Lantern Festival Lantern Festival, as its name implies, must eat Yuanxiao. Haha, my hometown is Xuzhou. When I was a child, I didn't know that the food we ate during the Lantern Festival was divided into Yuanxiao and Tangyuan. Although we both ate, we didn't distinguish between the two concepts, but strictly speaking, we ate more dumplings. When my grandmother was a child, what did she call our Lantern Festival food?

Let's share the difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan.

I. Geographical differences

Many people think that Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are the same thing. The biggest reason is that the popular areas of Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are different. It's like a joke: Why don't polar bears eat penguins? The final answer is that polar bears are in the North Pole and penguins are in the South Pole. These two animals can't see each other at all. The main difference between glutinous rice balls and Yuanxiao is that they are popular in different areas. Tangyuan is a classic snack in the south. Yuanxiao, a traditional northern snack, is mainly popular in northern China.

Second, the timing of eating is different.

The status of glutinous rice balls in the north is almost equal to that of jiaozi. In addition to the Lantern Festival, dumplings are eaten at New Year's Eve, Spring Festival and major festivals. In the southern streets, there are stalls selling jiaozi everywhere, and there are also many small shops mainly in jiaozi. The Lantern Festival in the north will only appear during the Lantern Festival. Except for the Lantern Festival, it is difficult to see the stalls selling Yuanxiao at ordinary times. In recent years, Yuanxiao in the north has been replaced by Tangyuan in the south, and now there are few stalls selling Yuanxiao.

3. Different manufacturing processes

Tangyuan and Yuanxiao are two fundamentally different snacks, which are mainly reflected in the difference in production technology: Yuanxiao is to mix the fillings first, compact them and cut them into square fillings slightly larger than dice. Then sprinkle glutinous rice flour in a big dustpan and shake it constantly, and the Lantern Festival will roll out like a snowball. On the other hand, glutinous rice dough is made of glutinous rice, and then a preparation is made, which is filled with various fillings, slowly closed and wrapped, and then reunited repeatedly in the palm of your hand.

Four. Differences in fillers used

The fillings used in Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are also very different: Yuanxiao is more traditional and the fillings used are monotonous. Generally, peanuts are mixed with traditional black and white sesame seeds, and sugar, flour and vegetable oil are added as stuffing. Tangyuan is much richer in fillings. In addition to the traditional black sesame, white sesame and peanut fillings, there are many kinds of fillings such as chocolate and bean paste. In addition, the traditional single white glutinous rice skin has been abandoned, and natural pigments such as pumpkin, red dragon juice, yellow rice, purple potato and spinach juice have been added, showing a colorful and prosperous scene. Now, there is a transparent crystal jiaozi, which has attracted people's attention.

Differences in the appearance of verbs (abbreviation for verb)

Due to the different production techniques, Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are also different in appearance and texture: Yuanxiao is generally uniform in size, similar to a big jujube. Because Yuanxiao is rolled out, the texture is relatively loose and dry, and the soup is turbid after cooking. Tangyuan is made of glutinous rice dough, which is relatively large, and a tangyuan is at least as big as 2-3 Yuanxiao. Tangyuan is made of wet glutinous rice dough, and its texture is relatively tight. In addition to the popular big glutinous rice balls, there are small glutinous rice balls like pearls and solid glutinous rice balls without stuffing in the southern region, which are called "small glutinous rice balls".