2007 Sep 26 Mad about Mooncakes
Another mid-Autumn festival has come and gone, and that means boxes and boxes of unopened mooncakes – the "Chinese equivalent of the Christmas fruitcake" – in homes and offices across the city. But before you throw those salted-duck-egg-yolk stuffed-delights in the trash, consider this:
- A massive 40-kilogram mooncake measuring over 2.8 meters wide was served up to a crowd of over a hundred people in Lanzhou yesterday.
- While last month, a 13-ton, 8.15-m wide by 20-cm thick mooncake was made in Shenyang. A team of ten chefs took over ten hours to make the monstrosity.
- The average cost of mooncakes also rose this year, due to the recent general inflation in food prices – with the cost of the raw materials rising by 15 to 30 percent.
- These rising costs prompted popular bakery chains like Holliland and Guixiangcun to package their mooncakes in more “environmentally-friendly recycled paper” …
- A trend that contrasts with the approach of some extravagant-minded vendors in Zhengzhou “who came up with mooncakes made of silver and adorned with 56 precious stones selling at a price of 6,900 yuan (USD 920).”
- Meanwhile, up in Changchun, another group sold a mooncake box complete with golf club for RMB 1,800 …
- While mooncake makers down in Yunnan “have also managed to pack a digital camera in with the traditional pastries.”
- Last year the China Daily reported that about 250,000 tons of moon cakes were produced and sold for about USD 1.42 billionet on the final tally for this year …
Links and Sources:
xinhuanet.com: http://news3.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/22/content_6767632.htm
http://news3.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/25/content_6787631.htm
Asia Times Online: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/II26Ad01.html
Washintonpost.com: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/25/AR200709...
Danwei.org: http://www.danwei.org/trends_and_buzz/moonstruck_fallout_from_the_mi.php
http://www.danwei.org/state_media/pity_the_peacekeepers.php
You might also be interested in :
Beijing Farmers Market: Eat and Shop Local at Country Fair
Country Fair organizers Emi Uemura and Caroline Merrifield tell us how we can get acquainted with our local organic farmers.
How does Country Fair work?
Country Fair developed out of a need to connect Beijing’s organic farmers with the city’s consumers. The event – modeled after farmers’ markets like those in Canada or the US – works as a platform for consumers to engage directly with the people who feed them, and for farmers to practice direct marketing. Our hope has been that the Country Fair events will increase consumers’ understanding of our urban food system, supporting the efforts of Beijing’s small-scale organic producers.An Organic Visit to Liuminying Ecological Farm
During our visit to Liuminying Ecological Farm (留民营生态农庄), the most memorable scenes were rows of opaque greenhouses, dozens of Lego-like operating rooms with cheerful red roofs and yellow walls, blue skies and bright sunshine. Located in Daxing District, it is the first village applying ecology agriculture in China.
McNugget Additives: Would You Like Nausea and Delirium With That?
Another day, another report on questionable additives in Chinese food. According to a CNN report, McDonald’s China processes chicken nuggets with two chemicals that are more commonly found in Silly Putty.
Paper Napkins Tainted with Poison?
Time for today's depressing food safety story. According to a report in the Global Times this morning, “About 80 percent of the paper napkins used in Beijing restaurants have been tainted with poisoned chemicals and are unsafe.”
Snowmen Battle a Shocking Rise in Obesity Rates
Officials fear this obesity epidemic could mean dire consequences for the snow people community.
The rate of obesity in Beijing’s snow people population has risen by approximately 95% in the last 5 weeks, government officials say.
