Toffee making—national ICH element
March 17, 2026Korean ancestors realized that barley malt breaks down grain starch into sugar and, by applying the knowledge, added the malt to boiled rice or gruel to ferment it and put the fermented substance into a sack to squeeze liquid out of the sack, before boiling the liquid down into toffee.
According to ancient records, the toffee, which is made with glutinous rice gruel, malty powder, pepper, ginger, roasted sesame and the like, tastes best.
Toffee comes in various types according to additional ingredients or coating materials, such as pumpkin, jujube, chestnut, walnut, soybean and sesame.
It is also divided into liquid and solid ones.
The liquid toffee was used to add flavour to various foods in families and the solid one as a snack for children.
Different customs related to toffee came into being in the country in ancient times.
It was customary for Koreans to eat white toffee together with various other foods on lunar New Year’s Day.
Among the manners and customs related to toffee are the toffee-breaking game, the ballads by toffee peddlers and proverbs.
The winner of the toffee-breaking game is decided by the size of the hole in the toffee bar which is seen when it is broken. In autumn and winter, every family made toffees and children in the same villages would get together to see whose toffee bar had the largest hole in it. The child who had the largest hole in his toffee was declared winner and the one who had the smallest or no hole loser.
In the past, toffee vendors would peddle their toffees with wooden boxes containing toffees on their shoulders, singing ballads as they clinked large pairs of scissors, which were used to cut toffee bars.
Among the proverbs related to toffee, there are “You do as toffee peddlers do with their toffee” and “Did you put a toffee on your kitchen range?” The former is used for those who behave differently as they like and the latter is used for the guests who try to return home hurriedly.
The toffee making was registered as an element of national intangible cultural heritage in 2024.
THE PYONGYANG TIMES