The traditional food of Mid-Autumn Festival is moon cakes, which are round and symbolize reunion, reflecting people's good wishes for family reunion. It is said that eating moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival began in Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Strategist Liu Bowen came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide the note containing the "August 15th night uprising" into the cake, and then sent someone to send it to the uprising troops in various places separately to inform them to respond to the uprising on August 15th night. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as single spark can start a prairie fire.
Soon, Xu Da captured the capital of Yuan Dynasty, and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly gave a message that all the soldiers would have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and he would give the "moon cakes" that were sent in secret when he started fighting that year as seasonal cakes to his ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, with more varieties, such as discs, and has become a good gift. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people. Some places have also formed many special Mid-Autumn Festival customs. Besides enjoying the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon and eating moon cakes, there are Hong Kong's dancing dragon, Anhui's piling pagoda, Guangzhou's Mid-Autumn Festival, Jinjiang's burning tower boy, Suzhou Shihu's watching the moon, Dai's Yue Bai, Miao's jumping on the moon, Dong's stealing moon dishes and Gaoshan's holding dance. The English spelling is: mooncake.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang finally overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Although Manchu occupied China later, people still celebrated this festival symbolizing the overthrow of alien rule.
related records
according to legend, in ancient China, emperors had rituals of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. In the folk, every Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there are also customs about Yue Bai or offering sacrifices to the moon. The famous proverb "The moon is full on August 15th, and the moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival are sweet and fragrant" tells the custom of urban and rural people eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival night. At first, mooncakes were used as sacrifices to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion, and gradually mooncakes became holiday gifts.
moon cakes originally originated from the food for celebrating the victory of the Tang army. During Tang Gaozu's reign, General Li Jing conquered the Huns and returned home in triumph on August 15th.
At that time, Turpan people who were doing business presented cakes to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty to celebrate his victory. Gao Zu Li Yuan took the gorgeous cake box, took out the round cakes, smiled at the bright moon in the sky and said, "We should invite toads with Hu cakes." After that, share the cake with the ministers.
The word "moon cake" was found in the book Old Stories of Wulin in the Southern Song Dynasty. According to the book, the moon cakes at that time were steamed. As a must-eat product in Mid-Autumn Festival, this kind of steamed bread in cages is still a popular custom in Shandong, Henan and other places.
The word "moon cake" has been used in Wu Zimu's book "Dream of the Liang" in the Southern Song Dynasty. However, the description of enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival was only recorded in the West Lake Touring Society in the Ming Dynasty: "August 15th is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the people take the meaning of reunion with moon cakes". By the Qing Dynasty, there were more records about moon cakes, and the production became more and more elaborate.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, moon cakes have become the Mid-Autumn Festival delicacies in all parts of China. "History of Ming Palace" contains "In August, begonia and Hosta flowers were enjoyed in the palace. From the first day, there were mooncake sellers ... until the fifteenth day, every family provided mooncakes and fruits ... If there were any leftover mooncakes, they were collected in a dry and cool place and shared by the family at the end of the year, which was also called' reunion cakes'. " Shen Bang's Miscellaneous Notes of Wan Department describes the customs in Beijing during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, saying: "Mooncakes are given in August, and ordinary furniture is given with mooncakes of different sizes, which are called' mooncakes'.
With the development of moon cakes, there are more varieties and different flavors in different places. Among them, Beijing-style, Soviet-style, Guangdong-style and Chaozhou-style moon cakes are widely enjoyed by people all over China.
Moon cakes symbolize reunion and are a must-eat item in the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the night of the festival, people also like to eat some reunion fruits such as watermelons, and wish their families a happy, sweet and safe life.
the history of moon cakes
moon cakes, also known as Hu cakes, palace cakes, small cakes, moon cakes and reunion cakes, are offerings to worship the moon god in the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival, which has been passed down from generation to generation and formed the custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Moon cakes have a long history in China. According to historical records, as early as the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, there was a kind of "Taishi cake" in memory of Taishi Wen Zhong, which was the "ancestor" of moon cakes in China. When Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, sesame seeds and walnuts were introduced, which added auxiliary materials to the production of moon cakes. At this time, a round cake filled with walnuts appeared, which was called "Hu cake".
In the Tang Dynasty, there were already bakers engaged in production among the people, and there were also bakeries in Chang 'an, the capital. It is said that one year in the Mid-Autumn Festival, when Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei enjoyed the moon and ate Hu Bing, Tang Xuanzong thought the name of Hu Bing was not nice. Yang Guifei looked up at the bright moon and felt a surge of emotion, and casually came up with "moon cake". Since then, the name of "moon cake" has gradually spread among the people.
The royal Mid-Autumn Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty likes to eat a kind of "palace cake", which is commonly known as "small cake" and "moon group" among the people. Su Dongpo has a poem: "A small cake is like chewing the moon, and there is crisp and pleasant in it."
The writers of the Song Dynasty were thorough, and they first mentioned the name of "moon cake" in Old Wulin, which narrated the experiences of Lin 'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.
in the Ming dynasty, eating moon cakes in the mid-autumn festival gradually spread among the people. At that time, ingenious bakers printed the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon's fairy tales on mooncakes as food art drawings, making mooncakes a necessary food for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
among the people, every Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there is a custom of Yue Bai or offering sacrifices to the moon. On August 15th, the moon is full, and Mid-Autumn moon cakes are fragrant and sweet. This famous saying tells the custom of people in urban and rural areas eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn night. Mooncakes are mostly used as sacrifices to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion, and gradually mooncakes became holiday gifts.
varieties
nowadays, the varieties of moon cakes are colorful. There are many kinds of moon cakes in China, including Beijing-style moon cakes, Guangdong-style moon cakes, Soviet-style moon cakes, desktop moon cakes, Yunnan-style moon cakes, Hong Kong-style moon cakes, Chaozhou-style moon cakes, Huizhou-style moon cakes, Qu-style moon cakes, Qin-style moon cakes and even Japanese-style moon cakes. As far as taste is concerned, it has sweetness, salty taste, salty sweetness and spicy taste; From the filling heart, there are osmanthus moon cakes, dried plum moon cakes, five kernels, bean paste, rock sugar, black sesame seeds, ham moon cakes, egg yolk moon cakes and so on; According to the cake crust, there are pulp crust, mixed sugar crust, crisp crust and cream crust; From the modeling, there are smooth and lace points.
characteristics of moon cakes from different places:
Cantonese moon cakes: thin skin, soft, sweet and delicious stuffing
Soviet moon cakes: crispy, crispy and layered, heavy oil but not greasy, sweet and salty
Beijing moon cakes: exquisite appearance, thin and soft skin, distinct layers and attractive flavor
Chaozhou moon cakes: Qu-style moon cakes with crispy skin and full stuffing
: crispy and delicious, and sesame seeds are in charge
Among them, Cantonese-style moon cakes are the leader of the moon cake clan with exquisite materials, fine technology and rigorous production, which make them thin and soft, golden in color, exquisite and embossed in patterns, beautiful in shape, rich in stuffing, diverse in stuffing, stable in quality, pure in flavor, sweet and delicious, and endless in aftertaste. It makes consumers of different social strata, income levels and life tastes covet, forming a trend that the whole country eats Cantonese-style moon cakes regardless of the north and south, regardless of people's age. Even overseas Chinese and students living abroad, as far away as Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia and the United States, all take Cantonese moon cakes as the essential products for Mid-Autumn Festival. Cantonese-style moon cakes are the largest kind of moon cakes at present. They originated in Guangdong and its surrounding areas, and have been popular all over the country. They are characterized by thin skin and large stuffing. Usually, the ratio of skin to stuffing is 2: 8, and the oil content of skin stuffing is higher than other kinds. They taste soft, smooth and have outstanding surface luster. The outstanding representatives are Bailianrong moon cakes from Lianxianglou in Guangzhou and Guangzhou Restaurant, as well as Ligong Chenpi moon cakes from Jiangmen.
Beijing-style moon cakes. Beijing-style moon cakes originated in Beijing and Tianjin and its surrounding areas, and have a certain market in the north. Their main characteristics are moderate sweetness and the ratio of skin to stuffing, which is generally 4: 6. They are mainly filled with special flavor and have a crisp taste. The main products are Zilai red moon cakes, Zilai white moon cakes and Wuren moon cakes in Daoxiang Village, Beijing.
Suzhou-style moon cakes. Su-style moon cakes originated in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and surrounding areas. Their main features are loose crust, five kernels and bean paste, and their sweetness is higher than other kinds of moon cakes. The main products are Su-style moon cakes produced by Limin in Hangzhou.
Yunnan-style moon cakes. Yunnan-style moon cakes are mainly originated and popular in Yunnan, Guizhou and surrounding areas, and now they are gradually liked by consumers in other areas. Their main features are that Yunnan-style ham is used as the stuffing, the crust is loose, the stuffing is salty and sweet, and they have a unique flavor of Yunnan-style ham. The main product is Yuntui moon cakes produced by Jiqingxiang, Kunming.
Qu-style moon cakes are self-contained and are the local characteristics of Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province. It is characterized by sesame as an important raw material, so Qu-style moon cakes are also called "Quzhou sesame cakes". Its main representatives are "Du Zegui Flower Moon Cake" and "Shao Yongfeng Sesame Cake", a century-old Chinese brand.
Hui-style moon cakes, whose skin is crispy, are made of fine flour and plain oil, and the cake flame is made of wild vegetables (bitter vegetables), which are pickled and mixed with fresh pork suet and white sugar. The main representative is "dried plum moon cake".
Other types of mooncakes are relatively few. "Moon cakes are different every year in the Mid-Autumn Festival." In recent years, new styles of mooncakes have emerged one after another. Such as ice-covered moon cakes, ice cream moon cakes, fruit and vegetable moon cakes, seafood moon cakes, coconut milk moon cakes, tea moon cakes and so on. Let's take a look at today's new moon cakes:
* Ice-skinned moon cakes: The characteristics are that the crust of the cakes does not need to be baked, and they are eaten after freezing. Mainly transparent milky white epidermis, but also purple, green, red, yellow and other colors. The tastes are different, and the appearance is very harmonious and interesting.
* Ice-cream moon cake: It is made entirely of ice cream, only the mold of moon cake is used. On August 15th, it is the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the heat has not been completely removed. It is delicious and cool, and it is also a popular choice for many consumers. Among them, Baxi ice cream moon cake is the most cost-effective, while Haagen-Dazs is the most expensive ice cream moon cake because it enjoys the name of "Rolls Royce in ice cream"
* Fruit and vegetable moon cake: it is characterized by soft stuffing and different flavors. The fillings include cantaloupe, pineapple, litchi, strawberry, melon, taro, dark plum and orange, and are accompanied by fruit juice or pulp, so it is more refreshing.
* Seafood moon cake: It is a relatively expensive moon cake, including abalone, shark's fin, laver, ray column, etc. It tastes slightly salty and is famous for its sweetness.
* Naliang Moon Cake: It is made by mixing lily, mung bean and tea with moon cake stuffing. It is the latest innovation and has the effects of moistening and beautifying.
* Coconut milk moon cake: The stuffing is made of freshly squeezed coconut milk, evaporated milk and melons and fruits, with low sugar content and oil content, sweet taste, rich coconut flavor and fragrant taste. It has the functions of moistening, invigorating stomach and caring skin.
* tea moon cake: also known as new tea ceremony moon cake, with new green tea as the main filling and light and fragrant taste. There is a kind of moon cake with tea paste, which is mixed with lotus paste with oolong tea juice, which is more fresh.
* Health mooncakes: This is a functional mooncake that only appeared the year before last, including ginseng mooncakes, calcium mooncakes, medicated mooncakes and iodine mooncakes.
* Image-shaped moon cakes: they used to be called pig cakes, with hard fillings, which are mostly eaten by children; Vivid appearance is the new favorite of children.
* golden cream moon cake: the crust is full of cream flavor, with golden color and excellent taste.
* Mini moon cake: the main shape is small and exquisite, and the method is exquisite.
miscellaneous grains moon cake: the raw material is miscellaneous grains, which is delicious, healthy and fashionable. Xibei Cereals Moon Cake launched by Xibei Catering Group is the most representative.
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