1. Four major types of mooncakes in China
1. Cantonese-style mooncakes - the most widely spread
Cantonese-style mooncakes originated in Guangdong and the surrounding southern areas. It has a thin skin and many fillings. Usually the skin-to-filling ratio is 1:4. The oil content of the skin and filling is higher than other types. It tastes soft and smooth, and the surface is shiny. Traditional Cantonese-style mooncakes can be divided into nuts according to different fillings. Type, meat and poultry type, coconut type, Rongsha type, etc. Later, fruit type, jam type, vegetable type, etc. were developed. From the perspective of cake skin, Cantonese-style mooncakes can be divided into three categories: syrup skin, meringue skin and ice skin. Among them, syrup-skin mooncakes are the main ones, because syrup-skin mooncakes have a long history, a long history, and are widely spread. In addition, the cortex is soft and moist, the skin is golden-red, and it has great plasticity, such as Rongkou-type sweet cakes, seafood-type salty cakes, and stone fruit. The mooncakes are both sweet and salty and have a long shelf life, which is a major feature of syrup-skinned mooncakes.
2. Beijing-style mooncakes - a legacy of the imperial court
Beijing-style mooncakes originated from Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding areas. Its main features are moderate sweetness and skin-filling. Generally, the skin-filling ratio It’s 2:3, with the special flavor of the stuffing as the main ingredient and a crispy texture. The biggest feature of Beijing-style mooncakes is the palace style, exquisite workmanship, and complex production procedures, ranking first among the four major mooncake systems in China. The material selection process is also quite complicated. Take the jujube material used for mooncakes as an example. Miyun jujubes from the specified month must be selected, with small cores, sweet flesh, and juicy juice. Then, jujubes with consistent specifications are selected through screening, and then the stones are removed and processed. Peeling, slag removal, roughing, refining, grading, sorting and other processes.
3. Dian-style mooncakes - fragrant ham
Dian-style mooncakes are also called Yunnan mooncakes. They are mainly popular in Yunnan, Guizhou and other regions. Their main features are crispy crust and soft fillings. The ingredients are salty and sweet. It uses Xuanwei ham, a specialty of Yunnan, with fillings such as honey, lard, and sugar, and is baked with purple wheat flour from Chenggong, Kunming. Its surface is golden yellow or brownish red, with a hard shell on the outside, which is oily and bright, and the filling is wrapped in thousand-layer puff pastry. This kind of mooncake has both fragrant ham and tempting honey that is both sweet and salty. It is comfortable to eat and not greasy. Legend has it that at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongli of the Xiaonan Ming Dynasty, who retreated to Yunnan, did not want to eat or drink, so the imperial chef diced Yunnan's local specialty cloud leg meat, added honey and refined sugar, and baked it into "cloud leg buns." Emperor Yongli was very happy after eating it. From then on, Yunnan-style mooncakes became popular.
4. Soviet-style mooncakes - small and exquisite
Suzhou-style mooncakes originated in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and surrounding areas. They have a crispy skin, sweet but not greasy fillings, and both meat and vegetarian flavors. have. The poem by Su Shi, a poet from the Song Dynasty, "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispness and joy in them" refers to Su-style mooncakes. The characteristic of Su-style mooncakes is that they are "crispy". The fillings are pressed tightly and fall apart when lightly nibbled with your teeth. The fillings include five kernels, bean paste, etc., and are sweeter than other mooncakes. Fresh meat mooncakes should be the best among Soviet-style mooncakes, and can also be said to be the lone traveler and new favorite in the mooncake family in recent years. The variety of Su-style mooncakes is relatively simple, including traditional five-nut fillings, black sesame fillings, salt and pepper fillings and other fillings. The core technical point of production lies in the making of puff pastry. Wrap the puff pastry with oil skin, roll it into a thin pancake, roll it into a long strip, divide it into small portions of suitable size, and then wrap enough fillings.
2. New mooncake fillings
1. Snowskin mooncakes: The characteristic of snowskin mooncakes is that the crust does not need to be baked and can be eaten after freezing. Mainly transparent and milky white skin, also available in purple, green, red, yellow and other colors. The taste is very different and the appearance is very harmonious and interesting.
2. Ice cream mooncakes: Ice cream mooncakes are made entirely of ice cream as filling, and only use mooncake molds. August 15th is already the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the heat has not been completely removed. It is delicious and refreshing, and it is also a popular choice. A choice that investors are passionate about.
3. Fruit and vegetable mooncakes: mainly fruits and vegetables, with soft fillings and different flavors. The fillings include cantaloupe, pineapple, lychee, strawberry, winter melon, taro, plum, orange, etc., and are also served with juice or Fruit pulp, so it has a fresher and sweeter flavor.
4. Seafood mooncakes: Seafood mooncakes are relatively expensive mooncakes. The fillings include abalone, shark's fin, seaweed, stingray sticks, etc. The taste is slightly salty and famous for its sweet aroma.
5. Cool mooncakes: Cool mooncakes are made by blending lily, mung beans, and tea into mooncake fillings. They are the latest innovation and have the effects of refreshing and beautifying.
6. Coconut milk mooncakes: Coconut milk mooncakes are filled with freshly squeezed coconut juice, evaporated milk and fruits. They contain low sugar and oil content, and have a sweet taste and rich coconut flavor. The aroma lingers on the teeth and cheeks in the mouth. It has the functions of refreshing, nourishing the stomach and beautifying the skin.
7. Tea mooncakes: Tea mooncakes are also called new tea ceremony mooncakes. They are filled with new green tea as the main filling and have a light and slightly fragrant taste. There is a kind of tea paste mooncake, which is made of oolong tea juice mixed with lotus paste, which is more fresh.
8. Health-care mooncakes: Health-care mooncakes are functional mooncakes that only appeared a year ago, including ginseng mooncakes, calcium mooncakes, medicated mooncakes, iodine-containing mooncakes, etc.
9. Image-shaped mooncakes: Image-shaped mooncakes used to be called piglet cakes. They have hard fillings and are mostly eaten by children. They have a vivid appearance and are children's new favorite.
10. Golden cream mooncake: The golden cream mooncake has a creamy crust, golden color and excellent taste.
11. Multigrain mooncakes: The raw materials of multigrain mooncakes are filled with whole grains, which are delicious, healthy and fashionable.
12. Chocolate mooncakes: The mooncake fillings of chocolate mooncakes are mainly chocolate and some nuts (such as melon seeds, walnuts, peanuts, etc.). They taste sweet and cater to the tastes of young women.
Overview of the types and flavors of mooncakes:
1. Cantonese-style mooncakes: thin skin, soft, sweet and full of fillings.
2. Chaozhou-style mooncakes: Crispy skin, thin filling, oily but not fat on the tongue, sweet but not greasy, soft texture.
3. Soviet-style mooncakes: crispy, crispy, with overlapping layers of cake, heavy in oil but not greasy, sweet and salty.
4. Yunnan-style mooncakes: crispy skin and beautiful fillings, moderate sweetness and saltiness, bright yellow color, oily but not greasy.
5. Beijing-style mooncakes: exquisite appearance, thin and soft skin, distinct layers, and attractive flavor.
6. Anhui-style mooncakes: small and exquisite, as white as jade, with crispy skin and full filling.
7. Qu-style mooncakes: crispy, fragrant and delicious, sesame-based.
8. Qin-style mooncakes: rock sugar, suet, crispy skin and sweet filling, sweet but not greasy.
9. Jin-style mooncakes: sweet and mellow. The form is simple, the taste is mellow, crispy and refreshing, sweet but not greasy.
10. Fengzhen mooncakes: sweet in taste, mellow in the mouth, and endless aftertaste.
11. Bridge-style mooncakes: Crispy skin and sweet fillings. They are famous for being produced in Qiaodun Town, Cangnan County. They are an evolved version of the Chaozhou style.