Rock Sugar for Pickling in Sichuan

These large chunks of rock sugar used in pickling are often not made from sugarcane. In Sichuan, people tend to use maltose-based sugar in their pickling jars. It is less sweet and is believed to balance the acidity without turning the brine sweet, while also helping keep the jar stable. Vegetables pickled this way also tend to stay more crisp. Granulated sugar or traditional rock sugar made from sugarcane is more commonly used for seasoning or to speed up fermentation, rather than for maintaining long-term pickling.