''Gwapyeon'' () is a jelly-like ''
hangwa
() is a general term for traditional Korean confections. With ''tteok'' (rice cakes), forms the sweet food category in Korean cuisine. Common ingredients of include grain flour, fruits and roots, sweet ingredients such as honey and ''yeot'', ...
'' (traditional Korean confection) made with fruits.
The colorful fruit jelly is commonly served at banquets.
This classic dessert was
served in the royal court during the
Joseon
Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
dynasty.
Preparation
Fruits with a sweet-tart flavor and higher
pectin
Pectin ( ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural polymer contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal chemical component of pectin is galact ...
content, such as
Korean cherry,
Chinese quince,
apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
,
mountain hawthorn,
bokbunja,
Oriental cherry,
bog blueberry and
magnolia berry are preferred for making ''gwapyeon''.
The jelly can be made by boiling any of the above fruits in water, sieving it, then adding honey and simmering it for a long time on low heat.
Starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...
,
agar
Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from " ogonori" and " tengusa". As found in nature, agar is a mixture of two components, t ...
, or other
gelling agent
In polymer chemistry, gelation (gel transition) is the formation of a gel from a system with polymers. Branched polymers can form Cross-link, links between the chains, which lead to progressively larger polymers. As the linking continues, larger ...
s can be used as a time-saver. Boiled fruit juice is then cooled in a
mold
A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...
until it solidifies. It is sliced into bite-size pieces.
See also
* ''
Muk''
References
Fruit desserts
Hangwa
Jams and jellies
{{Korea-dessert-stub