JingBaJian () is a series of eight Chinese desserts created by the
Qing Imperial kitchen. It is an improvement on traditional imperial pastry called the 'big eight'. Each dessert holds a different meaning: happiness, success, long life, luck, wealth, education, excess and fertility.
JingBaJian (the eight-set Beijing style pastry) is a traditional Chinese cake. "Jing" refers to Beijing and BaJian means eight pieces. It was originally made in the Imperial kitchen. With time, this dessert became popular among the public. Each cake contains a different type of stuffing baked into unique shapes. The ingredients include
dates
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
**Group dating
* Play date, a ...
,
plums
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
,
raisins
A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the dar ...
,
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
,
red bean,
sugar,
banana,
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
and
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
. JingBaJian evolved considerably, incorporating new ingredients such as
mung bean and Liao flowers.
References
{{reflist, 30em
Chinese desserts