During the Mid-Autumn Festival, every family eats mooncakes. However, there are etiquettes to follow when eating them:
One, eat the savory ones before the sweet ones. If you have both sweet and savory mooncakes, you should taste them in the order of savory first, then sweet. Otherwise, you won't be able to appreciate their full flavors.
Two, pair mooncakes with tea. Mooncakes can be rich and eating too many can be cloying. If you pair them with a cup of light tea (flower tea is recommended), and eat and drink alternately, the experience is even more delightful.
Three, eat mooncakes in moderation. Mooncakes are high in sugar and oil. Eating too many can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. This is especially important for the elderly, children, or those with weaker digestive systems, who must be particularly mindful to eat them in moderation.
Four, eat fresh mooncakes. During the festival, people often buy many mooncakes at once. However, mooncakes left for too long can cause the filling to spoil, leading to food poisoning after consumption. Therefore, it's best to buy and eat mooncakes fresh.
In general, mooncakes bought for the festival often last until after the holiday, or even longer. To prevent them from spoiling, leftover mooncakes should be properly stored.
The fillings of mooncakes are generally divided into two types: soft and hard. Soft fillings contain more moisture and can only be kept for about 7 to 10 days, while hard-filled mooncakes can be stored for about a month. For households without a refrigerator, it is generally not advisable to store mooncakes in a sealed container for a long time. It's best to store them in a bamboo basket, cover with a clean piece of paper, and hang in a cool, ventilated place. Boxed mooncakes should have their lids removed to allow for ventilation. Additionally, because mooncakes contain a lot of fat, they should be stored away from light to prevent the oil from oxidizing and turning rancid.
Mid-Autumn mooncakes are a seasonal food, best when freshly produced, sold, bought, and eaten. They should not be stored for too long to maintain their color, aroma, flavor, and special characteristics.