9 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:
I do not love how less processed and "refined" things are always sold at higher prices (at least here). I can get panela here and tend to hoard it, because it's much more expensive than mainstream stuff. I have a small chunk in the pantry that's probably good for about twelve cups of tea. It's the only thing it's good for now, because I have let it become hard as a rock over time, and must chip off small pieces to melt in the tea.
Which product is more expensive in China, @liuzhou?
While it can be annoying and seemingly illogical, it is in fact simple economics. Processed and "refined" products are nearly always more popular. Yes, there is more work in producing white granulated sugar, but then it sells by the ton and can be processed by megatons. The more artisan products have fewer "processes" to go through but sell in relatively tiny quantities.
Yes. granulated white sugar (白砂糖 (bái shā táng)) is the cheapest here with 500g costing ¥3.88 today, while 冰片汤 (bīng piàn tāng) was ¥6.20 and 元宝糖 (yuán bǎo táng) was ¥7.30.
Incidentally, my supermarket tonight had 12 different sugars on sale. I'll try to put something together on them over the next few days. I had a 5:30 start this morning and just got back at 8pm. Exhausted.
