi, social media has often fueled several recipes, making them one of the trendiest foods on the internet and encouraging people to recreate their versions at home. One such viral food item on TikTok is 'Tanghulu' - a Chinese candy wherein fruits like grapes and berries are put on a skewer and dipped in hot and melted sugar to achieve a transparent glass-like coating over the fruits. However, this recipe is not easy and dealing with liquid hot sugar can be risky. 

Doctors from Shriners Children's Hospital, Boston, US, have issued a warning against the trend in a recent press release, after seeing a correlated increase in children coming in with severe burn injuries after spilling hot sugar. Surgeon Colleen Ryan, M.D., said she saw two patients in two weeks alone come in due to this trend.

This 'glass fruit' candy was originally made by street vendors in China who use a metal pan to heat the sugar. However, TikTokers have popularised a quick method to make this attractive and trending sweet treat at home in just five minutes in the microwave. For this, sugar must be heated to at least 300 F in the microwave. If this hot and sticky sugar comes into contact with your skin, it can lead to a dangerous injury. 

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Dr Ryan explains, "If spilt, it can create a severe scald burn, much like spilling hot soup, but it can cause a much deeper burn because of sugar's properties. Kids or teens can quickly grab the pot or bowl and the hot fluid splashes, spills or splatters over them. The result is one or several small but very deep burns, often in critical areas such as the hand or the face."

Word of mouth between Dr Ryan's colleagues across the country and internationally reports that other doctors and hospitals are also seeing an increase in patients suffering from such deep scald burns after seeing this recipe trend on the popular social media platform.

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While the recipe may look fun and harmless in a video, it is a challenging recipe in reality. If you want to try it at home, it should be done with proper cooking safety, parental supervision and preventive measures. In case a burn occurs, Dr Ryan says to immediately put 20 minutes of cool water on the part that was burned. Do not put ice on a burn and seek immediate medical attention.