A small Waipahu family business is still hand-making Hawaii's favorite snack, but the trade may not survive another generation.

• Jade Food has been making crack seed in a Waipahu warehouse since 1961, now run by second-generation president Dean Ho.
• The company sells over 50 kinds of seed, from rock salt to mango to dry lemon peel, with some batches taking weeks to marinate.
• The work is almost entirely by hand, and every batch has to be tasted because no two come out the same.
• Founder Hollis Ho first tried selling pizza in Hawaii, found he was too early for it, and switched to crack seed after a learning trip to Taiwan.
• Crack seed is increasingly an older-generation taste, and there is real doubt that many people will still be making it in 20 or 30 years.

Outlook: A third generation is now joining the business, but the craft's future depends on younger customers keeping the taste alive.