The Candy Maker's Guide Part 4

10 lbs. Brown Sugar.

2 lbs. Glucose.

6 lbs. Sweet Almonds.

3 pints water.

PROCESS.--Clean your almonds by blowing out all the dust and grit, pick out the sh.e.l.ls, dissolve the sugar water and glucose; boil the lot up to crack; pour the contents on oiled plate. Sprinkle the almond all over the boil, shake over the lot a few drops of oil of lemon; turn up the edges first, then the whole boil; mix and knead it like dough until all the almonds are well mixed in; no time must be lost in this process or the sugar will get too hard; when firm make a long roll of the entire boil, place it on a hard wood board, and cut it up into thin slices; it will have to be kept in shape while cutting, by turning over and pressing the sides as it becomes flat; a special large sharp knife is used for this purpose. A smaller boil than the above had better be tried by beginners, say half the quant.i.ty. This can be done by halving the ingredients. Needless to state these remarks apply to other recipes.

FRENCH ALMOND ROCK.

12 lbs. White Sugar.

3 lbs. Glucose.

6 lbs. Sweet Blanched Almonds.

4 pints water.

PROCESS.--Boil the sugar, water and glucose in the usual way to the degree of weak crack, 305 by the thermometer, then ease the pan a little way off the fire, and let the almonds gently slide into the ma.s.s. Use the spatula a little just to keep the almonds from sticking to the bottom, stirring lightly only the one way, then watch the boil carefully till it turns a light golden color; lift off the pan and pour the contents into the frames. The almond will come to the top better in tins than in pouring plates.

Of course a better quality is made by adding more almonds, or vice versa. The almond after being blanched should be spread on a tin and dried, either on the stove top or in the oven.

RASPBERRY CANDY.

12 lbs. White Sugar.

3 lbs. Raspberry Jam.

2 quarts water.

Brilliant Rose Coloring.

PROCESS.--Melt the sugar in water, and boil to ball 250; add the raspberry jam, and stir it well in; remove the pan from the fire, add sufficient coloring to make bright raspberry; rub part of the mixture with spatula against side of pan until it changes a heavy opaque, then stir the whole ma.s.s until uniform. Pour the contents carefully on a slab, covered with greased paper; make the sheet about 1/2 inch thick, mark into bars with a sharp knife, and break up when cold.

APRICOT CANDY.

6 lbs. White Sugar.

2 lbs. Apricot Jam or Pulp.

2 pints water.

Saffron Coloring.

PROCESS.--Melt the sugar in the water and boil to ball, 250, add the jam or pulp. Stir well until thoroughly mixed in, remove the pan, rub part of the contents against the side of the pan with spatula until cloudy and opaque; color with saffron a bright yellow, then stir the whole together until uniform cloudy; pour out in frames or on slab covered with oiled paper. A pinch of tartaric acid would improve the flavor, but often prevent candying, unless in the hands of an expert. In any case the acid should be added in a fine powder after the whole has been thoroughly grained. A pallette knife is a very useful knife for rubbing the sugar against the sides of the pan.

BROWN COCOANUT CANDY.

14 lbs. Brown Sugar.

6 large Cocoanuts Sliced.

3 pints water.

PROCESS.--Melt the sugar in the water, and boil to degree of ball, then add the sliced cocoanut, stir them in remove the pan from the fire and rub the sugar against the side of the pan until it becomes cloudy stir the whole together until the whole becomes cloudy and thick; turn out the batch into tins or on slabs; mark with a sharp knife into squares or bars. When cold break it up at marks. Prepare the cocoanuts by cutting them up into thin slices with a spokeshave or machine. The brown skin is seldom skinned off for this dark candy.

WHITE COCOANUT CANDY.

14 lbs. White Sugar.

6 Large Cocoanuts Peeled and Sliced.

3 pints Water.

PROCESS.--Peel off all the brown skin from the nuts with a sharp knife; wash them and cut into thin slices. Melt the sugar in the water and boil to ball 250, add the sliced nuts, keeping the boil well stirred.

When thoroughly mixed, remove the pan from the fire and commence to grain with pallette knife or spatula until the whole ma.s.s turns an opaque white. Now turn out the batch into frames, or on the slab, which has been covered with paper; mark into convenient sized bars, break up when set hard.

CHOCOLATE COCOANUT CANDY.

10 lbs. Brown Sugar.

1 lb. Pure Block Cocoa.

4 Cocoanuts shredded.

3 pints water.

PROCESS.--When cracking the nuts, do so over a basin and save all the milk: peel all brown skin off and cut the nut into fine shreds with machine; dissolve the sugar in the pan with the water and cocoanut milk, boil up to ball, remove the pan a little off the fire, then add the nut together with the pure block cocoa, stir the whole together, grain on side of pan as before directed. Stir the whole well up and turn out into frames or on pouring plates.

N.B.--The pure cocoa should have been previously melted in a saucepan or chopped up in small pieces. In the latter case there is less waste, and the heat of the sugar would soon melt it.

FRUIT CANDY.

7 lbs. White or Brown Sugar.

1 lb. Currants cleaned and dried.

1/2 lb. Sultanas.

1/2 lb. Sweet Almonds.

2 pints water.

Saffron Coloring.

PROCESS.--Mix together the fruits, which should have been freed from grit and dust; boil the sugar and water to the degree of ball, 250; remove the pan from the fire; gently grain the boil by rubbing a little of the syrup against the side of the pan until cloudy, then slide in the fruit and stir the whole together, adding a little saffron to color a bright yellow. See that the ma.s.s has changed to an opaque, then turn the lot out into frames or on a pouring slab.

CANDIES, VARIOUS.

Fruits green, dried or preserved, almonds and nuts of almost every description, as well as flavors and colors of a pleasant taste and pretty hue may be used in making candies. The process is exactly the same: the ingredients can be arranged to suit the fancy of the maker and the palate of his customers. The field to select variety from seems inexhaustible, so that new goods of this cla.s.s should be introduced ad.

lib. No good purpose could be served by giving a procession of these simple instructions, when with little thought and judgment anyone could invent a new candy for themselves. It might be as well to add that a little glucose or cream of tartar added will make the candies softer, and may be used, if preferred, in each formula in the proportion of 2 lbs. of glucose or a teaspoonful of cream tartar to every 10 lbs. of sugar.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROLLER PATTERNS.

No. To lb.

1 Tom Thumb Drop 1000 2 Currant Drop 840 3 Acid Drop 500 4 Sour Ball 250 5 Sour Ball 180 6 Fish 200 7 Fish 150 8 Fish 120 9 Fish 60 10 Fish 40 11 Strawberry 200 12 Raspberry 200 15 Sh.e.l.l 200 16 Motto Lump 200 17 Motto Lump 120 18 Motto Lump 80 27 Seal Cough 200 28 Waffle 180 33 Cigar 35 37 Heart and Hand 100 38 Acorn 209 42 Batton 200 53 Cough 120 54 Polka 200 55 Rifle 150 58 Twist Loaf 200 ]

BARLEY SUGAR DROPS.

14 lbs. White Sugar.

3 lbs. Glucose.