This study was designed to clarify nutritional characteristics of Guangdong-style mooncakes. Proximate composition, fatty acid profile, and the cholesterol content of Guangdong-style mooncake types (DYLP, SYLP, LP, BP, FF, and FK) were analyzed and their energy was calculated. Guangdong-style mooncakes contained 15.96~19.16% moisture, 32.06∼43.12% total reducing sugar, 5.35∼9.06% protein, and 3.72∼18.74% crude fat and could provide 930.52~1403.30 kJ/100 g of energy excluding starch. FK mooncake had the lowest moisture, and LP, BP, and FF mooncakes contained high levels of reducing sugar. The main soluble sugars in Guangdong-style mooncakes were sucrose, glucose, and fructose. The fat content order was as follows: DYLP > SYLP > FK > BP > LP > FF, where DYLP contained 18.74% fat while FF only contained 3.72%. Dominating fatty acids in Guangdong-style mooncakes were C18:1 and C18:2. Cholesterol was mainly found in yolk-type mooncakes. FK mooncake had the highest protein content (9.06%). Guangdong-style mooncakes are high in moisture and sugar, but not always high in fat.
Mooncakes are Chinese pastries consumed during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are round or square baked with fillings and their crusts are decorated with imprints of the manufacturers and auspicious greetings or indicate the ingredients [
Mooncakes consist of crust and filling; the former is made of wheat or other types of cereal flour and vegetable oil, with or without sugar, usually with decorative pattern on it, while the latter contains different paste (lotus seed paste, bean paste, taro paste, etc.), salted yolk, fruits, seed kernels, sesame, pork, or other edible materials [
Recipes for mooncakes vary across China depending on the formulation, type, and manufacturing process. According to their origin places and tastes, mooncakes can be classified into Guangdong-style, Beijing-style, Suzhou-style, and other regional styles. The Guangdong-style mooncake was originally from Guangzhou, but it is now produced all over the country, especially in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang. Presently, they account for more than 70% of total mooncake market in China [
The feature of Guangdong-style mooncake is thin skin, thick filling, and tender texture. Typical Guangdong-style mooncakes are round or rectangular pastries, measuring about 10 cm in diameter and 4-5 cm thick. The skin is made of wheat flour, invert syrup, vegetable oil, and Kanshui (clear water solution of plant ash) which is replaced with lye water in contemporary mooncake industries. The fillings are selected from local special edible material with high diversification, including seeds (lotus, beans, sesame, olive kernel, almond, walnut meat, etc.), fruits (coconut shred, pineapple, durian, banana, orange cake, dried orange peel, etc.), vegetables (taro, edible mushroom, sugar coated winter melon, etc.), eggs and meats (salted yolk, Guangdong-style sausage, barbecued pork, sugar cured fat, etc.), and even seafood (abalone, shark fin, dried scallop, etc.). Common Guangdong-style mooncake types in the present Chinese market are lotus seed paste with yolk, pure lotus seed paste, bean paste, five kernels, fruit flavor, and roasted meat type.
Guangdong-style mooncakes are traditionally thought as high sugar and high fat foods; however, few reports on their nutrition evaluation could be found. In order to explore the nutritional features of Guangdong-style mooncakes and to give detailed nutritional information to consumers and producers, a study was undertaken to investigate proximate composition, fatty acid profile, and cholesterol content of the main types of Guangdong-style mooncakes.
All the chemicals used in the experiments were of HPLC or analytical grade. Glucose, fructose, sucrose, and cholesterol were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, USA.
Forty-five boxes of mooncakes of 17 different brands were purchased from markets in Guangzhou in September, 2011. A hundred mooncake samples were selected according to their brands and recipes, including 24 double-yolk lotus seed paste mooncakes (DYLP), 23 single-yolk lotus seed paste mooncakes (SYLP), 10 pure lotus seed paste mooncakes (LP), 12 five-kernel mooncakes (FK), 9 bean paste mooncakes (BP), 13 fruit flavor mooncakes (FF), and 9 other mooncake samples (with fish, meat, cheese, tea, etc.). Mooncake sample information is shown in Table
Sample information.
Brand name | Type | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DYLP | SYLP | LP | BP | FF | FK | Other | Subtotal | |
An Qi | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Di Shi Ni | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
Dong Hai Tang | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Guangzhou Jiujia | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
Guangzhou Renjia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
Guangzhou Sibao | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Hongkong Huangguan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Hongkong Pinjia | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Hongkong Tangxin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Jin Yu Xiang | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Lian Xiang Lou | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Mei Xin | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
Qu Xiang | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
Rong Hua | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
Tao Tao Ju | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
Tian Xing Long | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
Zhuang Yuan Fang | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
||||||||
Total | 24 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 100 |
After texture evaluation, all samples were cut into small cubes (0.2~0.3 cm × 0.2~0.3 cm × 0.2~0.3 cm) and then ground to paste. Due to the high moisture, lipid, and sugar contents, the mooncake paste could not be sieved or mixed in a mixer. Alternatively, the paste was put in a plastic bag and mixed manually. All samples were kept in a freezer at −20°C until analysis.
Mooncake texture was determined by a TA-XTplus texture analyzer (Stable Microsystems, Surrey, UK) which was equipped with the software “Texture Expert” using the method optimized by our institute [
Proximate analyses were carried out according to the methods described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists [
The mooncake samples were partially dried in a vacuum oven (70°C for 3 h) and the fat was extracted in a Soxhlet apparatus (SOX 416 Macro 6, Gerhardt, Germany) using petroleum ether (b.pt. 60–90°). The residual moisture in oil was removed using anhydrous sodium sulfate. The fatty acid composition of these oil samples was determined by analyzing the fatty acid methyl esters by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS).
Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were prepared by using NaOH/methanol method [
FAMEs were determined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Model 6890N/5975B; Agilent, California, USA) equipped with a treated J&W DB-WAX polyethylene glycol column (30 m × 0.25 mm, 0.25
The method of ferric ammonium sulfate color reagent was used to determine the cholesterol amount in the mooncakes [
For triplicate experimental data, mean and standard deviations were calculated using Microsoft Excel 2010. The results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. One-way of variance analysis was applied for determining the significant difference at
The sample information (Table
Moisture is an important parameter when considering mooncake quality because it significantly affects texture, taste, shelf life, and growth of the microbes. According to Chinese national standard of mooncake (GB 19855-2005), Guangdong-style mooncake should contain less than 25% moisture for paste type and fruit and vegetable type, less than 22.0% for yolk type and meat type and less than 19.0% for plant seed type, while Beijing-style should contain less than 17.0% moisture and Suzhou-style mooncake should contain less than 19.0% moisture for paste type, less than 12.0% for plant seed type, and less than 30.0% for meat type.
The average moisture content of the 100 samples value was 18.15%. From the moisture frequency distribution (Figure
Moisture content (wet weight basis) frequency distribution of Guangdong-style mooncakes in the sample. Mean = 18.15%, SD = 2.15%, and
Studies have shown a relationship between mechanical testing (TPA) and the texture of food. TPA measures such parameters as chewiness, gumminess, cohesiveness, and firmness. Not only do these tests quantify the texture of the food, but it also evaluates the consistency of the manufacturing processes. Only firmness and cohesiveness were tested because Guangdong-style mooncakes had high viscosity and poor fracturability, springiness, and resilience.
The firmness value is the peak force of the first compression of the product. The firmness need not occur at the point of deepest compression, although it typically does for most products. As shown in Table
Firmness and cohesiveness of different types of Guangdong-style mooncakes.
Mooncake type | Firmness (N) | Cohesiveness |
---|---|---|
DYLP | 148.91 ± 63.62 |
2.93 ± 1.84 |
SYLP | 221.14 ± 58.29 |
3.29 ± 1.71 |
LP | 219.76 ± 65.00 |
3.34 ± 1.78 |
BP | 226.37 ± 116.38 |
3.7 ± 1.05 |
FF | 268.55 ± 114.54 |
3.43 ± 1.88 |
FK | 362.91 ± 114.11 |
4.63 ± 2.97 |
Means without a common letter differ (
Cohesiveness is how well the product withstands a second deformation relative to how it behaved under the first deformation. It is measured as the area of work during the second compression divided by the area of work during the first compression. As shown in Table
The food textures are highly related with their recipes and processes [
Reducing sugar contents in Guangdong-style mooncakes were determined because they are highly related to blood glucose when people consume them. Average reducing sugar content in all tested samples was 37.57%. As shown in Table
Proximate composition of different types of Guangdong-style mooncakes.
Mooncake |
Moisture |
Total reducing |
Crude fat |
Protein |
Cholesterol |
Energy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DYLP | 19.16 ± 1.61 |
35.15 ± 4.40 |
18.74 ± 2.88 |
6.61 ± 0.30 |
1.89 ± 0.75 |
1403.30 ± 186.46 |
SYLP | 17.99 ± 1.90 |
37.75 ± 3.77 |
14.80 ± 3.04 |
6.56 ± 0.42 |
0.93 ± 0.44 |
1300.87 ± 183.71 |
LP | 18.13 ± 1.59 |
41.53 ± 2.29 |
9.86 ± 2.73 |
6.32 ± 0.97 |
0.22 ± 0.13 |
1178.27 ± 156.43 |
BP | 19.12 ± 2.21 |
43.12 ± 3.44 |
10.46 ± 1.30 |
6.74 ± 0.58 |
0.07 ± 0.03 |
1234.64 ± 116.44 |
FF | 17.98 ± 1.59 |
41.29 ± 4.86 |
3.72 ± 1.17 |
5.35 ± 0.26 |
0.15 ± 0.03 |
930.52 ± 130.33 |
FK | 15.96 ± 2.76 |
32.06 ± 4.18 |
13.85 ± 3.26 |
9.06 ± 1.78 |
0.18 ± 0.06 |
1211.49 ± 221.94 |
In Guangdong-style mooncakes, total sugar mainly comes from wheat flour, sucrose, and syrup, but total reducing sugar originates from the latter two resources. During manufacture of bean paste, lotus seed paste, and preserved fruit filling, large amounts of sucrose and syrup are added [
Mono- and disaccharides were also determined in Guangdong-style mooncake samples using HPLC; the result showed that sucrose, glucose, and fructose account for 77.30%, 10.98%, and 8.77%, respectively, while maltose and lactose account for less than 2.0% (detailed data not shown in this paper). Mono- and disaccharides contained in Guangdong-style mooncakes were highly related to the main carbohydrate materials, invert syrup, and sucrose.
Sugar is one of the most important ingredients used in bakery foods and plays a number of different roles in baking foods [
Sweetener sodium saccharine was determined in 91 Guangdong-style mooncake samples. The result showed that 15.52% of mooncakes contained this sweetener, mainly in FF mooncakes (55.56%) and FK mooncakes (22.22%), and the doses were less than that permitted in Chinese national standard (0.15 g/kg). The result was consistent with literature on sodium saccharine used in mooncakes [
Fat also plays an important role in cake manufacture, to entrap air during the creaming process, to physically interfere with the continuity of starch and protein particles, and to emulsify the liquid in formulation thus; fats contribute to the soft and tender eating properties required for cakes [
Crude fat contents in Guangdong-style mooncakes were quantified using the Soxhlet extraction method. Except for meat and seafood mooncakes, average fat content in Guangdong-style mooncakes was 13.19%. The DYLP mooncakes had the highest fat content, while FF mooncakes had the lowest fat content (Table
In different types of Guangdong-style mooncakes, Mei Xin DYLP and Qu Xiang DYLP mooncakes were the highest (26.01%) and lowest (12.50%) fat in DYLP type, respectively; Guangzhou Sibao SYLP and Guangzhou Jiujia SYLP mooncakes had the highest (20.90%) and lowest (8.47%) fat in SYLP type, respectively; Guangzhou Jiujia LP and Guangzhou Sibao LP had the highest (12.80%) and lowest (4.24%) fat in LP type, respectively; Tao Tao Ju FK and Hongkong Ronghua FK mooncakes had the highest (21.38%) and lowest (8.66%) fat in FK type, respectively; Tao Tao Ju BP and Hongkong Tangxin BP mooncake had the highest (11.59%) and lowest (8.84%) fat in BP type, respectively; FF mooncakes of different brands contained the low fat; especially Tian Xing Long FF had the least fat (1.90%).
According to Chinese national standards, fat in Guangdong-style mooncake should be less than 18%, 24%, 30%, 28%, 25%, and 24% in fruit and vegetable type, paste type, yolk type, plant seed type, meat type, and seafood type, respectively. Fat in Beijing-style mooncake should be less than 20.0%, while in Jiangsu-style mooncake should be less than 24.0% for paste type, less than 30.0% for plant seed type, and less than 33.0% for meat type. Fat in Guangdong-style mooncakes mainly comes from vegetable oil, yolk, and plant seeds. Development of fruit flavor mooncakes significantly decreased the fat content in Guangdong-style mooncakes. It is good news for those people with high blood fat.
Fatty acid composition was analyzed by GC/MS method and confirmed by comparing retention times and MS Data (NIST 05a .L). Peaks with similarity higher than 95% were confirmed as the fatty acid in the MS Data. The proportion of different fatty acids was calculated using the area normalization method (Table
Fatty acid composition (% of total) of oil extracted from different types of Guangdong-style mooncakes.
Mooncake type | C15:0 | C16:0 | Iso-C18:0 | C18:0 | C18:1 | C18:2 | C18:3 | C20:0 | C20:1 | C20:4 | C22:0 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DYLP | 0.03 ± 0.02 |
21.49 ± 4.09 |
0.12 ± 0.02 |
4.82 ± 1.54 |
48.99 ± 7.69 |
18.37 ± 7.31 |
1.25 ± 0.90 |
0.53 ± 0.18 |
0.61 ± 0.24 |
1.23 ± 1.04 |
0.80 ± 0.41 |
SYLP | 4.80 ± 8.51 |
11.45 ± 9.94 |
0.61 ± 1.56 |
3.87 ± 1.37 |
46.44 ± 11.30 |
26.28 ± 9.71 |
2.78 ± 2.71 |
0.67 ± 0.24 |
0.61 ± 0.24 |
0.35 ± 0.33 |
0.90 ± 0.47 |
LP | 0.00 ± 0.00 |
16.88 ± 6.38 |
0.10 ± 0.02 |
4.73 ± 1.04 |
40.01 ± 9.26 |
31.08 ± 6.95 |
2.57 ± 1.46 |
1.06 ± 0.38 |
0.70 ± 0.39 |
0.00 ± 0.00 |
1.54 ± 0.83 |
FF | 0.00 ± 0.00 |
3.99 ± 6.91 |
2.34 ± 3.89 |
3.18 ± 2.60 |
35.00 ± 10.34 |
47.52 ± 12.06 |
4.47 ± 0.94 |
0.65 ± 0.64 |
0.54 ± 0.52 |
0.00 ± 0.00 |
0.94 ± 1.02 |
BP | 0.01 ± 0.01 |
13.47 ± 3.54 |
0.11 ± 0.04 |
1.76 ± 2.11 |
25.27 ± 23.00 |
47.80 ± 22.52 |
3.95 ± 3.73 |
1.16 ± 0.32 |
1.18 ± 1.00 |
0.00 ± 0.00 |
1.76 ± 0.60 |
FK | 0.01 ± 0.01 |
12.71 ± 3.05 |
0.11 ± 0.02 |
3.87 ± 2.26 |
35.97 ± 12.13 |
35.89 ± 12.92 |
2.30 ± 1.19 |
0.75 ± 0.31 |
0.61 ± 0.18 |
0.01 ± 0.02 |
1.00 ± 0.54 |
DYLP: double-yolk lotus seed paste mooncake; SYLP: single-yolk lotus seed paste mooncake; LP: pure lotus seed paste mooncake; BP: bean paste mooncake; FF: fruit flavor mooncake; FK: five-kernel mooncake.
The most abundant fatty acids found in Guangdong-style mooncakes were C18:1 and C18:2, which accounted for 73.10% of total fatty acids. The sum of unsaturated fatty acids in different Guangdong-style mooncake types was in the following order: FF (87.53%) > BP (78.20%) > SYLP (76.46) > FK (74.78%) > LP (74.36%) > DYLP (70.45%). Part of fatty acids of yolk-type mooncakes (especially DYLP) was from salted yolk, so their unsaturated fatty acid ratios were relatively low. The fatty acid profile of LP mooncakes was similar to peanut oil [
Cholesterol content was quantified by ferric ammonium sulfate color reagent method and the results were shown in Table
The protein contents of Guangdong-style mooncakes were determined by the macro-Kjeldahl method and the results were shown in Table
In Guangdong-style mooncakes, protein is not an important index for the quality control. There is no protein criterion in quality standards of yolk-type, fruit-type, and paste-type mooncakes in Chinese national standards. The protein content requirement for plant seed type and meat type should be more than 5.5% and for seafood type should be more than 5.0%.
The caloric values of different types of Guangdong-style mooncakes were calculated by using the Atwater energy conversion factors and the results were shown in Table
From the literature, potential beneficial effects of intake of starchy foods, especially those containing slowly digestible and resistant starches, and potential detrimental effects of high intakes of fructose become apparent [
In recent years, to adapt to increasing health-conscious lifestyle, low calories and fat-free mooncakes have also appeared. Some are made of yogurt, jelly, and fat-free ice-cream. Even high-fiber low-sugar mooncakes have made their appearance [
Guangdong-style mooncakes contained 15.96~19.16% moisture. Higher moisture content is one of the features of Guangdong-style mooncake and gives it soft and oily properties. Guangdong-style mooncakes contain high level of reducing sugar, mainly sucrose, glucose, and fructose. There was a big difference in the fat contents in Guangdong-style mooncakes. DYLP mooncakes contained 18.74%, while FF only contained 3.72% of fat. Dominating fatty acids in Guangdong-style mooncakes were C18:1 and C18:2. Cholesterol contents in Guangdong-style mooncakes were positively correlated with their crude fat contents. Protein content in Guangdong-style mooncakes was from 4.67% to 10.31%. Guangdong-style mooncakes could provide 930.52–1403.30 kJ/100 g calories. Guangdong-style mooncakes are baking foods high in moisture and sugar, but not always high in fat. These findings are of importance to develop healthier nutritional mooncakes while helping consumer’s selection of these foods according to their health conditions. In order to satisfy consumers with increasing health consciousness, new mooncakes with low sugar, low fat, and low calories but rich in functional components should be developed in the future.
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.
This work was financially supported by Integrated Project of Industry, Education and Research of Guangdong Province and Ministry of Education, China (2012B091000127), and Improving Science and Technology Service Development Projects of Guangdong Province (2013B040400009, 2014B040404059).