An amateur baker in Penghu County is using pastries to draw attention to the plight of endangered sea turtles.
Green sea turtles and their eggs used to be an important source of protein for people on the outlying islands, as it was difficult to transport food supplies to the islands, baker Lin Ya-wen (林雅雯) said.
However, the turtles have become a symbol for environmental conservation and people use their image in creative products, she said, giving as an example the turtle-shaped pineapple buns she makes.
Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Taipei Times
Lin said she hopes the buns will be popular at next year’s Lantern Festival in Penghu.
Lin said she volunteers at community organizations in Magong to help disadvantaged families and she sees the buns as a way to raise awareness about the community’s needs.
The aim is for the buns to draw attention to conservation efforts, she said, adding that she never expected them to become popular with friends and the community.
“I used matcha for the turtle’s shell and chocolate to dot the eyes... I use hsiang-ju extract [Glossogyne tenuifolia, a Chinese herbal medicine] to reduce the fat content and add fragrance,” she said.
The buns have a shelf life of only three days, so she bakes them to order, she said.
Lin said she has been approached by a temple that wants to have the buns available for Lantern Festival on Feb. 19 next year.
Sea turtles are symbols of auspiciousness and longevity in Penghu culture, she said, adding that a local expression says: “Touching the head of a turtle will cause a building to rise, touching its tail will fill the building with furniture, touching its shell will bring steady business, touching its feet will bring great wealth.”
Lin said she is working with Ching Hao Baking Workshop to teach others how to make the buns.
Instructor Hu Chun-hao (胡君豪) comes from a family of bakers, she said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS