Abstract
This article examines the types of tteok (Korean rice cake) recorded in 21 old literatures of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1909) according to its main ingredients. Tteok varieties of the Joseon dynasty were categorized into jjin-tteok, chin-tteok, jijin-tteok, salmeun-tteok and guun-tteok and their changes in cooking method were discussed from the early to late eras of the Joseon dynasty. These can be summarized as follows. In the early, middle and late eras of the Joseon dynasty, there were 1, 15 and 84 kinds of tteok using non-glutinous rice as the main ingredient, and 6, 24 and 120 kinds using glutinous rice, respectively. Tteok using wheat flour was not found in the early Joseon dynasty, whereas 6 and 32 kinds were found in the middle and late eras, respectively. There were 1, 4 and 5 kinds of tteoks using buckwheat, and 5, 11 and 19 kinds using other ingredients such as yam, barley, elephant's ear, oat, and arrowroot flour, in the early, middle and late eras, respectively. The frequency of the main ingredient increased in the order of glutinous rice>non-glutinous rice>wheat flour>other ingredient>buckwheat flour during the Joseon dynasty and the ratio of tteoks using non-glutinous and glutinous rice flours was 1:1.5. The number and types of tteok were noted to increase abruptly throughout the Joseon dynasty. This may be associated with the commercial industrial development that prevailed in the late Joseon dynasty. Further study will be conducted on their recipes and ingredients recorded in these old literatures to develop a standardized recipe for the globalization of tteok.
