() is a general term for traditional Korean confectionery.
Names
() translates to "Korean confectionery" referring to traditional confections contrasting with ''yanggwa'' (), which identifies "Western confectionery".
History
The history of goes back to the era of the three kingdoms (57 BCE ‒ 668 CE), when various types of confections were consumed by
royal family during festivities, national holidays or in court, according to the
Samguk yusa.
Following the two Buddhism dynasty, Unified Silla in the era of two kingdoms (698–926) and Goryeo (936‒1392), the cultivation of crops and consumption of confections increased drastically as the buddhism diets forbade meat.
Concerns regarding the increasingly excessive consumption of confections that have large amounts of oil, grain, and honey have consequently lead to several regulations throughout the course of its history.
Restrictions continued in the Joseon (1392‒1897), according to Daejeon hoetong that recorded that the use of deep-fried grain confections was restricted solely for rites, weddings, and toasts to longevity.
Categories
can be classified into eight main categories, namely ''[[dasik]]'' (tea food), ''[[gwapyeon]]'' (fruit jelly), ''[[jeonggwa]]'' (fruit jerky), ''[[suksil-gwa]]'', ''[[yeot-gangjeong]]'', ''[[yugwa]]'', ''[[yumil-gwa]]'', and [[candies|candy]].
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Candy – Traditional Korean candies can be eaten as they are, or used as sweetening ingredients in other types of . Dang (; "candy") or Dangryu (; "candy category") refers to hard and sweet confection. It can be made of crystallized sugar, or saccharified starch. Yeot is a traditional sweet in either liquid or solid form, as a syrup, taffy, or candy. It is made with grains such rice, glutinous rice, glutinous sorghum, maize, sweet potatoes, by saccharifying them using teot-gireum.
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Dasik, literally "tea food", is a bite-size sweet that is normally accompanied by tea. It is made by pressing honied powder into a decorative mold. Typical ingredients include rice flour, Pinus densiflora pollen, black sesame, Castanea crenata, and soybean.
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Gwapyeon is a jelly-like summer dessert made with a variety of fruits, such as berries, cherries, and apricots. It is made by mixing fruit juice with starch and agar to attain a gelatinous consistency.
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Jeonggwa is a crispy, chewy sweet made of , roots, or seeds. Common ingredients include Citrus junos, quince, apricot, Nelumbo nucifera root, Korean radish, carrot, Panax ginseng, Platycodon root, ginger, Arctium lappa root, bamboo shoot, and winter melon.
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Suksil-gwa, literally "cooked fruit", consists of fruit, roots, or seeds cooked and sweetened with honey. Common ingredients include Castanea crenata, Ziziphus jujuba, and ginger. Suksil-gwa is similar to—and sometimes classified as— jeonggwa, but has unique characteristics that differentiate it from the jeonggwa category.
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Yeot-gangjeong is made by mixing toasted seeds, nuts, beans, or popped grains with mullyeot and then cutting it into desired shapes. Common ingredients are , , , sesame or deulkkae seeds, and popped Japonica rice.
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Yugwa is a deep-fried confection made with glutinous rice flour dough. It can be classified into gangjeong, sanja, and hangwa depending on its shape and size.
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Yumil-gwa refers to a deep-fried confection made of wheat flour dough. It may be made of various ingredients such as honey, cooking oil, cinnamon powder, nuts and cheongju (rice wine).
Other varieties include:
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Gotgam-mari is a roll made of dried and . It can be made by rolling a toasted and peeled walnut with a dried, deseeded, and flattened persimmon, then slicing each roll like slicing a gimbap.
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Yaksik, also called yakbap, is a sweet rice dessert made with steamed glutinous rice mixed with honey, soy sauce, , Castanea crenata, pine nuts, and sesame oil.
Occasions
Traditionally, was offered during
jesa (ancestral rites),
chuseok (harvest festival), geolhonshik (weddings) or
Hwangap (sixtieth-birthday) celebrations.
Today can be purchased online, in markets, coffee shops or at tea houses.
Modern times
In the 1900s, began to fall out of favor with the introduction of sugar and western confection.
In recent years, it has seen a revitalization and is associated with holiday food. With the rising demand for , this market has seen increased support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery.
Today, it is offered as ceremonial food and is often gifted especially during seollal (Korean New Years). As society has sought healthier alternatives in consumable goods, efforts to produce confections to stimulate wellness began. Healthier was created by adding
ginseng,
green tea, and
Green laver.
See also
