On 1 Apr 2006 10:00:24 -0800, "
wrote:

http://www.box.net/public/static/490zvq1gf6.jpg
The berries' name is: hawthorn berries. Read about on the above link.

These are not hawthorn berries, which are tiny in comparison. The
fruit in the bottle I illustrated is the size of an olive or an acorn.

The four Chinese characters on the label says "ben tong san ja"
translate into "rock sugar san ja". As I said before, "san ja" is
hawthorn berry. The can contains peeled hawthorn berries on rock sugar
syrup. After the hawthorn berries are peeled, the berries absorb the
syrup and expanded into bigger size.

Thanks for that very specific translation of the label. My apologies.
I had not considered the possibility that there was a larger
cultivated version of the European hawthorn.

Thanks also Pat for your link to

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants....natifida+major

which gives some interesting botanical information.

That's settled then. It is hawthorn.

Anybody in Sydney who wants to try it can buy it in the supermarket
above Paddy's Market in the city. Excellent flavour.