Sweet Persimmon Syrup (Dan-gam Jo-cheong): A Natural Sweetener Like Honey, Perfect for Colds
How to Make Natural Sweet Persimmon Syrup (Dan-gam Jo-cheong) Quickly – Tastes Like Honey and is Great for Colds!
Hello and welcome! The weather is getting colder, and so is the season for catching colds. That’s why I’ve made a sweet persimmon syrup using fall’s star fruit, the sweet persimmon, which is known for its health benefits. If you often receive sweet persimmons as gifts or from the countryside, they can easily become overripe when stored with regular persimmons. To preserve them and enjoy their deliciousness, I’ll show you how to make a sweet persimmon syrup that tastes just like honey and can be used in many ways. This method also cuts down the cooking time significantly!
Sweet Persimmon Syrup Ingredients- 7kg Sweet Persimmons (well-ripened)
- 1.1kg Glutinous Rice
- 600g Malted Barley (for sikhye)
- 4L Water
- 2 Tbsp Sugar (to aid fermentation)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
① Prepare the Sweet Persimmons: First, thoroughly wash the 7kg of sweet persimmons and peel them. Cut them into pieces that are easy to boil. You don’t need to remove the seeds; they will naturally separate when you strain the cooked persimmons later.
Step 2
② Boil the Sweet Persimmons: Place the cut sweet persimmons in a pot with 2L of water. Use a pressure cooker and cook until well softened, about 5 minutes after the pressure valve starts to whistle. A pressure cooker is more convenient and faster than a regular pot. Let the boiled persimmons cool down slightly as they will be hot.
Step 3
③ Prepare Malted Barley Water and Cook Glutinous Rice: Soak the 1.1kg of glutinous rice in enough water to cover it for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine 600g of malted barley with 4L of water and let it soak for 30 minutes. Strain the malted barley through a cheesecloth to extract the liquid. (Tip: The cooked persimmon liquid can be a bit slimy, so it’s more efficient to make the malted barley water separately and add it to the cooked rice for fermentation, rather than mixing everything together initially.) Once the glutinous rice is cooked, stir it well, pour in the prepared malted barley water, add 2 Tbsp of sugar, and let it ferment on the ‘keep warm’ setting for 4 hours.
Step 4
④ Strain the Persimmon Liquid: Mash the cooled boiled persimmons and strain them through a sieve to collect the clear liquid. The persimmon liquid is slightly viscous, so we’ll strain it separately instead of mixing it directly with the malted barley water at this stage. We will combine it with the sikhye liquid later for simmering.
Step 5
⑤ Complete Sikhye and First Straining: After 4-5 hours, open the rice cooker. If the rice grains are well mashed, the sikhye has fermented nicely. Stir the finished sikhye well and strain it through a sieve to collect the liquid. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the remaining sikhye rice grains and discard them. Place the strained persimmon solids into a cheesecloth, add the sikhye liquid you just strained, and knead it well to extract more juice. Combine this extracted persimmon liquid with the main sikhye liquid.
Step 6
⑥ Simmer and Reduce to Syrup: Now, combine the sikhye liquid and the persimmon liquid to make the syrup. If the amount of liquid from the persimmons is excessive, divide the mixture into two pots and boil them separately over high heat. Once it starts boiling, skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Continue boiling each pot over high heat for about 1 hour and 20-30 minutes until the volume reduces. When the syrup starts to bubble and thicken, combine the contents of both pots into one. (Tip: Boiling in two separate pots significantly speeds up the process.) Reduce the heat to low and simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The entire process, from dividing the liquid to combining and simmering, takes approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes. The resulting sweet persimmon syrup has a taste and texture very similar to the traditional ‘Hoh-bak-yeot’ (pumpkin candy) that we used to cut with scissors. It’s highly recommended to try making this when sweet persimmons are abundant!
