Small moon cakes with great feelings

Moon cakes of Yunnan University.

Mooncakes of Yunnan Institute of Technology and Business.

The moon cake team of Yunnan Agricultural University is making moon cakes. Reporter Yang Yanping photo

Moon cakes of Kunming University of Science and Technology.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is getting closer and closer. In the R&D center of Yunnan Dairy Association in Yunnan Agricultural University, a moon cake team composed of more than 20 people is busy. With the surge of orders, team members have to make 300 to 400 mooncakes with milk fans every day. These moon cakes with the characteristics of Yunnan Agricultural University are not only beautifully designed and unique in taste, but also contain a strong Yunnan flavor.

Not only Yunnan Agricultural University, Yunnan University, Kunming University of Science and Technology and other universities have also launched customized moon cakes to show the innovative spirit and humanistic feelings of college teachers and students with traditional cuisine.

"Yunnan flavor" goes out

Students from the Moon Cake Team of Yunnan Agricultural University come from the innovation and entrepreneurship team of food resources and dairy science. In the operation room, they have a clear division of labor, and they are making mooncakes with unique characteristics of Yunnong in an orderly manner according to the process.

First, the raw milk fan is cut into pieces, fried in an oil pan, salvaged for special deoiling treatment, then ground into pieces, and added with cranberries and honey to make a unique milk fan filling, and then wrapped by students by hand. "In order to prevent the milk fan from getting oily after it is left for a long time, we have specially added the deoiling link, so that the moon cake tastes better and is more healthy." Team member Dong Xiaozhu said.

This year, Yunnan Agricultural University launched two kinds of milk fan moon cakes, namely, honey crisp milk fan moon cake and milk fan crisp cake moon cake. In the hands of students, Taoshanpi was pressed into colorful mooncake skins. They weigh the stuffing accurately, put it into the dough according to a certain proportion, then knead it, press it into shape, and finally pack it out of the oven. The words "Yunnong" and "1938" are printed on the small moon cake, and there are two long ears of wheat, which fully show the characteristics of this agricultural college which was founded 85 years ago.

According to Huang Aixiang, the instructor of the innovation and entrepreneurship team of food resources and dairy science and a professor at the College of Food Science and Technology of Yunnan Agricultural University, milk fans have a long history and rich nutrition. During the Tang Dynasty, Dali people had the custom of making milk fans from Deng Chuan. The moon cakes made from milk fans have a strong Yunnan flavor.

Huang Aixiang and his classmates have been committed to the innovative research and development of dairy products, in order to let more people "see" Yunnan dairy products, "see" Yunnan cuisine and "see" Yunnan’s high-quality agricultural special products.

Like Yunnan Agricultural University, Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine has "sent out" Yunnan elements through innovation. This year, Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine launched four kinds of medicated moon cakes. Polygonatum sibiricum added to medicated moon cakes is Polygonatum yunnanense produced in Yunnan.

"The school has been making medicated moon cakes since 2016. We asked Chinese medicine experts to select Chinese herbal medicines for both medicine and food to match, constantly adjust the taste, and launched a medicated moon cake with low sugar and good taste. " According to the relevant person in charge of Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the series of medicinal moon cakes launched this time is an innovative attempt to develop Polygonatum, which has four flavors: Polygonatum odoratum, Polygonatum wuren, Polygonatum kumquat and Polygonatum odoratum with cloud legs.

Gifts for teachers and students during the festive season

In Yunnan, there are many colleges and universities like Yunnan Agricultural University and Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine that "carve" Yunnan flavor, hometown elements and school characteristics on moon cakes.

"A hundred schools of thought will benefit the whole world", and Yunnan University printed the school spirit on moon cakes. Seeing this moon cake, Yunnan University students naturally raised their feelings of loving the school. These moon cakes are made by the Catering Service Center of Yunnan University Logistics Service Group and will be given to students at school. This is also the school’s 18 consecutive years of homemade moon cakes for free to students.

Since 2006, in order to alleviate students’ homesickness, Yunnan University has given students free moon cakes to let them feel the warmth of this big family. Different from previous years, this year’s catering service center made exquisite gift boxes, which printed the beautiful scenery of the school’s late green garden on the boxes, creating a good holiday atmosphere. This year, the Catering Service Center plans to make 33,000 mooncake gift boxes. Each mooncake gift box contains 2 ham mooncakes, 1 Wuren mooncake, 1 Yunnan crispy coconut mooncake and 1 hawthorn mooncake.

Kunming University of Science and Technology Logistics Service Center Food Service Center produced Kungong characteristic Wenchuang moon cake, which was also launched, and was called drop-dead gorgeous in the moon cake by the students. Wenchuang moon cake of Kunming University of Science and Technology takes the shape of a full moon, takes the school emblem as the pattern, is unique, and prints the seal of the exclusive Kungong. In terms of fillings, there are fragrant peach fillings, sweet poplar nectar fillings, sweet litchi fillings, and strong coconut cheese fillings, and there is always one that can meet the needs of taste buds. In addition to Wenchuang moon cakes, traditional moon cakes are indispensable. Yuntui, red bean paste, Wuren and egg yolk lotus seed paste are all the favorites of Kungong workers.

This year, Yunnan Institute of Technology continued to launch the "School Emblem Moon Cake", with the school emblem and school year printed on the front of the moon cake. There are three flavors of mung bean, red bean and pineapple, which are the most popular among teachers and students of Yunnan Institute of Technology. According to the relevant person in charge of the college, the meaning of red bean moon cakes is the most special, because red beans are also called acacia beans, and students come from all corners of the country. I hope red beans can pin their love for acacia. Since 2017, the school has made a "school emblem moon cake" and sent it to new students, hoping to let everyone feel the care of the school. (Yang Yanping, Yu Suzhen)