The ‘festival of light’, Diwali, is synonymous with gifting sweets. Sweet hampers are common around this time, and they are prepared for friends and family as auspicious symbols of prosperity and good fortune. The Indian sweet landscape has a wide variety of options, beyond the familiar favourites.
In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Umesh Kumar Agarwal, director, Haldiram Marketing Pvt. Ltd. shared practical tips on choosing sweets – when to buy different varieties, which types to gift for different occasions and, most importantly, how to avoid food waste.
How many days before Diwali should you buy different sweets?
“Anything fresh and milky, say rasgulla, rasmalai, sandesh, kalakand or milk cake, should come home the day before Diwali or that very morning. Instead of buying everything in one go, divide your purchases to help keep sweets fresh. Umesh also reminded buyers to check the best-before date and storage instructions on each pack. Gifting sweets at Diwali is a loving gesture, but boxes can pile up and end up going to waste. This is why you need to plan your purchases and avoid buying too much. People also carry sweets over long distances when travelling home to celebrate Diwali.
In this case, Umesh advised, “If the travel involves covering a long distance, then dry sweets such as laddoos or dry fruits should be preferred over milk-based sweets or sweets soaked in syrup, since the former can be easily carried and even last longer.”
