 | |
| Alternative names | Snowy mooncake, ice skin mooncake, crystal mooncake |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Hong Kong |
| Serving temperature | Cold |
| Main ingredients | glutinous rice,flour,sugar,milk,vegetable oil,mung bean |
| Snow skin mooncake | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 冰皮月餅 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 冰皮月饼 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Snow skin mooncake,snowy mooncake,ice skin mooncake orcrystal mooncake is a Chineseconfection eaten during theMid-Autumn Festival. It is a coldmooncake withglutinous rice skin, originating fromHong Kong.[1][2]Snow skin mooncakes are also found inMacau,Mainland China,Taiwan,Singapore,Malaysia andIndonesia.[3]Although snow skin mooncakes are usually made and sold bybakeries, these mooncakes are not baked inovens like traditional cakes. Unlike traditional mooncakes which are served at room temperature, snow skin mooncakes are typically eaten cold.
The snow skin mooncake emerged in the 1960s.[4]It was developed by a bakery in Hong Kong, because the traditional Cantonese mooncakes were made withsalted duck egg yolks andlotus seed paste, resulting in very highsugar andoil content.[5] Since many customers thought traditional mooncakes were an oily food, the bakery used fruit for filling and less oil to make a mooncake with less fat.[6]Another early pioneer of snow skin mooncakes is Poh Guan Cake House (宝源饼家) inSingapore.[4]
Snow skin mooncakes gradually become popular in the 1970s. At that time the snow skin mooncake was also called a "crystal mooncake" (水晶月饼).[7] The name "Bing Pi Yue Bing" (冰皮月饼) appeared in advertisements in the early 1980s.[8]
The crust of snow skin mooncake is made ofglutinous rice, which is frozen.[9]The snow skin mooncake is similar tomochi ice cream oryukimi daifuku, as both haveglutinous rice crusts and have to be kept frozen.
Snow skin mooncakes are typically white and are served cold, which is why they are named "snow skin". However, mooncakes may have other colors because of added flavors in their crusts. For example, if chocolate is added, the color of the crust might be brown. Green-colored skin is made with the juice of the aromatic Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius) leaf, a popular and uniquely South-East Asian flavor.
While traditionalmooncakes are usually filled with salted duck egg yolks andlotus seed paste orred bean paste, snow skin mooncakes can be filled with a variety of fillings such asmung bean paste,fruit,green tea,jam,strawberry,chocolate,coffee,cheese.[10] Other flavored fillings includedurian,sesame,mango pomelo sago, andpurple yam.
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The requirements of production, storage and transportation for snow skin mooncakes are more stringent than for baked mooncakes.[11] Because snow skin mooncakes are not baked in an oven, high temperatures cannot be used to killbacteria. Factories have to keep sterile conditions, and many manufacturers are requested to followHACCP systematic for food safety. The mooncakes are also kept at a low temperature while in storage, shipping and at theretailer to prevent bacteria growing. Snow skin mooncakes were difficult to find in mainland China before the 2000s, because of the need to keep them refrigerated while in transit from the producer to the consumer.[12]
Snow skin mooncakes are usually packaged in plastic bags in pairs or individually. Because they are not baked, snow skin mooncakes must be refrigerated and can be stored in freezer for up to a few weeks. They are typically thawed for a few hours in arefrigerator before serving, to allow them to soften. Thawed mooncakes should be consumed within 2 hours.[13] Refreezing is not advised.
Media related toSnow skin mooncakes at Wikimedia Commons
