Mooncakes are not as traditional as they used to be. (Photo : Wikimedia)
Mooncakes, the traditional treat often given during the Mid-Autumn Festival on the last week of September, are now being made in a variety of flavors and sold in new ways.
Traditionally, mooncakes are filled with lotus seed paste, sweet bean paste, jujube paste and five kernel, along with some relatively recent additions of taro paste, pineapple and durian.
Chocolate, coffee and yogurt are just some of the flavors customers have to choose from when purchasing a mooncake.
The new somewhat exotic flavors indicate a shift in tastes, with customers, especially food enthusiasts, demanding mooncakes to have Western tastes.
These new tastes are not a threat to the traditional mooncakes, according to Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University.
Traditional Cantonese-style mooncakes are still the top item sold by popular bakery Daoxiangcun, which has sold more than 400,000 sets nationwide this year, according to online shopping site taobao.com.
According to Taobao, Chocolate flavored mooncakes have gone up in sales to about 80,000 sets, which is remarkable considering they typically cost more than twice as much as the traditional mooncake.
Mooncake sets on Taobao can usually be purchased for between 100 and 300 yuan.
The appearance of the traditional treat has also changed in recent years in order to stand out and respond to the competitive nature of the industry.
A Sina Weibo user, "fiveYi-," posted pictures of homemade flower-shaped mooncakes that she purchased on WeChat, a popular Chinese instant messaging service. The mooncake had a crisp chocolate crust and ice-cream filling.
Several bakers, both professionals and amateurs, are turning to WeChat to sell their baked goods.
However, food safety officials have warned of the risks of purchasing homemade food online, as there is a risk of buying from unlicensed sellers.
Zhang said that there needs to be improved supervision of the market.
