"Han-gwa"/韩菓/한과

Share with you some of the traditional  "Han-gwa" in Korea.....

与您分享一些韩国的传统韩菓。。。。

Han-gwa is a general term for Korean traditional confectionery. Common ingredients in han-gwa are grain flour, honey, yeot, sugar, fruit.

The history of hangwa goes back to the era of the three kingdoms (BC 57 - AD 688) when it was consumed at the royal court. During the Goryeo dynasty (936–1392) buddhist diets forbade meat, therefore the cultivation of crops spread and increased. Different types of hangwa developed and people were so fond of them officials were afraid it might affect the crop volumes. Hangwa was forbidden by decree twice (in 1179 and 1192) and officials encouraged people to eat fruits instead. Hangwa restrictions continued in the Joseon period, it could only be consumed during ancestral rites, otherwise was punished by monetary fines or beating.
Hangwa had different shapes at first, mimicking living beings, shaped by wooden molds. Some of the shapes had meaning, for example butterflies symbolized happy marriage, lotus stood for harmony and bats brought luck. Later on they were shaped into a ball but this was found to be inconvenient for ancestral rites and eventually became cube-like. Hangwa shapes now include balls, cubes, long tubes, the round ones are printed with various patterns.

Types of han-gwa

• Yumilgwa (유과): made by frying and kneading.
  • Yakgwa, literally "medicinal confectionery" is a flower shape biscuit made of honey, sesame oil and wheat flour.
• Suksilgwa (숙실과), made by boiling fruits, ginger, or nuts in water and then reformed into the original fruit's shape, or other shapes.
• Gwapyeon (과편), jelly-like confection made by boiling sour fruits, starch, and sugar.
• Dasik (다식), literally "tea snack." It is made by kneading rice flour, honey, and various types of flour from nuts, herbs, sesame, or jujube.
• Yeot (엿): a Korean traditional candy in liquid or solid form made from steamed normal rice, glutinous rice, glutinous kaoliang, corn, sweet potatoes or mixed grains. The steamed ingredients are lightly fermented and boiled in a large pot called sot (솥) for a long time.
• Yeot gangjeong (엿강정) : Pine nuts, peanuts, popped rice, walnuts, roasted beans or sesame seeds rolled in yeot mixture
• Jeonggwa (정과) : Sugarized fruit, ginger, lotus root, carrot or ginseng
• Mandugwa (만두과) : stuffed with a sweetened filling and coated with jocheong, or liquid candy.

(source : wikipedia)

韩菓（韓語：한과, 조과／韓菓,漢菓,造果）是韩国传统糖果糕點的泛称，一般由谷物、面粉、蜂蜜、糖、水果等原料制作，主要包括茶食（다식）、江米條、油菓、药菓、熟实果、果片、饴、正果、馒头菓、梅雀菓等，在韓國通常搭配傳統茶飲一同食用，也是在傳統節日祭拜不可或缺的供品和韓國人過年送禮的禮品之一。韩国京畿道抱川市建有韩菓文化博物馆介绍韩菓的历史由来、制作过程等。

(质料来源: wikipedia )

 糕点.韩果的由来

    由于在三国时期的古墓中出土过蒸笼，故推断为三国（高句丽，新罗，百济）鼎立之前就有了韩菓。到了三国及统一的新罗时代以后，大面积农耕时代的展开使以米为主的谷物生产量大幅度增加，因此也出现了以其他谷物制作的食品。到了高丽时代发展的更快，不仅是在上流社会和节庆、祭祀中使用，也在民间广为流传。到了朝鲜时代，糕点已经成为各种婚礼、丧礼、祭礼等仪式中的必备食品，而且这种风俗作为传统习俗一直传到现在。  

糕点.韩果的定义

    糕点是将谷物磨成粉，用水揉和后蒸出食物的统称。白糕、蒸糕、年糕、小蒸饺、花煎、糯米煎糕、汤圆等都属于糕点。糕点作为和韩国人民的生活共同发展起来的食物有着韩国固有的情绪和文化。而且味道、营养、质感和香味的结合也非常科学。糕点根据季节和区域不同，其味道、香味和色泽也多样，都是有益健康的自然食品。糕点的材料都是当季的自然食品，将米、坚果、水果和蔬菜相混合，使5大营养元素均匀的被吸收，药理作用较大。

    不仅如此，韩菓还会添加多种食用花和中药药材，艾蒿、桂皮、栀子、芝草、五味子等多种天然颜料和天然香辛料，使打糕的外表更加华丽。打糕与季节和地方色彩相融合，与近邻共享，相辅相成可以增进情感。 

 韩菓是指韩国传统的饼干，比起西洋的饼干制作方法更加多样。韩菓是方便保存的天然食品，绝对不会使用膨胀剂、保鲜剂等化学物品，对身体有着很好的作用。其原料以糯米为主，在营养层面上，这种植物性的天然材料非常的好，杏仁、覆盆子、松花粉等中药药材的使用，也可以将食物作为药来吃，有着预防疾病的效果。用于调节色泽和香味的材料也都是天然颜料和天然香辛料，通过主料和辅料的相辅相成可以均匀的吸收各种营养。

(质料来源： 韩国料理咨询网）