Although tangyuan and lantern festival are often confused, there are obvious differences between them, not only in the way they are made, but also in the taste, eating habits and cultural symbolism.
Originating in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province in the Song Dynasty, Tangyuan was originally known as "floating balls", which are made of glutinous rice flour and wrapped with black sesame seeds and other fillings, cooked and eaten, with a soft and sweet taste, symbolizing the perfection and harmony of the family.
The Lantern Festival is a kind of food developed in the northern region during the Lantern Festival, and its production method is to put the filling dough into the glutinous rice flour, and through repeated shaking and rolling to make the glutinous rice flour evenly wrapped in the outer layer of the filling, the resulting Lantern Festival skin is relatively dry and rough.
Tangyuan usually has a smoother and more delicate skin because of its wrapping process, while the surface of the Lantern Festival may be rougher because it is made by "rolling", but this also makes the skin of the Lantern Festival more fluffy after cooking, the filling is more chewy, and the taste is sweeter.
Hotspot Engine Project Although both of these foods are made with glutinous rice flour, they are loved by people from different regions because of their different preparation methods and tastes.
As for the phenomenon that the sales of glutinous rice balls are 11 times that of Lantern Festival, it may be related to several factors:
Ease of productionCompared with Lantern Festival, the production process of tangyuan is simpler and more convenient, and it is suitable for home production, while the production process of Lantern Festival is more complex and requires specific skills and processes.
Eating habits: Southerners have a deeper emotional dependence and cultural identity for tangyuan, while in the north, although tangyuan is also consumed, the custom of eating lantern festivals during the Lantern Festival is still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so the more common eating habits may be biased towards tangyuan across the country.
Taste preference: The smooth and delicate and rich choice of fillings may be more satisfying to most people's taste preferences, especially in occasions such as family dinners, which are more acceptable.
Cultural and festive influences: Although the Lantern Festival is a traditional festival to eat Lantern Festival, tangyuan is also widely consumed in other festivals due to its symbolic meaning (family reunion) and its adaptability to various occasions, increasing the frequency of its consumption.
This difference in sales reflects the differences in food culture between different regions and the diversity of people's eating habits and taste preferences.