On September 23, 'Nong san Viet,' a farm-produce section run by a Vietnamese agricultural newspaper, reported that com (young-picked green rice), durian, tea and lotus seeds have come to be used as fillings in mid-autumn mooncakes. Com Moc Huyen, a maker that handles com, lines up, in addition to com-filling mooncakes, flavors of lotus seed, adzuki bean, mung bean, mochi and several kinds of nuts. The content is that local farm produce, sold either fresh or as traditional processed goods, is gaining another outlet in the form of confectionery filling. Seen from Japanese food manufacturers, it becomes a story in which, when sourcing Vietnamese primary raw material as paste or grains, there are more places to approach separate from fresh-produce exporters.<\/p>\n
According to the paper, the fillings of baked mooncakes (b\u00e1nh n\u01b0\u1edbng) and soft mooncakes (b\u00e1nh d\u1ebbo) have until now centered on traditional combinations such as a hearty mixed filling (th\u1eadp c\u1ea9m), mung bean filling, lotus seed and salted egg yolk. In the past few years, com, durian, tea, lotus, adzuki bean, mung bean and various nuts have been added, and versions that put several raw materials into one confection have also appeared. Durian is a smooth paste-like filling<\/strong> processed into it, and there are forms where tea is combined with beans and nuts. As for macadamia and cashew, the writing stops at saying they play the role of adding flavor and of broadening the range of offerings.<\/p>\n Com is an autumn gift of Hanoi and has until now been eaten as fresh com or com sticky rice (x\u00f4i c\u1ed1m). Now, besides mooncakes, it also goes into ice cream, yogurt, mochi and tapioca milk tea. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, head of Com Moc Huyen, explains that over the past five to six years she has put com into new product lines, and states that for mooncakes, besides using com in the filling, she has developed flavors of lotus seed, adzuki bean, mung bean, mochi and several kinds of nuts. What the article's photo caption cites as a new product is a baked mooncake combining com and coconut.<\/p>\n What is quoted as Huyen's statement is a line to the effect that, to deliver com far and have many people come to know it, there is no choice but to put com into everyday products close to what consumers want. Reread from the buyer's side, it means the growing area is itself coming to seek out the form of processing.<\/p>\n The paper writes that a customer segment seeking raw material close to natural farm produce and a light, easy-to-eat taste has emerged. Huyen states that this demand created the conditions for putting com, lotus, beans and nuts into mooncakes. This is a place where the order is easy to mistake. It is not that the growing area invented a new use, but that, after the sales floor's preferences moved, the growing area inserted the raw material \u2014 that is the order. When the Japanese side considers the same raw material too, what is decided first is your own product planning, not the growing area's convenience.<\/p>\n The paper writes that for mooncakes to become a true outlet for farm produce rather than ending as a seasonal fad, the raw material needs to satisfy the requirements of quality, food safety, shelf life, and stability when made in large quantities. In addition, it touches on retaining a distinctive flavor sufficient for consumers to notice the raw material's worth. These four points almost overlap with the items Japanese confectionery makers ask about when adopting overseas raw material: water activity and microbial count, pesticide residue, decay of aroma during the best-before period, and variation in color and grain size between lots. A specification arranged for the domestic Vietnamese market does not necessarily carry over as is to Japanese standards, but the raw material is ceasing to be one whose only outlets were fresh produce and traditional processed goods.<\/p>\n Rearranging the raw materials appearing in the article into the forms in which the Japanese side would make inquiries gives the following. The processing-form column is based on the paper's description, and the two right-hand columns are the writer's organization of the scenes where Japanese food manufacturers use them and the points to confirm before a quotation.<\/p>\nCom Moc Huyen has broadened com's outlets over the past five to six years<\/h3>\n
What a mooncake filling must satisfy to become an outlet for farm produce<\/h2>\n
The sales floor's preferences moved first, and the growing area inserted the raw material afterward<\/h3>\n
Shelf life and variation in mass production almost overlap with the Japanese side's acceptance-inspection items<\/h3>\n
Can Japanese confectionery makers buy it as paste, grains, or powder?<\/h2>\n
The form in which it can be bought and the points to confirm differ by raw material<\/h3>\n