Cheong (food)


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 alternative medicine to treat the common cold and other minor illnesses.
Originally, the word cheong was used to refer to honey in Korean royal court cuisine. The name jocheong was given to mullyeot and other human-made honey-substitutes. Now, honey is rarely called cheong in Korean, but is instead called kkul, which is the native name for honey. The name kkul was used in the past, outside the royal court.

Varieties

Maesil-cheong, also called "plum syrup", is an anti-microbial syrup made by sugaring ripe plums. In Korean cuisine, maesil-cheong is used as a condiment and sugar substitute. The tea made by mixing water with maesil-cheong is called maesil-cha.
It can be made by simply mixing plums and sugar together, and then leaving them for about 100 days. To make syrup, the ratio of sugar to plum should be at least 1:1 to prevent fermentation, by which the liquid may turn into maesil-ju. The plums can be removed after 100 days, and the syrup can be consumed right away, or mature for a year or more.

Mogwa-cheong

Mogwa-cheong, also called "preserved quince", is a cheong made by sugaring Chinese quince. Either sugar or honey can be used to make mogwa-cheong. Mogwa-cheong is used as a tea base for mogwa-cha and mogwa-hwachae, or as an ingredient in sauces and salad dressings.

Yuja-cheong

Yuja-cheong, also called "yuja marmalade", is a marmalade-like cheong made by sugaring peeled, depulped, and thinly sliced yuja. It is used as a tea base for yuja-cha, as a honey-or-sugar-substitute in cooking, and as a condiment.

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