中国自制月饼成热潮

Homemade mooncakes are the latest food craze to hit China. With mid-autumn festival fast approaching, many are making their very own creations, and having a lot of fun in the process.

Customers at this bakery are learning how to make mooncakes.

Xiao Yuan, a customer, said, "It’s quite easy actually, all you have to do is put the ingredients in here and press it like this. I think it’s much healthier, because I choose what to put in them."

The whole process takes a little more than an hour. Customers can even make their own attractive presentation wrapping and send their mooncakes to friends. The total cost of a pack of 6 handmade mooncakes is only 40-50 RMB.

That’s why it’s flourishing as a business on the internet, many online stores are selling mooncake ingredients and special utensils to make the cakes with. They even offer tutorials on how to make them.

But experts offer a word of caution.

Yao Zhijun, a baker, said, "Make sure the ingredients you buy are certified as ’Quality Secure’. The baking process is vital to food safety, so care must be taken to bake the mooncakes for the recommended length of time. In addition, they should be kept in the fridge and consumed within 5-7 days."

Customers here will definitely keep that in mind, as one of the main appeals of making their own mooncakes is that they’re both safe and healthy!