Killing some time at the Delhi airport, I wandered across these choke hazards. Indian lore says that this sweet used to be square in shape and made in wooden blocks as far back as 10 AD. The story furthers tells of a village man who choked many times eating his favorite treat, which prompted the village high priest to declare in 11 AD that laddus shall no longer be square. He decreed that it shall be round for safety as he believed it would be easier to ingest.
Fast forward to 2022 AD when a man in the US choked violently almost to the point of suing his relative.
As a public service to help newbie’s learn about the safety of eating laddus, I have created this scale called the Likelihood of Choking Rating (LCR):
LCR 1 – safe to consume without liquid
LCR 2 – safe to consume only with a preceding dry swallow
LCR 3 – have a warm liquid by your side
LCR 4 – if you want to disown a family member
LCR 5 – suicide
This year the laddu treat is celebrating its 740th year of existence. What could you do to make laddus better for you, too?
