''Yeot'' is a variety of ''

hangwa ''Hangwa'' () is a general term for traditional Korean confections. With ''tteok'' (rice cakes), ''hangwa'' forms the sweet food category in Korean cuisine. Common ingredients of ''hangwa'' include grain flour, fruits and roots, sweet ingre ...

'', or

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

traditional

confectionery Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

. It can be made in either

liquid A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...

solid Solid is one of the State of matter#Four fundamental states, four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and Plasma (physics), plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount o ...

form, as a syrup, taffy, or

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

. ''Yeot'' is made from steamed

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

glutinous rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

glutinous sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a Poaceae, grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethan ...

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

sweet potatoes The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young sho ...

, or mixed grains. It is presumed to have been used before the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

period. The steamed ingredients are lightly

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

and boiled in a large pot called a ''sot'' (솥) for a long time. ''Yeot'' boiled for a shorter time is called ''

jocheong ''Cheong'' () is a name for various sweetened foods in the form of syrups, marmalades, and fruit preserves. In Korean cuisine, ''cheong'' is used as a tea base, as a honey-or-sugar-substitute in cooking, as a condiment, and also as an alternativ ...

'' (조청), liquid ''yeot''. This sticky syrup-like ''

'' is usually used as a

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific Flavoring, flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is serv ...

for cooking and for

coating A coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the Substrate (materials science), substrate. The purpose of applying the coating may be decorative, functional, or both. Coatings may be applied as liquid ...

other ''

'', or as a dipping sauce for '' garae tteok'', white cylindrical ''

tteok ''Tteok'' ( ko, 떡) is a class of Korean rice cakes made with steamed flour made of various grains, including glutinous rice, glutinous or non-glutinous Japonica rice, rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make ''tt ...

''. If boiled for a longer time, the ''yeot'' will solidify when chilled, and is called ''gaeng yeot'' (갱엿). ''Gaeng yeot'' is originally brownish but if stretched (as taffy is prepared), the color lightens. Pan-fried

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

, nuts,

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

sunflower seeds The sunflower seed is the seed of the sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). There are three types of commonly used sunflower seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. Each variety has its own unique levels of monounsatu ...

walnuts A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true bot ...

, or

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...

can be added into or covered over the ''yeot'' as it chills. Variations of ''yeot'' are named for their secondary ingredients, as follows.Yeot
at Britannica Korea

Types

*Ssallyeot (쌀엿) – made from rice *Hobakyeot (호박엿) – made with

, local specialty of

Ulleungdo Ulleungdo (also spelled Ulreungdo; Hangul: , ) is a South Korean island 120 km (75 mi) east of the Korean Peninsula in the Sea of Japan, formerly known as the Dagelet Island or Argonaut Island in Europe. Volcanic in origin, the rocky s ...

*Hwanggollyeot (황골엿) – made from a mixture of rice, corn, and malt. *Kkaeyeot (깨엿) – covered with ''kkae'' (깨,

) *Dangnyeot (닭엿) – local specialty of Jeju Island, made with glutinous millet and chicken *Kkwongnyeot (꿩엿) – local specialty of Jeju Island, made with glutinous millet and

pheasant meat Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Euras ...

*Dwaejigogiyeot (돼지고기엿) – local specialty of Jeju Island, made with glutinous millet and pork *Haneuraegiyeot (하늘애기엿) – local specialty of Jeju Island, made with glutinous millet and '' haneulaegi herb'' *Boriyeot (보리엿) – local specialty of Jeju Island, made with barley *Maneullyeot (마늘엿) – local specialty of Jeju Island, made with glutinous millet and garlic *Gochgamyeot (곶감엿) – local specialty of Sangju, made with dried persimmons *Yakyeot (약엿) – made with sesame, walnut, ginger, jujube. It was used as a tonic for sick people. *Tongoksusu (통옥수수엿) - made from corn sprouted.

The word ''yeot'' as slang

In modern times, the Korean phrase "eat ''yeot''" (엿 먹어라) has a vulgar meaning, comparable to using the words "fuck you" in English. The phrase originated from the middle-school entry exams scandal of 1964. One of the multiple choice questions asked in the exam: "Which of the following ingredients can be used instead of ''yeot oil'' (엿기름; barley malt) to make ''yeot''?" The correct answer was

diastase A diastase (; from Greek διάστασις, "separation") is any one of a group of enzymes that catalyses the breakdown of starch into maltose. Alpha amylase degrades starch to a mixture of the disaccharide maltose; the trisaccharide maltotriose, ...

, but another one of the multiple choices was '' mu'' juice, which many people argued was also a correct answer. The parents of the students whose grades suffered from this result held demonstrations and protests in front of government education bureaus and offices, holding up ''yeot'' made with ''mu'' juice and yelling to the officials to "eat ''yeot''". The

phallic A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely ...

shape of raw ''yeot'' had also led the candy to be used as a euphemism for penis as early as the sixteenth century.EXPLAINING WHY THE KOREAN SOCCER TEAM WAS PELTED WITH TOFFEE CANDY
Noonchi

Gallery

Image:Yeot.jpg, ''yeot'' coated with ''

gomul ''Gomul'' () refers to a number of powdered coatings, toppings, fillings, or dips in Korean cuisine. Uses ''Gomul'' is used to improve the appearance and taste of ''tteok'' (rice cake), including ''injeolmi'', '' danja'', and '' gyeongdan'', as ...

'' Image:Yeot 2.jpg, candy-like ''yeot'' Image:Korean pumpkin candy-Hobakyeot-01.jpg, Making ''hobakyeot'', pumpkin candies Image:Korean candy-Saenggang yeot-01.jpg, ''Saenggang yeot'', a ginger candy Image:Korean candy-Yeot-01A.jpg, Shaping ''yeot'' Image:Korea-Jejudo-Hobakyeot-01.jpg, ''Yeotjangsu'', ''yeot'' seller File:Korean candy-Ttangkong yeot-01.jpg, ''Ttangkongyeot'', ''yeot'' covered with peanuts

References

External links

Brief information about yeot
{{Authority control Hangwa Confectionery Syrup

Types

The word ''yeot'' as slang

Gallery

See also

References

External links