Cantonese-style moon cakes are characterized by thin skin and large stuffing, with lotus seed paste, coconut paste, egg yolk, fruit and all kinds of meat stuffing as the main stuffing, moderate sweetness and saltiness, outstanding surface luster and soft and smooth taste. Its name is generally determined by the main ingredients of cake stuffing, such as five kernels, golden legs, lotus seed paste, bean paste, bean paste, jujube paste, coconut paste, winter paste and so on. Its raw materials are very extensive, such as egg yolk, preserved eggs, sausages, barbecued pork, shredded chicken, roasted duck, mushrooms, milk powder, etc., all of which can be used as raw materials and prepared into many varieties of colors.

Beijing moon cake

The biggest feature of Beijing-style moon cakes is the palace style, exquisite workmanship and complicated production procedures, ranking first among the four moon cake systems in China. The material selection procedure of Beijing-style moon cakes is quite complicated. Take the jujube material used in moon cakes as an example, Miyun jujube with small kernel, sweet meat and honey juice must be selected in the specified month, and then the jujube with the same specifications can be selected through screening, and then it can be used through the processes of removing kernel, peeling, removing residue, roughing, refining, grading and sorting.

Su Shi yue pancake

Su-style moon cakes originated in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and surrounding areas. Su Shi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said that "a small cake is like chewing the moon, and there is crispness and happiness in it". Su-style moon cakes are characterized by "crispness", and their fillings are pressed tightly, and they will be crisp and scattered when you gently bite them with your teeth. The fillings include five kernels and bean paste, which are sweeter than other kinds of moon cakes.

Yunnan moon cake

Yunnan-style moon cakes, also known as cloud-legged moon cakes, are baked with Xuanwei ham, a special product of Yunnan, honey, lard and sugar as stuffing, and purple wheat flour from Chenggong, Kunming as leather. Its surface is golden yellow or brownish red, with a hard shell outside, oily and gorgeous, and a thousand layers of pastry wrapped in stuffing. This kind of moon cake not only has fragrant ham, but also has sweet and salty honey juice, which is comfortable to eat but not greasy.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone should eat moon cakes. However, eating moon cakes is also very particular.

Matters needing attention in eating moon cakes

First, eat salty before eating sweet. If there are two kinds of moon cakes, sweet and salty, they should be tasted in the order of salty before sweet, otherwise they will not taste.

Second, taste moon cakes with tea. If you eat too much moon cakes, you will get bored. If you drink a cup of light tea (preferably scented tea), it will taste even more wonderful while eating.

Third, eat moon cakes in moderation. The sugar content and oil (oily food) fat in moon cakes are high, and eating too much will cause gastrointestinal discomfort, especially for the elderly, children (children's food) or the weak gastrointestinal function. Pay more attention when eating, and be sure to eat in moderation.

Fourth, eat fresh moon cakes. People often buy many moon cakes at a time during festivals, and the moon cakes stored for a long time are easy to cause deterioration of the stuffing and food poisoning after eating. Therefore, it is best to eat moon cakes as you buy them.

In general, when families have holidays, most of the moon cakes they buy can last until after the holidays, or even longer. In order to prevent the deterioration of moon cakes, the leftover moon cakes should be properly preserved.

Mooncakes are generally divided into soft and hard fillings. Soft fillings contain more water and can only be stored for about 7 to 10 days, while hard fillings can be stored for about 1 month. For those families who haven't used the refrigerator, mooncakes should not be stored in a sealed container for a long time. It is better to store them in a bamboo basket, cover them with a clean paper and hang them in a ventilated and cool place.

Mid-Autumn moon cakes are seasonal foods. It is best to produce them now, sell them now, buy them now and eat them now. It is not advisable to let them go for a long time in order to maintain the color, fragrance, taste and special flavor of moon cakes.