Moon cake

Mid-Autumn Festival, an important traditional Chinese festival. Do you know what is popular in this holiday? Yes, Moon cakes. In China, Moon cakes now not only a food eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but also a promotional gift for business. Many companies will send moon cakes by couriers or take by themselves to their customers. So what is Moon cake? Will you also try Moon Cakes?

Moon cakes, some people also called as Mooncakes, are Chinese pastries traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The festival is for lunar worship and moon watching; moon cakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy on this occasion. Before, Moon cakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival, one of the three most important Chinese festivals. Now, companies or factories also provide moon cakes to customers to promote business.

Typical moon cakes are round or rectangular pastries, measuring about 10cm in diameter and 4-5 cm thick. A thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste is surrounded by a relatively thin (2-3mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs. Besides, moon cakes have been made with seeet of nuts, and so on. Moon cakes are rich, heavy and dense compared with most Western cakes and pastries. They are usually eatern in small wedges accompanied by Chinese tea.

Most moon cakes consist of a thin tender skin enveloping a sweet, dense filling. The moon cake may contain one or more whole salted egg yolks in ites center to symbolize the full moon. Very rarely, moon cakes are also served steamed or fried.

Traditional moon cakes have an imprint on top consisting of the Chinese characters for “longevity” or “harmony” as well as the name of the bakery and the filling in the moon cake. And now, many moon cakes will have an imprint the brand of the producer.

Moon cakes are considered a delicacy, production is laber-intensive and few people make them at home. Most moon cakes are bought at Asian markets and bakeries. The price of mooncakes are different from different brands, usually from $10- $50.

Why did people eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn day? Because in ancient, people use the circle cakes to send a mess in case the bad man found them.

In the 14^th century (AD 1280-1368) in the Yuan Dynasty of the Genhis Khan, moon cakes helped bring about a revolution. A Chinese rebel leader name Liu Fu Tong devised a plan to arouse the Chinese people to raise up against the ruling Mongols, to end the oppressive Yuan dynasty. He obtained permission from the Mongollian leaders to give gifts to friends as a symbolic gesture, to honor the longevity of the Mongolian Emperor. These gifts were round moon cakes. Liu’s Plan was to place a piece of paper the date of revolt inside each moon cake, to inform his flollowers when to rise up. The coup date was the fifteenth night of the eighth month.

When the people cut open the cakes and found the message, they set out on that appointed the day to overthrow the Mongols, thus ending the Yuan Dynasty.

Today, far from exotic and heroic deeds, Chinese communities all over the world make and eat moon cakes during the traditional Harvest Moon Festival to honor this tradition.