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Mooncakes still top the list of holiday treats
By Tao Jiming and Zhang Qian |
September 27, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE mooncake is one of the traditional foods eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Su Shi, a great poet of the Northern Song Dynasty (960?1127), described the delicacy as "a little cake in the shape of the moon, crisp on the outside and sweet inside." His tribute shows that mooncakes had already appeared during that era.
The moon cake became an essential dessert for the Mid-Autumn Festival during the Yuan Dynasty (1271?1368). It's said that the Han people planned to revolt and overthrow the brutal yoke of Mongolian invaders, but because the Mongols maintained such tight surveillance over the populace, it was difficult for insurrectionists to communicate their plans.
The clever Han turned to the custom of eating mooncakes. Legend has it that Zhang Shicheng from Gaoyou city in Jiangsu Province called upon the Han people of southern China to rise up against the Mongols. To get the word out, mooncakes were passed around, with little messages attached to their bottoms: Uprising on the 15th of the eighth month (of the lunar calendar). The custom of attaching small pieces of paper to the bottom of traditional Suzhou-style moon cakes is still practiced today.
Lao Da Fang, Xin Ya Cantonese Restaurant and Xing Hua Lou became celebrated for their mooncakes in Shanghai.
From the 1930s to the 1970s, the Kang Le Biscuit Factory at the West Gate of Jiading was famed for its mooncakes, which contained various fillings, including ginkgo, rose and red bean paste. The large factory turned out enough cakes to satisfy the market demand of people in Jiading District.
There were relatively few meat-filled mooncakes available at that time because of preserving difficulties.
Guangdong-style moon cakes appeared later. They also became popular among consumers and shared a market dominance with traditional Suzhou-style mooncakes.
Mooncakes made in Jiading mainly feature the Suzhou-style. The processing is quite a procedure. Ghee, or clarified butter, is added to the flour, which in turn is kneaded into a dough that is formed into many layers. The outer shell is quite crispy after baking. The fillings are still mainly gingko, rose and bean paste.
In olden times, only rich families in Jiading could afford to buy mooncakes from stores, either for eating themselves or for giving as gifts. Poor family had to make the dessert themselves at home. They often used sweet potato or dried vegetable as fillings. The home-made mooncakes lacked the fine sheen and exquisite shape of store-bought varieties, but they were nonetheless very tasty and provided poorer households a holiday activity involving the whole family.
Local people today still exchange mooncakes as gifts with friends and relatives following the ancient custom.
Su Shi, a great poet of the Northern Song Dynasty (960?1127), described the delicacy as "a little cake in the shape of the moon, crisp on the outside and sweet inside." His tribute shows that mooncakes had already appeared during that era.
The moon cake became an essential dessert for the Mid-Autumn Festival during the Yuan Dynasty (1271?1368). It's said that the Han people planned to revolt and overthrow the brutal yoke of Mongolian invaders, but because the Mongols maintained such tight surveillance over the populace, it was difficult for insurrectionists to communicate their plans.
The clever Han turned to the custom of eating mooncakes. Legend has it that Zhang Shicheng from Gaoyou city in Jiangsu Province called upon the Han people of southern China to rise up against the Mongols. To get the word out, mooncakes were passed around, with little messages attached to their bottoms: Uprising on the 15th of the eighth month (of the lunar calendar). The custom of attaching small pieces of paper to the bottom of traditional Suzhou-style moon cakes is still practiced today.
Lao Da Fang, Xin Ya Cantonese Restaurant and Xing Hua Lou became celebrated for their mooncakes in Shanghai.
From the 1930s to the 1970s, the Kang Le Biscuit Factory at the West Gate of Jiading was famed for its mooncakes, which contained various fillings, including ginkgo, rose and red bean paste. The large factory turned out enough cakes to satisfy the market demand of people in Jiading District.
There were relatively few meat-filled mooncakes available at that time because of preserving difficulties.
Guangdong-style moon cakes appeared later. They also became popular among consumers and shared a market dominance with traditional Suzhou-style mooncakes.
Mooncakes made in Jiading mainly feature the Suzhou-style. The processing is quite a procedure. Ghee, or clarified butter, is added to the flour, which in turn is kneaded into a dough that is formed into many layers. The outer shell is quite crispy after baking. The fillings are still mainly gingko, rose and bean paste.
In olden times, only rich families in Jiading could afford to buy mooncakes from stores, either for eating themselves or for giving as gifts. Poor family had to make the dessert themselves at home. They often used sweet potato or dried vegetable as fillings. The home-made mooncakes lacked the fine sheen and exquisite shape of store-bought varieties, but they were nonetheless very tasty and provided poorer households a holiday activity involving the whole family.
Local people today still exchange mooncakes as gifts with friends and relatives following the ancient custom.
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