By Rufus Sprague
Everyone looks forward to the fortune cookies at the end of a meal in a Chinese restaurant. Without them people would be very disappointed. How did the Chinese people come up with such a novel idea for dessert?
Fortune cookies taste great, and they certainly are fun. You will see many people in the Chinese restaurant laughing at the end of the meal, while reading their "fortune".
As a traditional New Year's celebration, the Chinese people would exchange what are known as Moon cakes. These Moon cakes were made with Lotus paste and would contain an egg yolk in the middle.
At some time during the 14th century the Chinese people planned an uprising over the Mongols would rule them for many years. In order for this uprising to be a success, these people needed to send each other messages privately, which would not be intercepted by the Mongols. It is said that the Mongols greatly dislike the taste of Lotus paste. As a result of fortune cookie was born. The Chinese people decided to own the egg yolk from their moon cake, and instead insert secret messages regarding the uprising.
In California at the time of the building of the great railways, this moon cake, or fortune cookie was introduced to the west. Chinese immigrants worked very hard at building the railway. With them the Chinese people brought many of their foods and customs. One of the great gifts they brought to the west was the fortune cookie.
Today you can find designer fortune cookies which contain personalized messages. You may even find them in assorted flavors. You may even find Chinese restaurants which specialize serving these personalized messages.
The fortune cookie has been around for many, many years. It is not a fun and delicious treat; we all hope that it will be around for many more.
Rufus Sprague is an enteprenuer and owner of Tankinz Noodle MFG, a fortune cookie company known for its unique gift ideas using (http://www.tankinz.com) fortune cookies.
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