Seasons and holidays

Harvest festival foods

From Chuseok in Korea to the Mid-Autumn Festival in China and Thanksgiving in North America, autumn brings feasts that celebrate the harvest. Sweet cakes, pies and seasonal produce take center stage.

Mooncake
People's Republic of China Taiwan
A rich pastry eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a harvest and moon-viewing celebration.
A mooncake is a Chinese baked item traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節). The festival is primarily about the harvest, while a legend connects it to moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy.
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Songpyeon
South Korea
Half-moon rice cakes steamed on pine needles, traditionally eaten during Chuseok.
Songpyeon (Korean: 송편) is a small Korean rice cake (tteok) shaped like a half-moon.
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Pumpkin pie
United States
A spiced pumpkin pie prepared for Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada.
Pumpkin pie is a dessert pie with a spiced, pumpkin-based custard filling. The pumpkin and pumpkin pie are both a symbol of harvest time, and pumpkin pie is generally eaten during the fall and early winter.
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Sweet potato pie
United States
A sweet potato pie served during the American holiday season, especially Thanksgiving.
Sweet potato pie is a traditional dessert pie originating in the Southern United States.
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Green bean casserole
United States
A creamy green bean side dish that is an icon of the American Thanksgiving dinner.
Green bean casserole is an American baked dish consisting primarily of green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and crisp fried onions. It was popularized in the United States from a recipe printed on a soup can starting in the 1950s.
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Yakgwa
South Korea
A honey-and-sesame-oil cookie offered at ancestral rites and enjoyed on festive days such as Chuseok.
Yakgwa (Korean: 약과), also called gwajul (과줄), is a type of yumil-gwa, which is deep-fried, wheat-based hangwa (Korean confection) made with honey, cheongju (rice wine), sesame oil, and ginger juice.
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Snow skin mooncake
People's Republic of China Hong Kong
A chilled, soft-skinned version of the mooncake that is also enjoyed around the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Snow skin mooncake, snowy mooncake, ice skin mooncake or crystal mooncake is a Chinese confection eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is a cold mooncake with glutinous rice skin, originating from Hong Kong.
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Pongal
India
A rice dish cooked in a pot until it overflows, central to the Tamil harvest festival Pongal.
Pongal (lit. 'to boil over') is a dish of rice cooked in boiling milk. It is a popular dish cooked by the Tamil people in South India and Sri Lanka. Its preparation is the main custom associated with the namesake Pongal festival.
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Cider doughnut
United States
Apple cider doughnuts, a harvest tradition of autumn in the northeastern United States.
Cider doughnuts or apple cider doughnuts are American cake doughnuts that get their flavor from cinnamon, nutmeg and apple cider used in the batter.
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Candy apple
United States
A sugar-coated apple sold at fall festivals after the apple harvest.
Candy apples (in American English) or toffee apples (in Commonwealth English) are whole apples covered in a sugar candy coating, with a stick inserted as a handle.
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Musakhan
Jordan Palestine
Sumac chicken on flatbread, traditionally cooked in the olive harvest season in Palestine.
Musakhan (Arabic: مسخّن, lit. 'something that is [re]heated'), also known as muhammar (Arabic: محمّر, lit.
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Cranachan
United Kingdom
A Scottish dessert of oats, cream, whisky and raspberries, originally made to celebrate the harvest.
Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert. It was originally a celebration of harvest, made following the raspberry harvest in August. The dessert of cream and fresh seasonal raspberries is bolstered by Scottish oats and whisky.
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Takikomi gohan
People's Republic of China Japan
Rice cooked with seasonal mushrooms and root vegetables, a Japanese autumn favorite.
Takikomi gohan (炊き込みご飯) is a Japanese rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce and mixed with mushrooms, vegetables, meat, or fish. The ingredients are cooked together with the rice.
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