The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and mooncake manufacturers are once again vying for the prime spots in major supermarkets. However, annual news reports about mooncake food safety make people hesitant to buy them. Below, we have prepared some tips to help you choose mooncakes with confidence.
1. Look at the brand: try to choose products from well-known, established brands.
2. Look at the trademark: buy products with standardized and complete production labels.
3. Look at the production date and expiration date.
How to identify mooncakes:
First, look at the appearance. The mooncakes should be uniform in size, well-shaped, and plump. Cantonese mooncakes have a light brown surface and milky yellow walls, with evenly applied egg wash and patterns indicating the manufacturer's name and filling type.
Second, smell the aroma. High-quality mooncakes have a distinct, rich fragrance. The scent of the crust and filling varies depending on the ingredients. If a mooncake is made with inferior ingredients or has been stored for a long time, it may have an off smell or a rancid odor.
Third, taste them. Generally, Cantonese mooncakes are thin-skinned with large fillings, pure in flavor, and have a soft, pleasant texture. The fillings mainly consist of lotus seed paste, coconut paste, egg yolk, fruit, and various meat fillings, with a balanced sweet and savory taste. Poor-quality mooncakes not only have a tough, non-flaky crust but often also have a bitter taste.
Friendly reminder: Mooncakes are high in calories and difficult to digest. It's fine to eat them occasionally during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but they should not be consumed in excess. Leftover mooncakes should be stored properly to prevent spoilage.