PREFACE
The years of work in candy-making that have made possible this book, I now look back upon with a certain feeling of satisfaction. The satisfaction comes from the knowledge that because of the discovery that is here recorded, the candy of the future will be purer, more wholesome, more nourishing than that of the past has been. Even if the processes that are here set forth fail of the widest adoption, I have still the satisfaction of knowing that just so far as they are adopted will there be greater healthfulness of confectionery.
Another reason for the satisfaction that I feel is my knowledge that my discovery has opened to the home candy-maker a whole new world. Previously many of the better sorts of confectionery—particularly of the decorative kinds—were out of her range, either because of the cost of the necessary ingredients or the difficulty of their purchase or handling; particularly under a heavy disadvantage has been the village or country cook who has not had the service rendered by the specialty stores of the great cities. Now, however, with the ever present potato substituted for marzipan—hard to obtain at more a pound than potatoes cost a peck!—it is the girl or woman with her own garden who has the advantage. Moreover, decorative candies that formerly required more skill than most amateur confectioners possess can now be made by anyone who can model clay or use a cooky cutter. Mothers who formerly were all too often required to gratify their children's longing for candies that told a story—candies modeled or otherwise decorative—by giving them boughten confectionery that contained plaster of Paris, aniline dyes and other ingredients equally harmful, can now in their own kitchen from nourishing and harmless vegetables fashion sweets that are just as beguiling to childish eyes.
Nor is this all. Children invariably have a craving for sweets that if allowed to run its course is almost sure to lead to indigestion and worse. On the other hand, if this craving is not satisfied, the children will be deprived of a food of the utmost value—a food element, indeed, that it is indispensable. Vegetable candy offers an ideal solution of this difficulty. Sugar it of course contains, but the vegetable base supplies no small part of the bulk; consequently children may eat their fill of it and satisfy their natural longing for candy without having gorged themselves with sugar. Moreover, the vegetable base has virtues that are positive as well as negative; it itself supplies valuable food elements and equally valuable vegetable salts.
Many colors and flavors are made available by this discovery. The use of beets, for instance, has added to the candy-maker's palette a very attractive new shade. Each vegetable contributes at least one new flavor. Novel as are candies made from vegetables, they must not be thought faddish. Caramels, marshmallows and bon-bons and all the rest are here; tastes that have already won favor are here, and many new ones as well.
In places, perhaps, the directions that follow may seem over detailed. Invariably, however, I have tried to give information about all the points that would come to the mind of the amateur confectioner. I have tried to tell the why as well as the what. Moreover, the processes at times may seem, perhaps, a bit over long. It should be noted, however, that vegetable candy-making is no more complicated, if as much so, as is the making of any other confectionery. Good candy invariably means effort, and intelligent painstaking effort at that.
It has been with the home candy-maker in mind that I have written this book. Undoubtedly, however, the discovery will appeal to the professional. I am glad, for the more vegetable candy is made, the less unhealthful confectionery there will be consumed. For the same reason, I hope, too, that women and girls seeking to make profitable their idle hours at home, may embark in a small way in the manufacture and sale of vegetable candy.
My thanks are due to The Youth's Companion for its kind permission to reprint material that first appeared on its Girls' Page—a department that, together with Family Page and Boys' Page, has done much for better living throughout the nation.
No doubt I have been garrulous concerning my own discovery, but I trust that the privilege of garrulity will be granted to the woman who has been a pioneer and who, after suffering the hardships that are always the lot of the pioneer, has, as she believes, opened up a whole new world in candy-making and a very good world at that!
M. E. H.
Boston, Mass.,
June 12, 1912.
KEY TO [FRONTISPIECE]
| 1 Green Leaf |
| 2 Violet |
| 3 Wild-Rose With Angelique Leaf |
| 4 Red Star From Potato Paste |
| 5 Jellies—made from green peas |
| 6 Carrot Ring |
| 7 Celtic Almond |
| 8 Mocha Walnut |
| 9 Pastille Of Sweet Potato |
| 10 Frosted Beet Slice |
| 11 Carrot Ring |
| 12 Beet Leaves |
| 13 Daisy—attached to macaroon with a crystal |
| 14 Pecan Cream |
| 15 Angelique Ring |
| 16 Raisin Cream |
| 17 Heart From Potato Paste |
| 18 Sweet Potato Knot |
| 19 Triple Filled Orange Rings |
| 20 Beet Puff |
| 21 Nut Bur |
| 22 Pea-Pod |
| 23 Cocoanut Beet Square |
| 24 Red Apple |
| 25 Yellow Rose—on small round cake |
| 26 Snow Ball |
CANDY MAKING
REVOLUTIONIZED
SECTION ONE
I
HELP FOR THE NOVICE
Almost all of the difficulties of the novice in the art of candy-making come from lack of practice. Although it is a difficult branch of cookery, experience in its intricacies will overcome many of the handicaps under which the beginner struggles. It should be carefully noted that these handicaps apply fully as much to the old-fashioned sort of candy-making as to the new. The fundamental processes are often the same. If the beginner in candy-making knows and will follow a few simple rules, the measure of success that greets her efforts will be largely increased.
Be accurate. If the rule calls for one-quarter teaspoonful of a flavoring extract, measure that amount by a measuring-spoon; do not take up any spoon that happens to be convenient, and pour in what seems to be about the right quantity. More and more cooks are working by rule and not by intuition; but in candy-making the caution against inaccuracy is especially necessary, for the processes are delicate, and subtleties of flavor and of texture are more evident than in more substantial food.
The weather is of more moment in candy-making than in plain cooking. Do not try to make candy on a muggy day; the results probably will be unsatisfactory. But if forced to disregard this warning, attempt but little, act quickly, and remember that damp weather is the only excuse for the substitution of intuition for rule. Just why humidity and low barometric pressure play havoc with the work of the confectioner need not be discussed here.
In making confectionery, cleanliness to the point of chemical purity is highly desirable. Many successful cooks believe that candy should be made in a pan that has never been used for anything else. That belief, perhaps, may be extreme, but the fact remains that one cannot be too careful in regard to the cleanliness of her utensils. And this necessity for cleanliness holds for any receptacle in which any ingredient is placed. Note particularly that heating lard will leave a taint which will spoil the delicacy of flavor of candy made in the same dish.
Very often it is desirable that liquids remain hot after the actual cooking has been done. The ordinary stove gives too much heat for the purpose, and the confectioner's "working slab"—a device moderately heated by steam—is expensive. A cheap and effective substitute, however, is a humble soapstone. Use marbled cloth instead of waxed paper to dry candy upon. Then there will be no danger that little particles of the paper adhere to the candy. Candied fruit and similar confections, however, should be drained on nickeled wire netting as explained in another chapter. Place the netting over a dish, and pour upon it the whole mass of fruit and syrup. By pouring all of it at once, the coating of syrup will be uniform: It will dry evenly, as the air will reach all sides alike. After most of the moisture has evaporated, the fruit will be ready to be rolled in sugar.
Sprinkle a shallow dish with coarse sugar. Roll each piece of fruit in a separate place in the dish, taking care that the sugar is absolutely dry when the fruit is placed in it. If the sugar is damp, it will mat so that the confection is "mussy" to the eye and unpleasant to the palate. Moreover, the scales of damp sugar will jar off, leaving a break in the complete covering which is necessary for the preservation of the fruit. One rotting piece will contaminate another, until the whole boxful is unfit for use. If the sugar is properly applied, candied fruit, well packed, will keep for several weeks without injury.
Pack soft candies in layers separated by waxed papers backed by cardboard. Remember that the best-made confections will be unappetizing when presented or served unattractively.
In pulling taffies or other candies, corn starch may be put to good use. No definite rules can be given, because the temperature and the humidity of each pair of hands—to put the case euphemistically—are different. Each time the material is pulled, the candy-maker should dust her hands as lightly as possible with the corn starch. A moderate amount of it worked into the mass will do no harm, but care must be taken not to use so much that the candy becomes starchy. Moreover, a heavy coating of the starch does not protect the hands any more than does a light dusting.
While the candy is being pulled, it should be handled as little as possible. Let the candy's own weight over the hook do the real work. To avoid "bunchiness," the confectioner must keep the mass moving in uniform thickness—a difficult task, success in which comes only from practice.