Part 3

ALMOND HARDBAKE.--Oil a square or round tin with low edges; split some almonds in half, put them in rows over the bottom, with the split side downward, until the surface is covered; boil some raw sugar to the crack, and pour it over them so as to cover the whole with a thin sheet of sugar. Cocoanut (cut in thin slices), currant, and other similar candies, are made as the hardbake, except that the sugar is grained before it is poured over.

ALMOND ROCK.--This is a similar production to nogat, and is made with raw sugar, which is boiled to the crack. Pour it on an oiled stone, and fill it with sweet almonds, either blanched or not; the almonds are mixed with the sugar by working them into it with the hands, in a similar manner as you would mix anything into a piece of dough. If they were stirred into the sugar in the pan it would grain, which is the reason why it is melted for nogat. Form the rock into a ball or roll, and make it into a sheet about two inches thick, by rolling it with a rolling-pin. The top may be divided into diamonds or squares by means of a long knife or piece of iron; when it is nearly cold cut it into long narrow pieces with a strong knife and hammer.

BARLEY SUGAR.--Boil some clarified loaf sugar to the crack or caramel degree, using a little acid to prevent its graining; pour it out on a marble slab, which has been previously oiled or buttered. Four pieces of iron, or small square bars, are usually employed to form a sort of bay to prevent the sugar running off the stone, which is necessary in large casts. When the edges get set a little, remove the bars, and turn them over into the center. This is occasionally flavored with lemons. When it is required, pour a few drops of the essential oil of lemons in the center, before the edges are folded over, then cut it into narrow strips with a large pair of scissors or sheep shears. When nearly cold, twist them, put them into glasses or tin boxes, and keep them closed to prevent the access of air. It is seldom boiled higher than the crack, and saffron is used to make it the color of caramel.

This derives the name of barley sugar from its being originally made with a decoction of barley, as a demulcent in coughs, for which it is now most generally used.

BARLEY SUGAR DROPS.--Boil some sugar as for the preceding. Spread some finely powdered and sifted loaf sugar on a table or tea-tray, with a piece of stick, round at the end similar to the half of a ball; make several holes, into which you run the sugar from a lipped pan, or it may be dropped on an oiled marble slab with a funnel, letting only one drop fall at a time; or from the lip pan, separating each drop with a small knife, or a straight piece of small wire; take them off the stone with a knife, mix them with powdered loaf sugar, sift them from it, and keep in glasses or tin boxes.

BARLEY SUGAR TABLETS OR KISSES.--Spread some sugar, as for the last. Have a piece of wood about an inch and a half thick, with the surface divided into small squares, each being about an inch in breadth and half an inch in depth; with this form the impressions in the sugar, and fill them with sugar boiled as for drops, flavoring it with essence of lemon; or instead of this, it may be poured out in a sheet on an oiled marble slab, as for barley sugar, and when nearly cold divide it into pieces with a tin frame, having small square divisions, when the whole sheet may be divided at once by pressing hard on it so as to cut it nearly through. When cold, separate them and mix them with powdered sugar, take them out and fold them separately in fancy or colored papers, with a motto on each.

They are also occasionally made into balls, thus: First cast the sugar in a sheet on an oiled marble slab; when the edges are set, fold them in the middle, then oil a small square tin with edges to it, put the sugar in this, and place it under the fire-place of the stove so as to keep warm; cut off a piece and roll it into a pipe, then cut it into small pieces with a pair of shears, and let your assistant roll it into small balls under his hand on a sandstone; marble is too smooth for this purpose. Many lads who are used to it can turn eight or ten under each hand at one time. When they are finished, pat them into powdered sugar, wrap them in fancy papers, fringed at the ends, put a motto in each, and fasten them with small bands of gold paper. Sometimes a cracker is folded up in each, which is made with two narrow strips of stiff paper, a small piece of sand or glass paper is pasted on the end of each, and these are placed over each other with a little fulminating powder between, a piece of thin paper is bound round it, and pasted to keep them together; when these are pulled asunder, the two rough surfaces meeting cause the powder to explode, and out flies the ball of sugar with the motto. This innocent amusement often causes much mirth in a company.

BRANDY BALLS, ETC.--These are made from loaf sugar boiled to the crack, and colored either with cochineal or saffron, and finished in the same way as acidulated drops, without being flattened.

CLOVE, GINGER, OR PEPPERMINT CANDY.--These are all made in the same way as raspberry, using the essential oil of each for flavor. For clove, the mixture, whilst boiling, is colored with cochineal; ginger with saffron; but the peppermint must be kept perfectly white, except the stripes, which is done by cutting off as many pieces from the bulk as you have colors, which should be in powder; put a sufficiency in each piece to give the desired tint, and keep them warm. When the remaining portion of the sugar is pulled, lay them over the surface in narrow stripes, double the roll together, and the face each way will be alike. Pull them out into long sticks and twist them; make them round by rolling them under the hand, or they may be cut into small pieces with a pair of shears or scissors.

NOGAT.--Two pounds of sweet almonds, one pound of sugar, one pound of water. Blanch the almonds, and cut them in slices, dry them at the mouth of a cool oven, and if slightly browned, the better; powder the sugar, and put it into a stew-pan, with the water; place it on the fire to melt, stirring it with a spatula until it becomes a fine brown, then mix in the almonds, and let them be well covered with the sugar; pour it out on an oiled marble-stone. It may be made into a thick or thin sheet, and cut with a knife into small pieces, such as dice, diamonds, etc. The surface may be strewed with currants, fillets of pistachios or coarse sugar, and cut into different forms with tin cutters.

It may also be formed into baskets, vases, etc. Oil the interior of a mold, and spread the nogat over it, whilst warm, as thin and even as possible. To save the fingers from being burned, it may be spread with a lemon. Detach it from the mold when warm, and let it remain until cold, that it may retain its shape perfectly, then fasten the different parts together with caramel sugar. For baskets, a handle of spun sugar may be placed over it, or ornamented with it according to fancy. These may be filled with whipped or other creams when required to be served.

RASPBERRY CANDY.--This may either be made from raw or refined sugar. Boil it to the crack, and color it with cochineal; pour it on a stone rubbed over with a little oil or butter, cut off a small piece, and keep it warm to stripe or case the other part, when finished; to the remainder add a little tartaric acid (not so much as for drops), and some raspberry paste, sufficient to flavor it. The residue of raspberries used for making vinegar, and preserved with an equal quantity of sugar, or even less, as for raspberry cakes, does very well for this purpose. Fold the edges over into the center, and attach it to a hook fixed against the wall; pull it towards you, throwing it on the hook each time after having pulled it out; continue doing this until it gets rather white and shining, then make it into a compact long roll, and either stripe it with the piece you cut off, or roll it out in a sheet with a rolling-pin, and wrap it round it so as to form a sort of case; then pull it into long narrow sticks, and cut them the required length.

TO EXTRACT THE ACID FROM CANDIED DROPS, ETC.--All the articles which have acid mixed with them are extremely liable to grain, when they are useless except to sell for broken pieces, as they cannot be boiled again unless the acid is extracted. The method of doing this is at present not generally known in the trade, and it is kept by many that are in possession of it as a great secret. Five dollars is often paid for this recipe alone. However great the secret may be considered, it is only returning to the first principles in the manufacture of sugar. When the juice is expressed from the canes, it contains a considerable quantity of oxalic acid, which must be destroyed before it will granulate into sugar; for this purpose lime is employed, which has the desired effect; so will it also in this case, but chalk or whitening is most generally used. First dissolve your acid sugar in water; when this is thoroughly accomplished, mix in a sufficient quantity of either of these alkalies in powder to cause a strong effervescence; after it has subsided, pass it through a flannel bag, according to the directions for clarifying sugar. The filtered syrup will be fit to use for any purpose, and may be boiled again to the crack or caramel degree as well as if no acid had ever been mixed with it. Let the pan it is dissolved in be capable of containing as much again as there is in it, or the effervescence will flow over.

CRYSTALLIZED SUGAR, AND ARTICLES CRYSTALLIZED, COMMONLY CALLED CANDIES.

CRYSTALLIZED OR CANDIED SUGAR.--Provide a round mold, smaller at the bottom than the top, of any size you may think proper, made either of tin or copper, with holes pierced round the sides about three inches asunder, so as to fasten strings across in regular rows from the top to the bottom, leaving sufficient room for the sugar to crystallize on each string without touching, or it will form a complete mass; paste paper round the outside to prevent the syrup from running through the holes. Have the mold prepared, and let it be clean and dry; take sufficient clarified syrup to fill the mold, and boil it to the degree of crystallization or the feather, and add a little spirit of wine; remove it from the fire, and let it rest until a thin skin is formed on the surface, which you must carefully remove with a skimmer; then pour it into the mold, and place it in the hot closet, where you let it remain _undisturbed_ for eight or nine days, at 90 degrees of heat, or half that time at 100; then make a hole, and drain off the superfluous sugar into a pan placed below to receive it; let it drain quite dry, which will take about twelve hours; then wash off the paper from the mold with warm water, place it near the fire, and keep turning it to warm it equally all round; then turn it up and strike the mold rather hard upon the table, when the sugar will relieve itself and come out; put it on a stand or sieve in the closet, raise the heat to 120 degrees, and let it remain until perfectly dry.

Particular attention should be paid to the heat of the closet, which must be kept regular and constant, and this can easily be accomplished at a small expense with many of the patent stoves which are now in general use, and also without causing any dust. A Fahrenheit's or Reaumur's thermometer should be so placed that the heat may at all times be ascertained.

This may be colored with prepared cochineal, or other liquid color, or by grinding any particular color with the spirits of wine, and adding it to the syrup before it comes to the feather.

CRYSTALLIZED CHOCOLATE.--Prepare some sugar, as in the preceding articles, and pour it into the box. When a thin crust is formed on the top, make a hole on one side, and put the articles previously shaped with chocolate, as for drops, gently under, with your finger; put them in the stove to crystallize, as other articles. After the syrup is drained off, and the articles dried, they must remain until quite cold before being turned out, as the chocolate continues soft for some time.

FRUITS, TO CRYSTALLIZE.--Have a square or round tin box, smaller at the bottom than at the top, with wire gratings made to fit at convenient distances, and having a hole with a tube or pipe to admit a cork, and drain off the syrup. Take any preserved fruits wet, drain them from the syrup, and dip them in lukewarm water to take off any syrup which may adhere to them; dry them in the closet; when dried, place them in layers on the gratings, side by side, so as not to touch each other; continue in this manner with any sort of fruit until the box is full; then fix the whole with a weight to keep it steady. Boil a sufficiency of clarified sugar to fill the box to the degree of crystallization or the blow, add a little spirit of wine, and remove it from the fire. When a thin skin has formed on the top, remove it carefully with a skimmer, and pour the sugar into the mold; place it in the closet at 90 degrees of heat, and let it remain for twelve hours, then drain off the syrup into a pan from the tube at bottom, and let it remain in the closet until quite dry; then turn them out by striking the box hard upon the table, separate them carefully, and put them in boxes with paper between each layer. When different fruits, paste, knots, etc., are mixed together indiscriminately, it is termed mile-fruit candy. Any sort of fruit or gum pastes, when thoroughly dried, may be crystallized in the same manner. When the syrup is drained off, if you find the size of the crystals is not large enough, another lot of syrup maybe prepared and poured over it; let it remain in the closet for seven or eight hours, then drain and finish as before.

If small pieces of stick are pushed down at each corner, or in any other vacancy, when you fill the mold, one of these may be withdrawn at any time you may wish to ascertain the size of the crystals, which will save the trouble of giving a second charge of sugar.

LIQUEUR RINGS, DROPS AND OTHER DEVICES.--These are all made after the same manner. A square box is necessary, which you fill with very dry starch powder. Sugar, powdered very fine and dried, will answer the same purpose. The depth of the box should be suited to the articles intended to be made. Shake the box, or pass a knife repeatedly through the powder, that it may be solid; smooth the surface with a straight piece of wood; have a thin piece of flat board, on which is fastened a number of little devices, about an inch asunder, and to suit the width of the box; these may be made either of lead, plaster, or wood, in the form of rings, diamonds, stars, bottles, scissors, harps, shoes, or any other form your fancy may suggest; make the impression in the powder in regular rows, until the box is full; then prepare some sugar as for the preceding articles, boiling it to the blow, and flavoring it with any sort of spirit or liqueur, such as brandy, rum, noyau, maraschino, cinnamon, rosolis, etc., coloring the syrup accordingly. It should be prepared in a pan with a lip to it.

When a thin skin has formed on the top, place a cork in the lip of the pan, but not to close it, allowing a space for the sugar to run out, the cork being merely to keep back the skin; then fill the impressions you made in the powder, and place them in the stove at 90 degrees; let them remain a day, then take them out, and their surfaces will be found quite hard and solid; brush the powder from them with a light brush, when they may either be painted, crystallized, or piped. Many of these bonbons are beautifully piped and colored to represent dogs, horses, costumer, and theatrical characters; the fur on the robes is imitated with white or colored sugar in coarse grains, and lace work is done by means of a pin.

Liqueur drops are made with the impression of half a ball to any required size, or other forms. If the flat parts of two are moistened, put together, and dried in the stove, they will form drops perfectly round.

TO FORM A CHAIN WITH LIQUEUR RINGS.--Have some molds to form the impressions in powder, as in the preceding, in the shape of the links of a chain; fill them with syrup at the blow, as before, and put them in the stove for a day; when they are hard and fit to be taken out, place them on their ends in the powder; have another mold of a link in two halves, and with this form the impression between each of the others so as to make it complete; then fill them, and finish as before.

ON ESSENCES.

The essences or essential oils sold for general use are, or ought to be, obtained by distillation; but for many purposes they may be obtained equally as good, and in some cases superior, without. As these are often adulterated with olive or nut oils, or with spirits of wine, the fixed oils may be detected by pouring some of the suspected essence on a piece of clean writing-paper, and holding it before the fire; the quantity of fixed oil it contains will remain, leaving a greasy mark, whereas the pure essential oil will evaporate without leaving any appearance; if spirits of wine be added, pour a little water or oil of turpentine into the adulterated sample, and it will turn milky, as the two will not unite without producing this effect. It is often sophisticated with the oil of turpentine, which is the lightest of all essential oils; in this case, rub a drop over the hand and hold it by the fire, when it may be recognized by the smell; or, if burnt, it will give out a dense black smoke.

Rectified spirits of wine dissolve the volatile oil and resin of vegetables (their taste and smell most frequently reside in these), whilst water acts on the saline and mucilaginous parts. Proof spirit, which is a mixture of both these, extracts all their virtues, and through this we are enabled to obtain the essence or tincture of any vegetable, of superior quality to that generally sold, and at considerably less expense. The essential oil of lemons or oranges is obtained by rubbing off the yellow rind on the rough surface of a piece of loaf sugar, which is much superior for flavor to that produced by any other means. Scrape off the sugar after it has imbibed the oil, and dry it in a gentle heat, put it into small glazed pots, and tie them over with bladder; it will keep any length of time unimpaired. The same observation holds good as regards all fruit whose flavor or essential oil resides in its peel.

ALLSPICE, CLOVES, CINNAMON, OR NUTMEGS, ETC.--Two ounces of spice, one pint of proof spirit. Bruise the spice, put it into a bottle, stop it close, let it remain fourteen days, and filter for use.

The oil from nutmegs is often extracted from them by decoction, before they are brought to the market, and their orifices closed again with powdered sassafras; this may be ascertained by the lightness of the nut; if it is punctured with a pin, the oil will be pressed from it when good. These oils may be obtained by expression of distillation; they hold resin in solution, and consequently sink in water. The essences usually sold are made by adding half an ounce of pure oil to one pint of spirits of wine.

BERGAMOT, ESSENCE OF.--From the peel of the bergamot lemon.

BITTER ALMONDS, ESSENCE OF.--This is obtained by distilling the cake or residue of the almonds after the oil has been expressed from them. It is a deadly poison, containing prussic acid, like all other nuts or leaves which possess the bitter principle. Flies drop dead when passing over the still when it is in operation. The essence usually sold is one ounce of oil to seven ounces of rectified spirit.

CEDRAT, ESSENCE DE.--From the yellow part of the fresh citron peel; it may also be obtained by pressing the yellow part of the peel between two glass plates, and by the distillation of the flowers of the citron-tree.

GINGER, ESSENCE OF.--The best Jamaica or China ginger two ounces, proof spirit one pint. Powder the ginger, mix with the spirit, stop close, and let it steep for twelve or fourteen days.

This is the same as is sold for "Oxley's concentrated essence of Jamaica ginger,"--a mere solution of ginger in rectified spirit--_Paris's Pharmacologia_.

LEMON, ESSENCE OF.--Eight ounces of lemon peel, ten ounces of rectified spirits of wine. Pare or grate off the yellow rind of the lemon very thin and weigh it, put it into a bottle and pour the spirit on it, stop it close, and let it steep for fourteen days, when it is fit for use. Proof gin or white rum will serve equally well, but not such as is generally sold at the gin-shops; this is excellent for ices, creams, lemonade, etc. In many establishments, where quantities of peel are thrown away, the cost of this would be comparatively trifling, compared with the price of the inferior oil generally sold.

ORANGE, ESSENCE OF.--Make as lemon, using only four ounces of the yellow rind.

PEPPERMINT, ESSENCE OF.--"A spirituous solution of the essential oil, colored green by spinach leaves." This essential oil is obtained by distillation. Four pounds of dried leaves yield one ounce.

VANILLA, ESSENCE OF.--Vanilla two ounces, water ten ounces, rectified spirit three quarters of an ounce. Cut the vanilla in small pieces, and pound it fine in a marble mortar, with loaf sugar (about a pound), adding the white of an egg and the spirit. Put it into a glazed pot, tie a piece of writing paper over it, and make a hole in it with a pin; stand the pot in warm water, keeping it at that heat for twenty-four hours, then strain for use.

One drachm of this is equal to an ounce of vanilla, and is excellent for flavoring ices, creams, liqueurs, etc.

FRUITS AND OTHER PASTES.

FRUIT PASTES AND CAKES.--These are the pulp of fruits, reduced by heat to a kind of marmalade, with the addition of from half a pound to a pound, and in some cases, double the weight of sugar to each pound of pulp, which is evaporated to the required consistence. They can be formed into rings, knots, etc., and either crystallized or candied.

ALMOND PASTE--ORGEAT PASTE.--One pound of sweet almonds, a quarter of a pound of bitter almonds, two pounds of sugar. Blanch the almonds, and throw them into clear cold water as they are done, to preserve their whiteness; let them soak for a day, then dry them in a cloth, and pound them quite fine in a mortar, sprinkling them with orange-flower water or lemon juice to prevent their oiling; then with a spatula rub them through a fine wire sieve; what will not pass through, pound again until they are quite fine; clarify the sugar and boil it to the ball; mix the almonds with it, and stir it well over the fire with the spatula until it comes together; then take it from the fire, and put it into an earthen pan to cool; when cool, pound it again, and make it into sticks or tablets, dusting the board or stone with powdered sugar; or put into pots, and tie bladder over it, to be used as wanted.

APPLE CHEESE.--Pare, quarter, and core your apples as for paste; put them into a jar, and cover the top with the parings: tie paper over the top, and bake them in a moderate oven until they are quite done; take off the parings, and pass the apples through a hair-sieve into a preserving-pan. To each pound of pulp add half a pound of loaf sugar clarified and boiled to the blow; place it over a slow fire, stirring it constantly from the bottom until reduced to a stiff paste, which will not stick to the hand; put it into small molds, hoops, or glasses. Dry in a moderately warm stove for a few days; take them out of the molds, turn them and place them again in the stove to finish drying. Keep in boxes as paste knots, or cover the glasses with brandy papers.