Gwapyeon (과편) is a type of Korean jelly. Gwapyeon can easily be made at home. All you need is some water, starch, fruits/berries and sugar.

To make Orange Gwapyeon (오렌지과편), take about six or so medium sized ripe oranges and squeeze the juice out from the oranges. Then place the orange juice in a pot. Add 1½ cup of water and 1 cup of 녹두녹말, which is basically starch. Then add two cups of sugar. Boil all the ingredients until the jelly hardens. If you like your jelly a little softer, add less starch for the next time. Also, if you want your jelly with a sweeter taste, add more cups of sugar.

Mulberry Gwapyeon (오디과편) is made by mixing about 150 grams of mulberries with ½ cups of water. Be sure to wash the mulberries before mixing. If you can’t find mulberries, you can also use blackberries as well. Turn the heat on and add ½ cup of starch and ¾ cups of sugar. When the sugar dissolves and the jelly hardens, turn the heat off. If you want to make a unique shape out of the jelly, turn the heat off before the jelly completely hardens. When the mixture is a semi liquid, pour it over a mold.

Apricot Gwapyeon (살구과편) is made by taking 15 small apricots and blending them in a mixer. Then take the mixture and add 1½ cups of sugar and 1½ cups of starch and 1 cup of water. If you want, you can use the dashik pans to make the mold. For more info on dashik pans go here: (https://blogs.transparent.com/korean/dashik/). Then let the jelly or gwanpyeon sit in the mold until the jelly shapes to the mold.

Cherry Gwapyeon (앵두과편) is made by adding about 3 cups of cherries. Then take about three cups of water and 1 cup of sugar with 2 cups of starch. This is optional, but you can also add about 1 teaspoon of salt for taste. Mix everything until the mixture is slightly hardened. If you want, you can pour everything in a rectangular or square sized bowl. Then take a cookie cutter and press it over the jelly. This is a great way to get star shaped gwapyeon that are not only pretty in color, but also pretty in shape.

Omija Gwapyeon (오미자과편) is a gwapyeon using 1½ cups of omega berries. These berries are a type of Korean berries, so if you can’t get these where you are currently based, then you can also use cherries as a substitute. Leave the omija berries in 2½ cups water overnight. Then drain the water and transfer the omija water to a pot. Add 1 cup of sugar, ½ cup of honey and ½ cup of starch. The 2 cups of syrup and 1 teaspoon of salt to taste are optional.

One thing to keep in mind is that gwapyeon tends to be thicker than let’s say American jello. You don’t see too many gwapyeon wobbling like the ones in American jelly. In addition, you can add as much sugar or starch as you like. These amounts are just general guidelines to give you an idea of how to make these Korean jelly snacks. It’s also up to you as to what fruit you want to use, but Korean people generally don’t use apples, peaches or pears for gwapyeon because of the color can turn unpleasant after boiling them.