Crack seed is a family of Hawaiian snacks which originated in China. Much of Hawaiian food has been heavily influenced by Asian cuisine and flavors, and the taste of crack seed is much closer to the flavors of China than anything made in the United States. Hawaiians greatly enjoy crack seed, shopping at crack seed stores which often include an assortment of snack foods, while mainlanders are sometimes puzzled by the array at a crack seed shop.

The term “crack seed” references the way in which crack seed is prepared. It is traditionally made by preserving fruit intact with its seed, and cracking the fruit to expose the seed. Not all crack seed snacks include the seed today, but the “crack seed” name has stuck. Other people use the Chinese terms li hing mui or to refer to crack seed, and Hawaiians sometimes refer to “li hing” as a specific flavor.

These snacks originated in the very practical need to preserve fruit so that it could be used year round. The Chinese were fond of preserving fruits like plums in salt, so that the fruit could be carried on long journeys, and they acquired a taste for heavily salted, slightly sweet preserved foods which they brought with them to Hawaii. Along the way, the flavors of crack seed snacks expanded, and today it's possible to find sweet crack seed, chocolate covered snacks, and snacks infused with licorice, lemon, and other flavors.

People who have not been raised eating snacks of Asian origin may struggle to appreciate crack seed. The fruit in traditional crack seed snacks is withered and leathery, unlike the plump, colorful dried fruits preserved with sulfides on the mainland. It may also be hard, intensely salty, or strongly sour, with crack seed typically having a very strong taste which may be unexpected to people who are not familiar with li hing mui.

Some stores sell a mixture of crack seed flavors, with some tailored towards people with more sensitive taste buds. Tourist shops, for example, tend to carry more conventional dried fruit, rather than stocking things like salt-preserved plums. However, for people with adventurous taste buds, a visit to a traditional crack seed store can be quite an experience. Many of the same foods sold in crack seed shops can also be found in Chinese groceries all over the world, from salt preserved plums to sweet dried lychees.