The Asian History of Fortune Cookies
Courtesy of: The Ultimate Gourmet Fortune Cookie Cookbook
Moon Cakes in China
There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding the origin of these little cookies, and there is no clear-cut explanation or historical record as to how they came in existence.
The story of the Moon Cakes comes from ancient Chinese history. On special occasions, primarily harvest time, the Chinese celebrated by giving Moon Cakes made from lotus nut paste. During the 13th and 14th centuries, China became occupied by the Mongols. A revolution was being planned to overthrow the Mongolian regime, but the Chinese people had to devise a way to circulate the word of the uprising without alerting the Mongols. Apparently, the Mongols had no affinity for lotus nut paste, and the Chinese people hid secret messages inside the Moon Cakes and distributed them inside the walled cities. The Moon Cakes contained instructions coordinating the patriotic revolution which ultimately led to the inception of the Ming Dynasty. The Moon Cake revolution gave rise to a tradition of giving cakes with messages of goodwill tucked inside.
There are reports that in the mid 1840’s, a rudimentary form of fortune cookies appeared in the U.S., introduced by the Chinese men who immigrated to the U.S. to work building the the railways in Nevada and California. These men lived in isolated work camps and in order to celebrate their traditional Moon festival without their traditional lotus nut paste Moon Cakes, they passed out hard biscuits with notes of well-wishes and good fortunes tucked inside.
Moon Cakes in China
There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding the origin of these little cookies, and there is no clear-cut explanation or historical record as to how they came in existence.
The story of the Moon Cakes comes from ancient Chinese history. On special occasions, primarily harvest time, the Chinese celebrated by giving Moon Cakes made from lotus nut paste. During the 13th and 14th centuries, China became occupied by the Mongols. A revolution was being planned to overthrow the Mongolian regime, but the Chinese people had to devise a way to circulate the word of the uprising without alerting the Mongols. Apparently, the Mongols had no affinity for lotus nut paste, and the Chinese people hid secret messages inside the Moon Cakes and distributed them inside the walled cities. The Moon Cakes contained instructions coordinating the patriotic revolution which ultimately led to the inception of the Ming Dynasty. The Moon Cake revolution gave rise to a tradition of giving cakes with messages of goodwill tucked inside.
There are reports that in the mid 1840’s, a rudimentary form of fortune cookies appeared in the U.S., introduced by the Chinese men who immigrated to the U.S. to work building the the railways in Nevada and California. These men lived in isolated work camps and in order to celebrate their traditional Moon festival without their traditional lotus nut paste Moon Cakes, they passed out hard biscuits with notes of well-wishes and good fortunes tucked inside.
For a free fortune cookie recipe or for more fortune cookie trivia, facts and information, visit the Gourmet Fortune Cookie Website.
posted by Gourmet Fortune Cookies at 8:16 AM
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