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You are certainly more of an authority on the matter than I am, so I defer to your expertise. I will add some related history for anyone interested. The oldest found molds for pastries (There has previously been a discussion about the use of the term 'pastries' in another thread here, which I concluded simply comes down to language differences) date back to the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BCE). At this time the items were primarily offerings, which transitioned during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256BCE) into being gifts given to others (family, neighbors). The latter shift is a result of Héhé philosophy (harmony and cooperation). During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, these gifts and offerings evolved further as commercialization and mass production expanded. According to records, there were many pastry shops in Chang'an (Xi’an), and professional “cake chefs"/Bîng Shī (饼师) appeared. Drinking tea with snacks also became popular in the tea banquets of the Tang Dynasty court. The word “cake”/Bing (饼) appears in texts during this period, and later "mooncakes" (月饼) are documented in connection with August 15th. We find molds from this time that have both square and round, as well as other shapes, but the square and round were often found on the same wooden paddle because of the traditional connection between the moon (round) and the earth (square). For anyone who wants to geek out on these details, I suggest seeking out a very cool book on dimsum history based on the molds throughout time - 小点心,大历史 (Small Pastry, Great Culture). And apologies for any errors in my hanzi - they are taken from my study notes on the topic.

It just got "reviewed" on Eater - for whatever that's worth! (Basically, nothing, as eater, in my opinion, is gasping for air). https://ny.eater.com/restaurant-openings/404894/time-out-new-york-market-union-square-kebabwala-lori-jayne-kam-rai-thai-taqueria-el-chato-fornino-patty-palace

Test 2 of the cultured milk sherbet fixed the slight texture issue of test 1, so I think it's now good enough to share the recipe: Sorry for the horrible photo light... Served with marzipan soaked in the juice from fermented cherries, fermented cherry pieces and dark chocolate crumbs. I know that Flaxfiber is a pain to source, but hopefully, someone else will be inspired to try this method and share their results to further its development. I mentioned xanthan gum as an alternative to Flaxfiber under the recipe, but lambda carrageenan could probably also be an alternative? Glucose powder with DE42 is probably easier to source for the majority of you. I don't have more DE42 left myself to test it, but with other recipes in the past, I've been able to switch between DE33 and DE42 glucose powder without noticeable issues. I've just made a simplified conversion of the ratio of dextrose and glucose powder in order to keep the combined DE value of the two sugars consistent. Something like this: My next attempt will probably be strawberry or rhubarb (might be too acidic for Gellan gum to work), but my stock of glucose powder is almost empty, so it may take a little while before I get a chance to try that.

To finish my crumbly cookie recipe... @Tropicalsenior informed me that the recipe contained a major flaw. It called for 2 tablespoons of butter when it should have called for 1/2 cup. I heated it up, added 6 tablespoons of butter and Bob's your uncle. It's still too sweet for me but Ed thinks it's fine.

Outside of China, maybe. Not here in China. As I said the non-round cakes in the Guardian's image are not mooncakes but have their own long established traditions independent of mooncakes. Square mooncakes are associated with Vietnam, not Cantonese areas of China. Where I live is heavily influenced by Cantonese, both culturally and linguistically. A large proportion of the population speaks Cantonese. In fact, Guangdong and Guangxi were once the considered the same single region. All the mooncakes here are round. I don't at all understand your reference to plastic plungers.

I too thought the "commercial mayo" myth had been debunked.

For some reason this myth persists. Unless you're using homemade mayo made with raw, unpasteurized eggs, mayo is perfectly safe, and may actually prevent foodborne illness. Supporting documentation: the USDA, among others. GIYF.

@Dr. Teeth, you should expect intact tins. From your photos, I can’t tell for sure whether the tins are wrapped in slightly wrinkled paper or if the metal tins themselves are wrinkled. For a gift subscription, I’d find the first acceptable but not the second.

Nah - that's worthy of complaining about.

Random question. My wife bought me a membership to Tin of the Month Club. Or something like that. For our anniversary. Shipment arrived. Box intact. Tin as you can see. Am I wrong to complain? I don’t mind a dent or two, but these I would be worried about. Totally ok with being told I’m being precious. They have offered to replace them.

Try corned beef + sauerkraut + Swiss. That'll keep.

I think unique shapes are quickly over-ruling the round symbolism tradition, and it seems to be tied to the proliferation of the plastic plungers which come in countless shapes. I would say on the more traditional side of things Cantonese mooncakes have always had their square design next to the round.

From Mr. Google: "To use a food mill without peeling, simply wash and quarter the apples, then cook them until soft. After cooking, the food mill will remove the skins and seeds from the cooked apples as you turn the crank, leaving the applesauce behind." Apparently not if you use the largest of your three inserts for the job. In that case it will grind up and put through the skins and even worse it will shred the seeds, thus releasing the amygdalin, which can turn to cyanide in your system. I will never again forget that I knew that and be forced to throw out a large bowl of pulverized apples. I know, I know, you have to eat a great many seeds to be poisoned, but I also knew that I'd never eat any of that batch or serve it to anyone else.

Not here - that scooping of the bagel was only to reduce its carb content; it only got cream cheese...lite cream cheese, applied lightly.

Yes - and most likely Tik Tok and Instagram aplenty.

The reason that they have to scoop bagels is that a bagel is not designed to be a sandwich. Some chain, Pop-up Bagels, just arrived here. They refuse to slice a bagel...want you to tear it and dip in the schmear (which is no longer schmeared)...and won't sell fewer than three. Apparently the texture is bread-like. Apparently there are lines for this abuse.

this apparently has added Listeria .

Yes - it used to be an Urbanspace. There's an interesting looking Indian place called Kebabwala from the Unapologetic Foods group and a Jamaican patty place from Kwame Onwuachi (from Tatiana). Less interesting is a pizza/sandwich place and a burger place. I think I'm forgetting one...

Was that at the new Time Out Market food hall, which took over the old food hall on 14th? Did anything t else look interesting?

Anyone try these ketchup chips? Have you ever left some McD's fries and ketchup out overnight, and then the next morning unapologetically dipped a limp fry into the somewhat dried up ketchup that was soaking into the ripped paper bag, and then ate the rest that way? Just like that, but really crunchy and crispy without the stale sog. Nothing at all like Canadian ketchup chips (how I miss those). Needless to say, I ate the bag in one sitting. Don't judge me.

I wish we had a "wow!" sort of emoji, but we don't. That giant mooncake you describe sounds like some of the attempts at the "world's largest" pancake, omelette, or whatever record-setter we see posted on this side of the pond periodically. (Sorry, I'm too lazy to go look for links to the latest.) The mooncakes often have enticing outer shells. I think their patterns are beautiful! But the ones that look the most tempting are those with a lot of nuts inside, as in your most recent photos. Not that I'm likely to have a chance to taste any of them soon. Thanks for this topic.

I shall never again order spareribs flanken cut when what I want (so I learned) are called English cut. It does not help that Whole Foods uses the same picture for both.

This is just another 5-nut mooncake but, as you can see, a 'family size' type. It isn't however the largest I've ever seen. I've seen them 'more 'neighbourhood size'. About the size of a truck's wheel. The largest according to the Guinness record people is This pales in comparison.

As predicted here, I acquired and roasted more heirloom tomatoes for my current-favorite Tomato-Cheddar Cheese pie. I roasted the tomato slices (scattered with thinly-sliced shallots, salt and pepper; then drizzled with olive oil) until they'd thrown off most of their liquid. This morning's viewing: The lot has been loaded into a freezer container, and I think it will make a lovely winter pie. Of course, I say that and then forget about it all until the next year, or the year after. 🫠

Looking forward to your review although I cannot abide the thought of the ones with "warts." I have to avert my eyes when I see them on display!