A mooncake is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The festival is primarily about the harvest while a legend connects it to moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is widely regarded as one of the four most important Chinese festivals.
There are numerous varieties of mooncakes consumed within China and outside of China in overseas Chinese communities. The Cantonese mooncake is the most famous variety. A traditional Cantonese mooncake is a round pastry, measuring about 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and 3–4 cm (1 1?4–1 1?2 in) thick, with a rich, thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste (other typical fillings include red bean paste or mixed nuts) surrounded by a thin, 2–3 mm (approximately 1/8 of an inch) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs.
Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges, accompanied by tea. Today, it is customary for business people and families to present them to their clients or relatives as presents, encouraging the market for high-end mooncakes.
Just as the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in various Asian localities due to the presence of Chinese communities throughout the region, mooncakes are enjoyed in other parts of Asia too. Mooncakes have also appeared in western countries as a form of delicacy.
Most mooncakes consist of a thick, tender pastry skin enveloping a sweet, dense filling, which may contain one or several whole salted egg yolks in the center to symbolize the full moon. Depending on the custom, mooncakes may also be steamed, baked, or fried.
Traditional mooncakes 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 inside. Imprints of the Moon, the Chinese goddess of the Moon (Chang’e), flowers, vines, or a rabbit (symbol of the Moon) may surround the characters for additional decoration.
[caption id="attachment_215901" align="aligncenter" width="479"] Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher by Ernst Gebauer, around 1815[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (16 December 1742 – 12 Sept...
