As the Mid-autumn Festival approaches, the Council of Agriculture (COA) has specially assisted the local businesses to develop a series of rice-made moon cakes and gift packages in order to create diversified uses of domestic rice, creating a brand new flavor of domestic rice and providing consumers with new choices of tasting quality rice products.

Diversifying Rice Products to Get Close to Consumer Demand

In response to the demand for festival gifts and to promote the diversification, convenience and refinement of domestic rice uses, the COA has actively promoted marketing of baked rice products. In addition to communicating with businesses through sponsoring seminars and technique publishing conferences, the Council has entrusted China Grain Products Research and Development Institute with developing new products, expanding trainings and new technical introduction. A total of 20 products developed by 10 manufacturers through the ingenuity and creativity of master workers have been on the market so far this year, with the use of domestically produced rice or rice flour accounting for 20% - 100% of the total formula. And all the products have passed comprehensive plasticizer inspections to ensure the products are safe so as to restore consumer confidence.

Innovative Rice-made Moon Cakes to Stir Consumers’ Taste Buds

Rice flour tastes like flexible texture in mouth and its composition of amino acids as well as digestion and absorption rate are better than other grains. With low oil-absorbing rate which provides satiety, baked rice products not only can promote the consumption of domestic rice but also provide consumers with convenient and healthy new choices, noted the COA. In addition to using domestic rice, new products released this time have been mixed quality domestic rice with other ingredients with local flavor, including seaweed from Hoping Island , organic green tea from Guanxi, sergestid shrimp from Donggang, native pineapple from Guanmiao and pigeon pea from Mataian, to create a layered taste, offering consumers’ taste buds with new experience. The manufacturers have even made the products in such unique shapes as ingot, flower and Ferrero Rocher chocolate to allow consumers to enjoy the visual and taste shock at the same time.

Rice Cake, Rice Pudding Trying to Capture Gift Market

The Council said that the technique to make cakes with 100% rice flour has matured and cakes made of high-quality domestic rice not only preserve the flavor of rice and fragrant flexible texture but also are easy to digest because they are with low sweetness and not greasy. Rice cakes are especially suitable for consumers sensitive to gluten because they contain no wheat gluten. And the tinier starch powder in rice flour makes rice cakes more savory and delicious when being bitten and the cake will melt immediately after entering the mouth. Moreover, rice and milk can be cooked to become tender and smooth French-styled pudding and consumers will be moved happily by each mouthful of it since its rich fragrance of milk is mixed with the natural flavor of rice. The COA expects to see rice cake and rice pudding becoming the most popular food item as gift this year.

Come to Enjoy New Taste of Quality Domestic Rice Quickly

Rice moon cakes and gifts made from quality domestic rice are absolutely the healthiest, eco-friendliest and most delicious choice, said the COA. In addition to giving discounts and offering free delivery for orders to a certain amount, businesses have provided online channels for consumers to place orders in response to the promotion of local rice products. If you would like to enjoy the new taste of quality domestic rice products, please check related information at the website of Agriculture and Food Agency (http://www.afa.gov.tw/Public/peasant/2011841655517055.pdf). It is really good to support quality local rice products with actual trading while consuming fresh rice products for the enjoyment of the palate, so take action quickly! (2011-08-05 )