Part 5

Boil one pound of brown sugar, one cupful of milk, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and one-quarter cupful of Irish potato--prepared as before--until a bit dipped from the mass will form a firm ball in cold water. Stir as little as possible. Pour on an oiled marble between candy bars. The result is more like fudge but is cooked to dryness without being grained by beating.

Opera Caramel.

To two cupsful of sugar, one cupful Irish potato boiled, drained and forced through a fine sieve, add one tablespoonful of butter and thin with one-half cupful of milk. Cook until thick; remove from the fire. Put in one-half cupful of milk again. Cook until thick, remove from the fire and add one-half cupful of milk. Return the pan to the fire again. This is the last time. It is wise to place an asbestos mat under the saucepan. Cook until very thick--until a soft ball can be formed in cold water.

After the mass has been removed from the fire, add one cupful of broken walnut meats, and one cupful of bon-bon cream, broken in small pieces so that it will be distributed quickly through the mass without much stirring and pour the mixture between candy-bars on an oiled marble. When cold cut it into squares; for home use it will not need wrapping.

As with potato caramel No. 1, this confection is most pleasantly susceptible to chocolate coating. Allow it to dry in the open air for several hours and then cover with chocolate as usual.

Broken nut meats can be added to any of the caramel recipes above.

X

POTATO--MISCELLANEOUS

Potatoes are probably the most useful vegetable known to the maker of vegetable confectionery. As has been explained in the preceding chapters, they are the basis of potato fondant and potato paste, both of which are basic mixtures.

The usefulness of the potato does not end with decorative candy. In the form both of paste and fondant and prepared in other ways, it is responsible for several pleasing new confections.

=Mocha Walnuts.=--To the yolk of one egg beaten to a cream, add one-half cupful of Irish potato--boiled, drained, and forced through a sieve as described before--and one teaspoonful of coffee extract. Gradually stir in confectioner's sugar until the mass can be made into soft balls. Flatten these balls, press on walnut meats, and spread to dry. If desired for packing, dip them into a crystal cooked to two hundred and twenty degrees. To insure a good surface and keep the cream from drying out, it may be well to dip the candy again after letting it dry a day.

See No. 8 in the frontispiece.

=Pecan Creams.=--The process for making them is the same as that described for making mocha walnuts except that lemon or vanilla extract is used instead of coffee,--see No. 14 of the frontispiece--and pecan meats, instead of walnut meats. Indeed, the imaginative candy-cook will be able to invent for herself several other new confections built upon this same principle.

=Raisin Creams.=--To make them, form potato fondant--directions for which are given on page 61--into balls and place a seeded raisin on each side. Cook a crystal syrup to two hundred and twenty-eight degrees and keep it warm by the use of the steam bath. Into it, dip, one by one, the fondant balls, prepared as above. Dry on racks. If desired, ordinary bon-bon cream, flavored and colored to suit the cook's fancy, may be substituted for the potato fondant. A satisfactory variety is given these raisin creams by pulling the raisin entirely over a pecan meat before attaching to the cream. This confection is rich in flavor and most attractive in shape.

=Peppermint Chocolates.=--Potato paste--described on page 52--is the basis for them. Make a softer paste by using less sugar, work in peppermint to taste, form it into balls, flatten and dry for a couple of hours. Then dip them in chocolate as usual. After the finished candy has stood for a time long enough for the chocolate covering to have mellowed the center, the result will be a cream of excellent flavor and a texture unusually attractive because of its grain. The difference between this and the ordinary peppermint chocolate is so great that they really are not the same confection.

=Celtic Almonds.=--This attractive confection is in reality a cream, but a cream so different from the ordinary nut cream that it seems to fall into a separate class. In place of the usual richness, there is here a delicacy of flavor and clearness of outline that is a distinctly enjoyable addition to confectionery.

Blanch almonds, split them, and dry in a soft cloth. Color potato fondant pink and flavor it with rose. Roll fondant so prepared into small balls, and place upon each side of each a split almond. Each piece should then be made to imitate as clearly as possible the shape of the real almond. The ideal result is a confection that is very little larger than the real almond with a thin layer of cream between translucent nut meats. After a little experimentation, persuasive fingers can accomplish this result. When fashioned, dip the candies into a crystal syrup cooked to two hundred and twenty-five degrees and roll in granulated sugar.

Walnuts or pecans can be treated in the same way with white or colored fondant. The result, however, will not be so distinctively dainty and will be little improvement upon the mocha walnuts and pecan creams described above.

=Chocolate Bars.=--As the basis, take cooked potato fondant which has been well kneaded. Form it into a sheet about one-quarter of an inch thick. Cut therefrom bars an inch and a quarter long by a quarter of an inch wide. Dip them in chocolate and let them dry.

A pleasing variation is made from the same base--cooked potato fondant. Knead into it melted chocolate. A portion of the resulting mass may be formed into balls and the rest rolled into a long piece as slender as a pipe stem. This small cylinder should be cut into two inch lengths and the ends pointed. Another method is to make small balls and give these a very thin coating of white fondant. In any case, dry on a corn starch bed and coat with chocolate.

=Vegetable Cream.=--Vegetable cream is another base with which much can be done in vegetable candy-making. In itself, it is good to eat and can be made to take many different and useful forms. To make it, mix two cupsful of sugar, one cupful of Irish potato--boiled or steamed, drained and forced through a sieve--one teaspoonful of butter, and one-half teaspoonful of salt. Boil to two hundred and twenty-eight degrees. Have ready one-fourth cupful each of preserved garden "ginger" and spiced beets drained from their syrup; cut very fine, and spread upon a marble slab. Over beet and "ginger" pour the cooked mixture, and "cut in" as for fondant. "Gingers" are described upon page 101 and spiced beets upon page 111.

Below, there are suggested five ways of using the cream. Many others, however, will come to the mind of the experienced candy-cook.

Vegetable cream may be formed into balls and rolled in granulated sugar. The balls so prepared may then be rolled in shredded cocoanut, cut fine, or the balls without the sugar may be covered with the cocoanut.

Another possibility is to dip the balls into chocolate. Nuts may be added, either by rolling the balls in the meats cut into little pieces, or by pressing the meats into the balls and treating with the crystal syrup, or by using a drop or two of the crystal to glue the nut meat to the ball and then coating. Moreover, the balls may be used in their simple form without any covering at all.

No matter what is done with them, of course, they must be dried off before serving.

XI

SWEET POTATO

Sweet potatoes used as the basis for candy-making should be baked. Boiled sweet potato changes color during the succeeding processes and retains an amount of water that is likely to cause trouble. After baking, the potato should be forced through a fine sieve. Make sure that the sifting process is done so thoroughly that all fiber is removed.

=Sweet Potato Patties.=--For the patties, boil until very thick one pound of granulated sugar, one cupful of sweet potato prepared as above; one-half cupful of desiccated cocoanut, and one-half cupful of water. When the mixture has cooked, add one-half cupful of bon-bon cream, cut into small pieces. Stir thoroughly. As the mass begins to set, drop it quickly on waxed paper in small drops. Act promptly, for the mass sets quickly. The drops will not be smooth.

To improve the looks of these patties, they may be dipped in a crystal syrup, cooked to two hundred and twenty degrees; and then dusted with granulated sugar. If they are not wanted immediately, they may be packed for any length of time not exceeding six weeks provided they have been finished with the crystal and granulated sugar.

=Sweet Potato Knots.=--Cook until very thick equal quantities of granulated sugar and sweet potato--prepared as before--and add a few drops of oil of cinnamon. If another color is preferred to the natural amber, add coloring paste to suit. Immediately spread the mixture over a tin sheet upon which has been sifted confectioner's sugar. The tin should be of such a size that the mass will be about one-quarter of an inch thick. When it has dried so that it will not stick to the fingers, with a long, thin knife, cut narrow ribbon-like strips about six inches long. Fashion them into bowknots. Be sure that there is not undue thickness at the center. The tools described in the second chapter--particularly page 16--will be useful as will also be the glass sheet. If the candy is moist, dip the hands into XXXX sugar. Dry on oilcloth or waxed paper. When firm, dip into a crystal which has been cooked to two hundred and twenty-five degrees and allowed to stand for five minutes. Dry on a screen.

Their attractiveness can be seen at a glance at the foreground of the illustration opposite page 138, and by looking at No. 18 in the frontispiece.

=Sweet Potato Pastilles.=--They are made from the same mixture as are the knots. While the mixture is still hot, drop it in small drops upon a cold bare marble, and dust them with granulated sugar. When they have dried for several hours, or, if possible, over night, lift with a thin knife, place two drops together by their bases, dredge again with granulated sugar to cover the edges, and dry.

XII

PARSNIP

Crystallization forms the basis of candy-making with parsnips. By means of a modification of the old fashioned French hand method, it is possible to make a confection that is good in itself, useful as the basis for other confections, and of unusually long keeping qualities. Parsnip candy, though the invention of to-day, has a pleasing old fashioned taste and appearance.

=Candied Parsnips.=--In method of preparation and keeping qualities, they resemble the candied flag root of our grandmothers. They are useful to trim a box of candy. Peel the parsnips and leave them in cold water for two or three hours. Cut cross-wise into very thin slices, drop the slices into boiling water, and let them boil five minutes. After they have thoroughly drained, put them into a syrup made by boiling together one part of water and three parts of granulated sugar. Make sure that the syrup really is a syrup--that the sugar and water have thoroughly united. Add the parsnips and boil for ten minutes.

Next comes the use of a novel modification of hand crystallization--a process that the amateur candy-maker may well afford to make herself master of, because it is useful for many confections. Obtain a pan with sloping sides into which the drying rack will drop half way. As the pan must be used for candy-making and nothing else and as the greatest strength is not necessary, a suitable dish can probably be obtained from a ten-cent store. Stir carefully with a wooden paddle in order to make sure that all the pieces are separated and that the hot syrup comes into contact with all the surfaces of the confections.

Pour the hot mass over the rack--in position in the pan--and immediately put a board over the pan. Make sure that the vegetable is evenly distributed. The wood absorbs the moisture while a tin cover would make trouble by causing the steam to condense and drop back onto the candy. Leave the pan undisturbed for twenty-four hours. Then lift the rack out, pour the syrup into the kettle and cook to two hundred and twenty degrees. Return the vegetable to the syrup and stir carefully; each piece must be immersed. The small pieces of candy will be heated through in so very short a time that it is necessary only to make sure that each piece has been thoroughly immersed in the hot syrup. Make sure that the rack is clean and free from particles of the syrup. Thereupon, again pour it over the rack arranged in the pan as before. Repeat the process four times, each time cooking the syrup two degrees hotter. The result is a slow crystallization which covers the candy so that it is perfectly preserved and very good to taste and look upon. Although the work must be distributed over six days, only a very few minutes are required except upon the first day.

=Parsnip Boutonniere.=--The candied parsnip forms the basis of one of the most decorative of all boutonnieres. For each of them have ready, besides a supply of the parsnips, candied as above, artificial fern, sometimes sold under the name "imitation air plant," a lace mat, a number twenty-two wire, and one yard of ribbon one-half inch wide, the preferred color. See the illustration opposite page 72.

Mix one cupful of sugar and one-third cupful of water, and color the same as the ribbon. Cook the syrup thus made to two hundred and twenty-five degrees. Into this hot syrup drop the crystallized parsnips, and allow them to remain a few minutes. After they have become thoroughly and evenly colored, pour them upon a wire screen. After they have dried, attach to about two dozen of them pieces of wire about six inches long. It is well to place a drop of thick syrup at the point at which the wire enters the candy.

Cut the ferns into lengths of from two to four inches. Mix the wired candies through the bunch of ferns, occasionally twisting a strand of fern around the wires so that all wires will be hidden. Slip the lace mat up over the wires and the ends of the ferns, wrap wires with tissue paper and cover with tinsel foil, either silver or gilt, and tie the center of the ribbon around the stem directly under the mat and form a rosette. About five inches from the point tie the ends together in a bow knot.

XIII

CARROT

To the art of candy-making, the use of carrots has brought a harmless new color. Formerly the peculiar yellowish orange of the carrot candy was a shade that the confectioner, amateur or otherwise, could not hope to attain without the use of artificial substances.

The statement that carrots are valuable in candy-making for their color must not be thought to mean that the confections made from them are not very good to eat. Quite the contrary; carrot candies have a very pleasing flavor.

=Carrot Rings.=--To make them, peel medium sized carrots and let them stand several hours in cold water. Cut cross-wise into slices about one-quarter of an inch thick and with a small round cutter or sharp knife remove the center pith. Drop the rings into boiling water and cook until tender. After they have thoroughly drained, drop them into a syrup made by boiling one part of water and three parts of sugar to two hundred and twenty degrees. Boil until the rings become translucent--probably about ten minutes. Dry on a wire rack, taking care that the rings do not touch. The next day, heat the syrup to two hundred and twenty-five degrees and again dip the rings and dry as before. If desired, when they are dry, fill the centers with bon-bon cream or marzipan. When this center has become firm, dip the candy into a syrup cooked to two hundred and twenty-eight degrees. Even if the centers are not filled, it is well to make this third dipping; the thermometer should, however, register two hundred and thirty degrees instead of merely two hundred and twenty-eight.

=Crystallized Carrot.=--For this confection, proceed exactly as directed in the previous chapter for crystallized parsnip, substituting, of course, the carrots for the parsnips.

=Carrot Roll.=--From ordinary cream fondant or from cooked potato fondant, make a thin strip about an inch wide. Place upon it small pieces of the crystallized carrot, prepared as directed above, and roll so that there is formed a long tube filled with the candied vegetable. Cut this tube into pieces as long as desired--half an inch is about right--and after drying until quite firm dip into a crystal cooked to two hundred and twenty-five degrees. If the pieces are not firm when they go into the crystal bath they are likely to soften and lose their roundness.

"=Gingers.="--Preserved ginger is a delightful confection, but it is expensive, and cannot be obtained in every town. There is a substitute that when properly prepared has an added charm, because it is the product of the candy-maker's own art. Note the box at the extreme right of the illustration facing page 98.

=Garden "Ginger."=--Take white carrots, preferably of fine texture, boil them five or ten minutes, scrape off the outside layer, cut the carrots in quarters, lengthwise, and remove the cores. Then remove the point and cut the remainder into slices about the size of the pieces of preserved ginger. Boil the pieces in fresh water until they are tender, but change the water frequently to destroy all vegetable taste and odor. Yellow carrots can be used, but in that case the resulting confection will differ from preserved ginger in color, although not in taste.

To every pound of cooked carrots add two pounds of granulated sugar, one quart of water, two ounces of green ginger root shaved fine, and the juice and grated rind of one lemon. Boil the mixture for fifteen minutes, and repeat the boiling the next day, and surely once or twice more; at any rate, until the syrup is very thick. If the boiling was continuous for five hours, the moisture would be eliminated, but the texture of the "ginger" would probably be ruined. The short cookings give the carrots the opportunity to absorb the cooling syrup slowly. If less water were used,--in order to reduce the time of cooking,--the carrot would harden too rapidly to take up enough syrup.

If the "ginger" is not wanted for immediate use, it can be stored in the syrup. The confection may be finished at once and packed dry, but the better method of preservation is in the liquid. The open season for carrots is very short and for the "ginger" is the whole year long!

To finish, heat the syrup thoroughly and then drain. After the liquid has stopped dripping, roll each piece of the "ginger" in granulated sugar, place the pieces on a wire tray, making sure that no two pieces touch, and put the tray in an oven very slightly heated. When the confection is dry it is done.

=Variations.=--Three variations are possible. If a sharper taste is desired, add a few grains of Cayenne pepper the last time the syrup is boiled. If a moister product is preferred, omit the lemon-juice and rind. If green ginger cannot be obtained, substitute one ounce of ground ginger. Ground ginger, however, must be boiled in a fine cloth bag; otherwise particles of it will adhere to the pieces of carrot.

XIV

BEAN

=Candied Green Beans.=--Select well filled pods of green beans; wash, and then cook until tender in water to which a little soda has been added. Drain.

To a pound of beans so cooked, add one gill of water, one pound of sugar, and one tablespoonful of vinegar. Boil this mixture for fifteen minutes, and let it remain in the syrup over night. The next day, drain the syrup from the beans and cook it to two hundred and twenty degrees. Place the beans upon the screen of the crystal pan, pour the syrup over them, and cover with a board. Repeat the process next day.

When wanted for use, drain the syrup from the beans. Cook the syrup to two hundred and thirty degrees, return the beans to it, allowing them thoroughly to heat through. Turn them onto the screen, making sure that they are well spread. Cover with a board, and, after a few hours, spread singly.

=Bean Taffy.=--Bean taffy easily takes first rank among all taffies--vegetable or otherwise. The taste is good beyond words, and the consistency is pleasingly "chewy" without being tenacious to the point of teeth pulling!

Lima beans are the best to use as the basis because the skins can easily be removed, but ordinary dried beans may be substituted if care is taken. Cover the beans with cold water, let them stand over night, and the next morning boil them until soft, and force through a fine sieve to remove all the skins.

Boil together two cupsful of granulated sugar, one-half cupful of water, a tablespoonful of butter, and one-half cupful of the beans, prepared as above. After the mixture has boiled thoroughly, add one cupful of milk. Add the cupful of milk, one-third at a time. Stir the mixture and let it boil a few minutes after each addition of milk. When the thermometer registers two hundred and forty-two degrees, pour the mass onto an oiled marble between oiled candy bars so that it will set about one-quarter inch thick. As with ordinary taffy, cut into pieces of the desired size.

=Nut Bean Taffy.=--Cut Brazil nuts cross-wise into shavings about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness--about the thickness of the pieces of shaved cocoanut. Spread as many of them as are desired upon oiled marble between oiled candy bars. Pour over the nuts the mass described above. Treat as before.

XV

BEET

To the candy cook, the discovery that beets make good confectionery brings a new flavor and a new color--one as desirable as the other, and that is saying a great deal! In candy made from beets there are several new shades of red which previously could not be obtained even by the use of artificial coloring matter.

In case the beet color is desired for candies made upon other bases, it can be had very easily. The beets should be boiled until the water is colored red. Then this water may be substituted for the water called for by other receipts in vegetable candy-making. The beet color will be given but the beet flavor will not be. The result is a pleasing color without the use of anything that is artificial.

=Frosted Beet Slice.=--Boil to two hundred and thirty-two degrees two cupsful of sugar, one tablespoonful of grated raw beet, one-third cupful of water, one teaspoonful of vinegar, and one teaspoonful of butter. Remove from the fire and stir in one-half cupful of broken walnut meats. When the mass begins to thicken, pour it between oiled candy bars on an oiled marble so that it will form a layer three-quarters of an inch thick. When cool, cover one-quarter of an inch thick with a frosting made of one cupful of sugar, one-quarter cupful of water, and one-eighth teaspoonful of cream of tartar, boiled without stirring to two hundred and thirty-four degrees and then flavored with a few drops of vanilla and lemon and beaten until creamy. When set,--a quick process--cut the mass into pieces about one-half inch wide and one and one-half inches long. If the confection is to be kept, crystallize at two hundred and twenty-five degrees. The looks are improved if the confection is then rolled in granulated sugar. Dry on a wire screen for twelve hours or so.

Note No. 10 in the frontispiece.