RECEIPTS FOR ICE-CREAMS AND ICES

VANILLA ICE-CREAMS

NO. 1. PHILADELPHIA ICE-CREAM

If the cream is very rich dilute it with a little milk, or the ice-cream will be too rich, and also it may form fine particles of butter while being stirred. Put the cream and the sugar into a double boiler and scald them; when they are cold add the flavoring. If a vanilla bean is used it should be infused with the cream when it is scalded. Freeze and pack as directed in general directions, page [490].

Note.—Plain vanilla ice-cream is very good served with hot chocolate sauce. Page [447].

NO. 2. AMERICAN ICE-CREAM (VERY PLAIN)

Scald the milk. Beat the eggs and sugar together; stir the scalded milk into them slowly; replace on the fire in a double boiler and stir constantly until the custard coats the spoon; do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Beat it for a little while after taking it off the fire. When it is cold add the flavoring, and freeze it as directed at head of chapter.

Cream will improve this mixture, even if it be only a few spoonfuls. More eggs, also, will give a richer ice-cream. When the cream is frozen remove the dasher, press the cream down with a potato-masher to smooth the top and make it compact, and leave it in the freezer until time to serve. A few raisins, thin slices of citron, or a little fresh or preserved fruit may be mixed in when the dasher is removed, and will much improve the cream.

NO. 3. FRENCH ICE-CREAM

Scald the pint of milk in a double boiler. (It is scalded when the water in the outside kettle boils). Beat the yolks and sugar together until light and smooth. Stir the scalded milk slowly into the beaten eggs and sugar. Put this into a double boiler and cook, stirring constantly until it thickens enough to coat the spoon. Do not let it boil or cook too long, or it will curdle. If a vanilla bean is used it should be cut in two lengthwise and infused with the scalded milk. Remove the custard from the fire; add the cream and the flavoring and stir until it is partly cooled. When cold freeze it as directed at head of chapter.

Note 1.—This makes a solid, fine-grained cream. It can be made with one quart of cream instead of half milk, and eight to ten eggs may be used instead of six. The richness depends upon the amount of cream, and the solidity upon the number of yolks used.

Note 2.—With the whites of the eggs make an angel cake, or keep them until next day, and make an angel cream (page [497]), or an angel parfait (page [505]).

CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM

Use either of the receipts given for vanilla creams, according to the richness and quality of cream desired; add to the custard while it is hot four ounces of melted chocolate. To melt the chocolate break it into small pieces; place it in a small saucepan on the side of the range where the heat is not great. When it is melted add a very little milk or custard to dilute and smooth it before adding it to the ice-cream mixture. Freeze and pack as directed at head of chapter.

CARAMEL ICE-CREAM No. 1

Scald the milk; add it slowly to the beaten eggs; add the chocolate, and cook in a double boiler, stirring constantly until the custard coats the spoon; then add the hot caramel. When the mixture is perfectly cold add the cream, whipped, and freeze. See [general directions].

To make the caramel, put a cupful of sugar with a half cupful of water into a saucepan; stir until the sugar is dissolved; then, without touching, let it cook until a golden color—not longer, or it will blacken. This is the caramel stage, and registers on the thermometer 345° (see page [512]).

CARAMEL ICE-CREAM No. 2

Add the hot caramel to any of the mixtures given for vanilla creams, omitting the sugar and vanilla. The caramel supplies both sweetening and flavoring. It must be mixed with the custards while hot, as it quickly hardens, and will not then dissolve.

COFFEE ICE-CREAM No. 1

To any of the receipts given for vanilla cream add a half cupful of black coffee, and omit the vanilla.

COFFEE ICE-CREAM No. 2

Scald the milk; add the coffee and isinglass and sugar. When it is cold add the cream, whipped, and freeze.

WHITE OR ANGEL ICE-CREAM

Break the whites of the eggs, but do not beat them to a froth; stir into them the cupful of powdered sugar, and then add the cream. Place it in a double boiler, and stir until it is scalded, but do not let it boil; remove from the fire and stir until it is cold, to make it light. When it is cold add the flavoring, and freeze. When it is frozen remove the dasher, stir in the Italian meringue, turn it into a mold, and pack in ice and salt for two or three hours. This cream requires a little longer to freeze than the other creams.

ITALIAN MERINGUE

Whip the whites of eggs to a stiff froth; beat into them slowly some boiling syrup cooked to the ball. This cooks the eggs enough to prevent their separating. The syrup is made by boiling sugar and water until, when a little is dropped into cold water, it will form a ball when rolled between the fingers.

RICE ICE-CREAM

Cook a cupful of rice until very soft. Have the juice of a lemon in the water in which the rice is boiled. When the rice is steamed dry, cover it with a thick sugar syrup and let it stand for an hour or more. Drain off the syrup, add a half pint of cream, whipped (this may be omitted if preferred); stir this into vanilla cream No. 1 or 3, or with angel ice-cream after it is well frozen. Mold and pack in ice and salt for one or two hours.

PISTACHIO ICE-CREAM

Blanch two ounces of pistachio nuts; this is done by pouring over them boiling water: after a few minutes the skins can be easily removed. Pound the nuts in a mortar to a smooth paste, using a little cream to prevent their oiling. Add this quantity of nuts to one quart of vanilla cream mixture No. 3; color it green, the shade of green peas; flavor with a little orange-flower water, then freeze. When nuts are not obtainable, the flavor of pistachio can be produced with orange-flower water and a very little bitter almond.

NEAPOLITAN ICE-CREAM

This cream is molded in brick form in three layers of different flavors and colors. Make a cream after the receipt for vanilla cream No. 3, using eight or ten yolks, as it should be solid and of fine grain; omit the vanilla flavoring. Have a pail packed in ice; when the cream is frozen, remove one third of it to the pail and stir in quickly a little vanilla, using the vanilla powder if convenient; put this into the brick-shaped mold, also packed in ice, and smooth it down to an even layer. Take from the freezer one half of the cream remaining in it and put it into the pail; stir into it one ounce of melted chocolate diluted and made smooth with a little cream or milk. Place the chocolate cream in an even layer on the layer of vanilla cream. To the cream remaining in the freezer add an ounce of pistachio nuts, prepared as directed in receipt for pistachio cream; color it green and add it to the mold for the third layer. Seal the joints of the mold with butter to make it very tight, as directed for molding, page [491]. Pack in ice and salt for several hours. The molding of this cream must be done quickly, but with care to have the layers even. Strawberry ice is often used for one of the layers instead of chocolate cream.

NESSELRODE PUDDING

1. Remove the shells from the chestnuts; put them in boiling water for three minutes, then into cold water, and take off the skins. Boil the blanched chestnuts until tender. Take one half of them and press them through a sieve. They will go through more easily while hot.

2. Blanch the almonds; chop them fine and pound them.

3. Cut the candied fruits and the chestnuts into dice; pour over them the maraschino and let them stand until ready to use.

4. Put into a saucepan on the fire a cupful of granulated sugar and one quarter cupful of boiling water; stir until the sugar is dissolved, then let it cook slowly for five minutes, making a sugar syrup.

5. Beat the yolks of three eggs until light. Pour onto them slowly, stirring all the time, the sugar syrup; place them on the fire and stir constantly until the mixture is enough thickened to coat the spoon and has the consistency of thick cream. Remove it from the fire, turn it into a bowl, and beat it until it is cold. When it is cold add a half pint of cream, the mashed chestnuts, the pounded almonds, and the vanilla flavoring, and freeze it. When it is frozen remove the lid of the freezer, add the fruits, replace the lid, and turn the freezer for another five minutes. Put the cream into a fancy mold and pack in ice and salt until ready to use. Serve with it whipped cream, or the sauce given below for plum pudding glacé flavored with maraschino. This makes a quart of cream, and, being very rich, is enough to serve to ten persons.

Gouffé gives the receipt for this pudding, which he says he obtained from the chef of Count Nesselrode. He omits the grated almonds, and uses stoned raisins and currants instead of candied fruits. When the cream is half frozen he adds a half pint of whipped cream. The raisins and currants are boiled until plump and added after the cream is frozen, but before it is packed.

PLUM PUDDING GLACÉ

Make a chocolate ice-cream as directed on page [496], using the French ice-cream mixture. Have a scant three quarters of a pound of mixed fruit, composed of seeded raisins and currants boiled until plump, thin slices of citron, a few candied cherries and apricots if convenient. Pour over them a little sherry and let them stand long enough to be a little softened. When the cream is frozen, drain the fruit and mix it into the cream, turning the dasher for a few minutes to get it well mixed and again hardened. Place it in a melon mold and pack in ice and salt. This will make about two quarts of cream. Serve with a sauce placed around it on the same dish. The sauce may be whipped cream flavored with a little kirsch or brandy, or a sauce made as follows.

SAUCE FOR PLUM PUDDING GLACÉ OR FOR NESSELRODE PUDDING

Beat the yolks of two eggs with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar to a cream. Stir it over the fire in a double boiler until the egg is a little thickened, but not hard. Continue to beat the egg until it is cold. It will then be light and creamy; add a tablespoonful of brandy, or of kirsch, or of rum, or of maraschino; and then mix in lightly a half pint of cream whipped to a dry, stiff froth.

TUTTI-FRUTTI

Make a French vanilla ice-cream, page [495]. Cut into small dice four ounces each of candied cherries, apricots, and plums; and other fruits may be used if desired. Let them soak until a little softened in maraschino, or kirsch, or sherry. When the cream is frozen, stir in the salpicon of fruit, drained; replace the lid of the freezer and turn it for five minutes. Turn it into a fancy mold and pack in ice and salt until ready to use. The angel ice-cream, page [497], may be used instead of the vanilla No. 3 if preferred. Serve with the Tutti-Frutti a sauce of whipped cream flavored with kirsch, maraschino, or sherry.

FRUIT ICE-CREAMS

No. 1. Berries, or any kind of larger fruit cut into small pieces, may be added to any of the vanilla creams after they are frozen. Remove the paddle of the freezer, mix the fruit in well, then mold and pack in ice and salt for one or two hours. The fruit will become too solid if packed for a long time.

No. 2. Crush any fruit or berries to a pulp. Sweeten it to taste with a thick sugar syrup (32° on the syrup gauge). Freeze the same as any ice cream, and pack in ice and salt if molded. This makes a delicious ice. Sugar may be used instead of syrup for sweetening, but the latter gives a better result.

No. 3. Using canned fruit. Strain the liquor from the fruit; sweeten it if necessary with sugar or with syrup. Mix it with an equal quantity of cream, and freeze. When it is frozen add the drained fruit. Mix it well together. Mold and pack in ice and salt for one or two hours. The fruit will become hard if it is packed too long. Preserved strawberries are a particularly good fruit to use for ice-cream.

Note.—Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, pineapple, bananas, and oranges are the fruits generally used for ices and creams.

FRUIT PUDDINGS

No. 4. Line a mold one or one and a half inches thick with vanilla ice-cream; fill the center with fresh strawberries, raspberries, whortleberries, peaches, bananas, or any fruit. Cover the top with cream. Pack in ice and salt for two hours. The fruit may be mixed with whipped cream, if convenient, when it is put in the center of the mold. Whipped cream may also be served as a sauce with this cream.

NUT ICE-CREAMS

Vanilla ice cream No. 3, also angel ice-cream, is good with chopped nuts mixed with it after it is frozen and before it is packed. Boiled chestnuts cut into small pieces, chopped English walnuts, filberts, pecan nuts, or almonds may be used. Almonds should be blanched, chopped, and browned; and a caramel or an almond flavoring is better than vanilla for the cream when almonds are used.

PARFAITS

This class of ice-creams is very easily made, as they are not stirred while freezing. The yolks of eggs are cooked with sugar syrup to a thick smooth cream, then flavored and beaten until cold and light, and mixed with drained whipped cream. They are then simply put into a mold and packed in ice and salt for three or four hours, according to size of mold. They are not solid like the custard ice-creams, but have a sponge-like texture. They should not be frozen too hard. It is because they have no water in them to crystallize that they do not require to be stirred while freezing.

SUGAR SYRUP

Put two cupfuls of sugar and a half cupful of water into a saucepan on the fire. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then let it cook slowly without touching it for about ten minutes, or until it is a clear syrup. The syrup can be made in larger quantities and kept in preserve jars ready for use. To keep well it should be boiled to a rather thick consistency, or should register 32° on the syrup gauge. For parfaits it should be thinner or register 20°. For water ices it should register 32° (see boiling sugar, page [513]).

In using syrups by measure, articles may be too much sweetened if the right degree is not designated; but if one has not a syrup gauge the sweetening must be determined by taste. All classes of ice-creams are better sweetened with syrup than with sugar. It seems to give them more smoothness and delicacy.

VANILLA PARFAIT

Beat the yolks of eight eggs until light; add one cupful of syrup. Place the mixture on a slow fire and stir constantly until the eggs have thickened enough to make a thick coating on the spoon. Turn it into a bowl and beat it with a whip until it is cold; it will then be very light. If a vanilla bean is used for flavoring, infuse it with the syrup; if the extract is used add a teaspoonful of it to the custard when it is taken from the fire. When the custard is cold add a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. (If any liquid has drained from the cream do not let it go in.) Stir these lightly together; turn the mixture into a mold holding three pints. Pack in ice and salt for four hours. Make the joints of the mold very tight as directed for molding at head of chapter.

This cream can be varied by using different flavorings in place of the vanilla: a tablespoonful of curaçao or of noyau, two ounces of chocolate melted and smoothed with a little cream, etc., etc.

MAPLE PARFAIT

This is made the same as the vanilla parfait, using maple syrup in place of the sugar syrup, and omitting the vanilla flavoring. Maple syrup may be made by adding water to maple sugar and cooking it to the right consistency.

PARFAIT AU CAFÉ AND CAFÉ PRALINÉ

Put the yolks of five eggs into a saucepan; beat them light; add three tablespoonfuls of sugar syrup and four tablespoonfuls of strong black coffee. Stir the mixture over a slow fire until it is enough thickened to make a thick coating on the spoon. Turn it into a bowl and beat it until it is cold and light. If making coffee praliné, add three tablespoonfuls of praline powder (see [below]). Mix in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. If any liquid has drained from the cream do not let it go in. Turn the mixture into a mold holding three pints and pack in ice and salt for four hours.

CHOCOLATE PARFAIT AND CHOCOLATE PRALINÉ

Put the yolks of five eggs into a saucepan; beat them until light; add three tablespoonfuls of sugar syrup. Cook over a slow fire, stirring constantly until it makes a thick coating on the spoon. Turn it into a bowl; add two ounces of melted unsweetened chocolate and beat until it is cold and light. If making chocolate praliné, add three tablespoonfuls of praline powder; stir in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. If any liquid has drained from the cream do not let it go in. Pack in ice and salt for four hours. This makes three pints of cream.

PRALINE POWDER

Put one and a half cupfuls of sugar and a half cupful of water into a saucepan on the fire; stir until the sugar is well dissolved; then add a cupful of shelled almonds and a cupful of shelled filberts without removing the skins. Let it cook, without touching, until it attains a golden color, the caramel stage. Turn it onto a slab or oiled dish. When it is cold pound it in a mortar to a coarse powder. Keep the praline powder in a close preserve jar ready for use.

ANGEL PARFAIT

Whip the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth. Put a half cupful of sugar and a half cupful of water into a saucepan on the fire. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then let it cook slowly, without touching, to the ball, or until a little dropped into cold water will form a ball when rolled between the fingers. Pour three tablespoonfuls of the boiling-hot syrup slowly onto the whipped whites, beating constantly. Add a teaspoonful of vanilla, or of maraschino, or of sherry, or of noyau, or any other flavoring. When the Italian meringue is cold, add a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. Do not let any liquid that has drained from the cream go into the mixture. Mold and pack in ice and salt for four hours.

IMPERATRICE OF RICE PUDDING GLACÉ

Boil a scant half cupful of rice in milk and water as directed for boiling rice, page [222], so each grain will be separate; but it must be quite soft, so boil it half an hour. This will make a cupful of rice when boiled. Whip half a pint of cream to a stiff froth; mix into it four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and one tablespoonful of noyau or any flavoring desired; mix the rice lightly with the whipped cream. Turn it into a mold, and as quickly as possible pack it; leave it in the ice and salt for three hours.

This gives about a quart of cream.

PARFAITS OF CHESTNUTS, CANDIES, FRUITS, FRESH FRUITS, OR BERRIES

Make a vanilla parfait as directed, page [503]. When the mixture is ready to go in the mold add a cupful of boiled chestnuts, or marrons glacé, or of mixed candied fruits cut into dice. Roll them in powdered sugar so each piece will be dry and separate and not sink to the bottom. Stir them in quickly and pack the mold as quickly as possible after the fruit is mixed in. When fresh fruits or berries are used crush the fruit; strain off the juice; add enough powdered sugar to the pulp to make it of the same consistency as the whipped cream. Pack in ice and salt for three hours.

BISCUITS GLACÉ

Make a syrup of one cupful of sugar and a quarter cupful of water. Beat the yolks of four eggs; add to them three quarters of a cupful of syrup and a half cupful of cream or milk. Place the mixture on the fire and cook, stirring constantly until it makes a thick coating on the spoon. Turn it into a bowl; place it on the ice, and beat it until it is cold and quite stiff and light; then fold in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. If any liquid has drained from the cream do not let it go in. For flavoring infuse a vanilla bean with the syrup, or add a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, or of maraschino, or any flavoring desired, to the custard when it is taken from the fire. Put the mixture into paper boxes; sprinkle over the top some chopped browned almonds or some macaroons rolled to crumbs, and pack. Tin boxes containing a framework of shelves are made for holding individual ices while freezing, but a tin lard-pail can be used if necessary, placing a sheet of paper between each layer of boxes. Securely seal with butter the lid of the pail and pack in ice and salt for four or five hours.

MOUSSES

Whip a pint of cream very stiff; turn it onto a sieve to drain for a few minutes so it will be entirely dry. Return it to the bowl and whip into it lightly four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and a tablespoonful of curaçao, of noyau, of kirsch, or of very black coffee, or a teaspoonful of any flavoring extract, or an ounce of chocolate, melted, and diluted with a little milk or cream, and flavor with a few drops of vanilla. When a liqueur is used for flavoring less sugar is needed than with coffee, chocolate, or essences. Turn the cream into a mold and pack it in ice and salt for four hours. Garnish the dish with small iced cakes.

FRUIT MOUSSES

Whip a pint of cream very stiff and drain as directed above. Mix with it a cupful of any fruit-pulp, the juice drained off and the pulp mixed with enough powdered sugar to make it of the same consistency as the whipped cream; a little cochineal added to strawberry or to peach mousse gives it a better color. A little vanilla improves the flavor. Mold and pack in ice and salt for three hours.

GOLDEN MOUSSE (Made without Cream)

Beat the yolks smooth; add a tablespoonful of syrup, and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture makes a thick coating on the spoon. Remove from the fire, add the sherry and lemon-juice, and beat it until it is light and cold; whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth; pour into them slowly two tablespoonfuls of boiling syrup cooked to the ball (see Italian meringue, page [498]); add the Italian meringue to the mixture of yolks, put it into a mold, and pack in ice and salt for four hours. This mousse can be flavored with a tablespoonful of kirsch, rum, or brandy instead of sherry. A few white grapes or candied cherries laid in the bottom of the mold before the mixture is put in, makes the dish more ornamental.

WATER-ICES

Water-ices are made of fruit-juice sweetened with sugar syrup. Sugar may be used, but the result is better with syrup. The liquid mixture should register 20° on the syrup gauge, but if one is not at hand, it can be sweetened to taste.

A good way of preparing it is to make a syrup of 32° and add enough fruit juice to dilute it to 20°. Freeze the same as ice-cream, and pack in salt and ice. The ices will not get so hard as creams. The following method may also be used:

ORANGE-ICE

Boil a quart of water and two and one half cupfuls of sugar for ten minutes; strain and add the juice of six oranges and one lemon. When cold, freeze.

LEMON-ICE

Add to the amount of sugar and water given above the juice of four lemons and one orange.

STRAWBERRY-ICE

To a quart of syrup made as given above, add a cupful and a half of strawberry-juice.

Ices may be made of any fruit used in the same proportions.

PUNCHES AND SHERBETS

Serving. These ices are served in glasses after the joint or last entrée, and before the game. A quart is enough for twelve portions.

Liquors. Punches differ from sherbets only in having a little Italian meringue added to them just before serving. They are simply water-ices with liquors added. Roman Punch has a cupful or two gills of rum added to a quart of lemon-ice. Punches having other names are made in the same way, but have other liquors or mixtures of liquors. These may be kirsch, kirsch and rum, kirsch and maraschino, rum and sherry, or any other combination desired. When champagne is used it is generally added to orange-ice.

Strawberry, raspberry, pineapple, or orange-ices are generally used for sherbets with liqueurs such as curaçao, maraschino, noyau, etc., combined with kirsch, rum, or champagne.

Mixing in the liquors. The liquors can be added to the ice mixture before it is frozen, in which case it takes them longer to freeze; (in fact, spirits will not freeze at all, and hence these ices are always soft, and have to be eaten with a spoon); or the liquors may be poured over the frozen mixture and stirred in with the paddle. Sometimes the water-ice is placed in the glasses and a teaspoonful of the liquor or mixture of liquors is poured over each glassful at the moment of serving.

COFFEE PUNCH

Mix together a quart of black coffee, a cupful of cream, three quarters cupful of sugar; freeze, and then mix in a half cupful of brandy or rum, and a half pint of cream, whipped, and let it stand half an hour. Stir it well before serving.

CAFÉ FRAPPÉ

Mix a quart of black coffee with a quart of cream and a cupful of sugar, or, better, sweeten with syrup. Freeze the same as ice-cream, and serve in glasses. A little brandy may be mixed in just before serving, if desired.

LALLA ROOKH

Make a vanilla cream No. 3. When it is frozen add a cupful of Jamaica rum. Turn the dasher until it is well mixed.

Allow a cupful of rum to each quart of cream. Serve in glasses the same as punch.

Chapter XXIII
SUGAR AND ITS USES

BOILING SUGAR AND MAKING CANDIES

BOILING SUGAR

To boil sugar is one of the niceties of cooking, but as the uses of boiled sugar in fancy cooking are so various, it is worth some practice to acquire the requisite skill. With the ordinary ways of testing, it requires much experience to tell the exact point at which to arrest the cooking, and on this the success depends. The stages named “thread,” “blow,” “ball,” etc., give the different degrees required for different purposes. It passes quickly from one to the other and needs careful watching and close attention. The professional cook’s method of testing it by dipping in the fingers is not practicable for ordinary use. It is also difficult to judge by dropping it in water unless experienced, but with a sugar thermometer it can easily be determined with perfect exactness and much less trouble. A sugar thermometer costs $1.75 or $2.00, a syrup gauge costs fifty cents, and both should be considered as necessary cooking utensils as are molds, mortars, and other articles used in fancy cooking. For measuring syrups, the syrup gauge is used as explained below. Ice-creams and frozen fruits are much nicer when sweetened with syrup instead of sugar. Water-ices and compotes to be right must measure a certain density, and for this the syrup gauge is employed. Fondant, one of the very useful articles, candies, and spun sugar are easily made with the aid of the thermometer. Eleven stages of sugar are explained below, but it is not essential to learn exactly more than the four which are most used, namely: the “thread” for boiled icing, the “soft-ball” for fondant, the “crack” for glacé fruit, and the “caramel.”

GRANULATION

The tendency of sugar, when the water which holds it in solution is evaporated, is to resume its original form of crystals; to prevent this is the chief care: the liquid must not be jarred or stirred after the sugar is dissolved. The grains which form on the sides of the pan as the boiling proceeds must be wiped away; this is done by dipping a cloth or brush into water and passing it around the pan above the sugar. If these crystals are allowed to remain, the whole mass will become granular. Also the sugar has a great affinity for water, and care must be used to have a dry atmosphere. No steam from boiling kettles, etc., must be in the room, and it is useless to attempt confections requiring the ball or crack stages on a rainy or damp day. When the right degree is reached, place the sugar pan in one containing cold water, to prevent the cooking from proceeding any farther. The different stages follow very quickly after the thread; it is therefore well to have a moderate heat and give it undivided attention. A very little cream of tartar (a scant half saltspoonful to a pound of sugar) added at the beginning makes the sugar less liable to grain. If cream of tartar is not used, a few drops of lemon-juice should be added at the crack stage. If the sugar passes the degree desired, add a spoonful of water and continue the boiling. No sugar need ever be wasted unless it becomes burned. In working the sugar, if it begins to grain there is nothing to do but to add a little water and boil it again.

DEGREES OF BOILING SUGAR

First and second degrees.

Small Thread, 215°.
Large Thread, 217°.

Press a little of the syrup between the thumb and finger. A ring will form and a fine thread be drawn out which breaks at once and returns to the drop; for the second stage the thread draws a little farther than the first.

Third and fourth.

Little Pearl, 220°.
Large Pearl, 222°.

The sugar forms a thread between the fingers which stretches long, but breaks. For the fourth it stretches without breaking. The first four degrees are syrups.

Fifth and sixth.

The Blow, 230°.}crystallization.
The Feather, 232°.

Dip in a broom-straw twisted to form a small loop at the end. A film will fill the loop, which will blow into a bubble.

At the sixth stage fine threads will fly from the bubble. The candy stages follow:

Seventh and eighth.

Small Ball, 236°-238°.
Large Ball, 246°-248°.

Drop a little into cold water; for the 7th a soft ball can be rolled between the fingers; for the 8th a hard ball.

Ninth and Tenth.

Small Crack, 290°.
Crack, 310°.

At the 9th a little, dropped into water, will break when cooled. At 300° it begins to assume a light color, and a few drops of lemon-juice should be added (four drops to a pound of sugar). At 310° it breaks off sharp and crisp, and crackles when chewed.

Eleventh.

The Caramel, 345°-350°

It now assumes a yellow color, and great care must be used or it will burn. The cooking must be arrested as soon as it is taken from the fire by holding the pan in cold water for a minute or so. A skewer or stick is the best thing to use for testing, as the little sugar that adheres to it will cool quickly. Dip the stick first into water, then into the sugar, and again into water.

SYRUPS

Syrup kept in stock. To use a syrup gauge have a glass deep enough to allow the gauge to float. A small cylindrical glass like the one shown in illustration is best, as it requires so little syrup that removing and pouring it back does not arrest the boiling. Syrups can be prepared and kept in air-tight preserve jars until needed for use. It is well to have in stock syrup at 34° for softening fondant when used for icing cakes, éclairs, etc. Water-ices should register 18°-20° on the gauge when ready to freeze. Fruits to be frozen are better when sweetened with syrup at 32° than when sugar is used.

Making syrup without a gauge. To prepare syrup without a gauge the following method can be employed: Put into a saucepan three and one half cupfuls of sugar and two and one half cupfuls of water. Stir it over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. After it has boiled five minutes, counting from the time it is actually boiling, it will register 28°; every five minutes’ additional boiling will thicken it one degree.

At the end of 15 minutes it is 30°.

At the end of 25 minutes it is 32°.

At the end of 35 minutes it is 34°.

FONDANT

The uses of fondant. Fondant is the basis of all French cream candies. It can be kept any length of time in air-tight preserve jars, and used as needed for the various purposes which it serves. A great variety of bonbons can be made of it by using different flavors, colors, and nuts in various forms and combinations. Some of these are given under “Candies,” but each one’s taste may suggest something different. Fondant makes the nicest icing for small cakes; strawberries with the hulls on dipped into fondant make a delicious fruit glacé. It will be found easy to make fondant if the directions given below are strictly followed.

TO MAKE FONDANT

Place in a copper or a graniteware saucepan two cupfuls of granulated sugar, one cupful of water, and a scant half saltspoonful of cream of tartar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, but not a minute longer. As it boils, a thin scum of crystals will form around the edge of the pan. These must be wiped away by wetting a cloth or brush in water and passing it around the dish without touching the boiling sugar. This must be done frequently, or as often as the crystals form, or the whole mass will become granular. Testing. When large bubbles rise it must be carefully watched and tested, as from this time it quickly passes from one stage to another. Have a cup of ice-water and a skewer or small stick; dip it into the water, then into the sugar, and again into the water. If the sugar which adheres to it can be rolled into a soft ball, it is done. This is the stage of small-ball, and the thermometer registers 236°-238° (see page [512]). Have ready a marble slab, very lightly but evenly rubbed over with sweet-oil. If a slab is not at hand, a large platter will serve the purpose. Cooling. The moment the sugar is done, pour it over the slab and let it cool a few minutes, or until, pressing it with the finger, it leaves a dent on the surface. If stirred while too warm it will grain. If a crust forms, every particle of it must be taken off, or else the boiling must be done again, as it shows it has cooked a little too long. When it will dent, work it with a wooden spatula, keeping the mass in the center as much as possible. Working. Continue to stir until it becomes a very smooth, fine, white, creamy paste, which is soft and not brittle and can be worked in the hands like a thick paste. If the results are not right and the mass becomes grained, the sugar need not be wasted, but can be put in the saucepan with a spoonful of water and boiled again. In stirring the fondant do not mix in the scrapings unless the whole is still very soft. They can be worked by themselves afterward. Confectioners use one part of glucose to ten of sugar and boil to 240°.

SPUN SUGAR

Three requisites. Although spinning sugar has been called the climax of the art of sugar work, one need not be deterred from trying it; for with a dry atmosphere, the sugar boiled to the right degree, and care given to prevent graining, it can be accomplished. It is upon these three things alone that success depends. Spun sugar makes a beautiful decoration for ice-creams, glacé fruits, and other cold desserts. The expense of making it is only nominal, but it commands a fancy price.

DIRECTIONS FOR SPINNING SUGAR

Keeping. Put in a copper or a graniteware saucepan two cupfuls (one pound) of sugar; one half cupful of water, and one half saltspoonful of cream of tartar. Boil the sugar as directed for fondant above, letting it attain the degree of crack, or 310°. This is the degree just before caramel, and care must be used. When it has reached the crack, place the sugar pan in cold water a moment to arrest the cooking, for the heat of the pan and sugar may advance it one degree. For spinning, two forks may be used, but a few wires drawn through a cork are better, as they give more points. Have also two iron bars or rods of any kind (pieces of broom handle will do), placed on a table or over chairs so the ends project a little way; spread some papers on the floor under them. Take the pan of sugar in the left hand, the forks or wires in the right; dip them into the sugar and shake them quickly back and forth over the rods; fine threads of sugar will fly off the points and drop on the rods. If the sugar gets too cold it can be heated again. Take the spun sugar carefully off the rods from time to time and fold it around molds, or roll it into nests or other forms desired. Place the spun sugar under a glass globe as soon as made. Under an air-tight globe with a small piece of lime it may keep crisp for a day or two, but it readily gathers moisture, and it is safer to make it the day it is to be used. Do not attempt to make it on a damp or rainy day, and have no boiling kettles in the room (see general directions for boiling sugar, page [513]).

GLACÉ ORANGES AND GRAPES

Causes of failure. Divide an orange into sections; do not break the inside skin, for if the juice escapes in ever so small a quantity the section must be discarded. Let them stand several hours until the surface has become very dry. Remove grapes from the bunch, leaving a short stem attached to each one. Boil some sugar to 340°, or the point just before the caramel stage (see directions for boiling sugar, page [512]). Remove the pan from the fire and place it for a moment in water to arrest the cooking. Drop the orange sections into the sugar, one at a time, and remove them with a candy wire or with two forks, and place them on an oiled slab to dry. With a pair of pincers take each grape by the small stem and dip it into the sugar, and be sure it is entirely coated. Place each separately on the slab to dry. If the day is damp, the sugar not sufficiently boiled, or the fruit at all moist, the sugar will all drain off; therefore the work must be done only under the right conditions. Candied cherries may be treated in this way: first wash them to remove the sugar; let them dry, then pierce them with an artificial stem and dip them carefully so as not to deface the stem.

CANDIES

When making candies observe carefully the rules for boiling sugar. When sugar reaches the candy stage, the water has evaporated, and the tendency is to return to the original state of crystals. To prevent granulation. If it is jarred, or is stirred, or if the thin line of crystals formed around the pan by the sugar rising while boiling is allowed to remain, the whole mass will granulate, hence, for success, it is necessary to avoid these things. To keep the sides of the pan washed free of crystals dip a brush in water and pass it around the pan close to the edge of the sugar as often as is necessary; a sponge or a small piece of cloth may be used, but with these there is danger of burning the fingers. A very little acid added at the crack stage also prevents graining; this is termed “Greasing.” Greasing. If too much acid is used it prevents the sugar advancing to the caramel stage, and also may cause granulation. A few drops, only, of lemon-juice, of vinegar, or a little cream of tartar are the acids used.

The success of candy-making depends entirely upon boiling sugar to just the right degree. The candy will not harden if boiled too little. Another stage, where it hardens but sticks to the teeth, means the boiling was arrested at the hard-ball instead of the crack stage. Making candies. Unless a thermometer is used, a little practice seems necessary before one recognizes the small differences upon which success depends; but the experience once gained, it is easy to make a pound or more of candy at slight expense. In the country, where it is often impossible to get fresh candies, it is desirable to be able to make them. Where fondant is already prepared and kept in preserve jars, the cream bonbons can be quickly made. Carameled nuts are perhaps the least trouble to make of any candies.

Marble slab and iron bars. A marble slab is almost requisite in making candy, though greased papers and tins can be used. Candy poured upon a slab cools quickly, has an even surface, and can be easily removed. Four square iron bars are useful to confine the sugar. These can be placed so as to form bays of the size suitable to the amount of sugar used and the thickness required.

NOUGAT No. 1 (For Bonbons)

Blanch one cupful of almonds. Chop them and place them in the oven to dry. They must be watched that they do not brown. Put into a saucepan two and a half cupfuls of powdered sugar and a tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Place it on the fire and stir with a wooden spoon until it is melted and slightly colored. Let it stand a few minutes so it will be thoroughly melted and not grainy, then turn in the hot almonds, mix them together quickly, not stirring long enough to grain the sugar, and turn it onto an oiled slab. Spread it out in an even sheet, one eighth of an inch thick, using a half lemon to press it with. While it is still warm, mark it off into squares or diamonds. Break it into pieces when cold. These sheets of nougat can be lifted and pressed into molds, but it hardens quickly and is not as easy to work as the receipt No. 2.

NOUGAT No. 2 (For Molding)

Put two cupfuls of granulated sugar into a saucepan with a half cupful of water. Let it boil to the crack (310°) without stirring (see boiling sugar, page [511]), add a few drops of lemon-juice, and then turn in a half cupful of hot chopped blanched almonds which have been dried in the oven. Mix them together, stirring only enough to mix them and not grain the sugar. Pour it on an oiled marble slab, and press it as thin as an eighth of an inch or less. Cut the sheet of nougat into pieces of the right size and press them into oiled molds. Do this while the nougat is only just cool enough to handle, so it will be pliable. Loosen the form from the mold while it is still warm, but keep it in the mold until cold. The work has to be done quickly, as the nougat hardens in a few minutes. Perhaps the first trial to make nougat forms will be a failure, but a few trials will enable one to accomplish it.

If any pieces get broken off the molded forms, they can be stuck on again with liquid sugar or with royal icing. Horns of plenty are favorite forms for nougat. The molds come of different sizes. These pieces filled with glacé fruits make very ornamental pieces. The horns are molded in halves. When the nougat has hardened, the two pieces are tied together, rested on a muffin ring, and royal icing pressed through a pastry-tube into any ornamental shape along the edges. This quickly hardens and binds the horn together. A support for the form is made from nougat cut into strips and formed into a box-shape, open at one end.

NOUGAT No. 3 (Soft White Nougat)

Put into a saucepan the whites of three eggs whipped to a stiff froth; beat into them one pound of heated strained honey, then add a pound of sugar cooked to the ball, 236°. Continue beating until it attains 290°. A little of the mixture cooled in water will then crumble between the fingers. At this stage add a pound of sugar cooked to the crack, 310°, a pound of whole blanched almonds, and a few pistachio nuts. Pour the mixture into a dish lined with wafers, making the nougat one inch thick. Cover the top with wafers, and when cold cut it into pieces three inches long and one inch wide. To make wafers, see receipt for gauffres (page [479]); but instead of baking them in the gauffre-iron, spread the mixture as thinly as possible on an oiled paper and dry in a slow oven without coloring.

NOUGAT No. 4 (Bonbons)

Blanch, chop, and dry without coloring one cupful of almonds. Melt one cupful of powdered sugar with one teaspoonful of lemon-juice, stirring all the time. When it is thoroughly melted and a delicate color, turn in the hot almonds. Mix them together and turn into an oiled tin. Press down the nougat evenly, leaving it an inch thick. Cut it in inch squares before it becomes hard. This nougat has only enough sugar to bind the nuts together.

BURNT ALMONDS

Put a cupful of brown sugar into a saucepan with a very little water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil a minute, then throw in a half cupful of almonds and stir over the fire until the sugar granulates and is a little browned. When the nuts are well coated, and before they get into one mass, turn them out and separate any that have stuck together.

SUGARED ALMONDS

Put a cupful of granulated sugar in a saucepan with a little water. Stir until it is dissolved, then let it cook to the ball stage without touching except to test. Turn in a half cupful of blanched almonds and stir off the fire until the nuts are well covered with the granulated sugar, but turn them out before they become one mass. Boil another cupful of sugar to the ball, turn in the coated almonds and stir again in the same way, giving them a second coating of sugar, but not leaving them in the pan until they are all stuck together. The nuts may be given a third coating in the same way, if a larger size is wanted.

For pink almonds, add a little carmine to the sugar just before putting in the almonds for the last coating. Any flavoring desired may also be added at this time.

MARRONS GLACÉ (Candied Chestnuts)

Remove the shells from a dozen or more French chestnuts. Cover them with boiling water and let them stand a few minutes until the skins can be removed. Put them again in hot water and simmer slowly until the nuts are tender, but not soft.

Put a cupful of sugar and a cupful of water in a saucepan and stir until dissolved. Add the boiled chestnuts and let them cook in the syrup until they look clear, then turn them onto a sieve, using care not to break the nuts, and let them cool. Return the strained syrup to the saucepan and cook it to the hard-ball stage. Remove it from the fire, add a few drops of lemon-juice and a half teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Drop the chestnuts into it, one at a time, turn until thinly coated, and remove with a candy wire to an oiled paper or slab; or, when the sugar has reached the ball stage, add a few drops of lemon-juice, let it cool a few minutes, and then stir until it begins to whiten; then immediately place in a pan of hot water, flavor with vanilla and stir until it again becomes liquid, and dip the nuts as directed above.

MARSHMALLOWS

Soak four ounces of gum arabic in a cupful of water until it is dissolved. Strain it to take out any black specks that may be in the gum. Put the dissolved gum arabic into a saucepan with a half pound of powdered sugar. Place the saucepan in a second pan containing boiling water. Stir until the mixture becomes thick and white. When it begins to thicken, test it by dropping a little into cold water. When it will form a firm ball remove it from the fire, and stir into it the whites of three eggs whipped to a stiff froth. This will give it a spongy texture. Lastly, flavor it with two teaspoonfuls of orange-flower water. Turn the paste into a pan covered thick with corn-starch. The layer of paste should be one inch thick. Too large a pan must not be used, or it will spread and make a thin layer. After the paste has stood twelve hours, turn it onto a slab and cut it into inch squares, dust them well with corn-starch or with confectioner’s sugar, and pack in boxes. As the paste is more or less cooked, it will be more or less stiff. Marshmallows become harder the longer they are kept, but are best when as soft as they can be handled.

CARAMELS

CHOCOLATE

Put into a saucepan a half cupful each of molasses, of white sugar and of brown sugar, a cupful of grated chocolate, and a cupful of cream or milk. Stir the mixture constantly over the fire until it reaches the hard-ball stage, then add a teaspoonful of vanilla and turn it onto an oiled slab between iron bars, or into a greased tin, having the paste an inch thick. Mark it in inch squares and cut before it is quite cold. Wrap each piece in paraffin paper.

VANILLA, COFFEE, MAPLE

Put into a saucepan one cupful of sugar and three quarters of a cupful of cream. Stir constantly over a hot fire until it reaches the hard-ball stage; remove from the fire, add a teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn it onto an oiled slab between iron bars, or into greased tins, the same as directed for chocolate caramels. For coffee caramels use a half cupful of cream and a quarter of a cupful of strong coffee. For maple caramels use a cupful of maple syrup in place of sugar, and omit the vanilla.

BONBONS OF FONDANT

HARLEQUIN BALLS

Take several small portions of fondant and color each one a different shade Do this by dipping a wooden toothpick into the coloring matter and then touching it to the paste. The colors are strong, and care must be used not to get too much on the fondant, for the candies should be delicate in color. For orange balls, color and flavor with orange-juice; for pistachio, color green and flavor with orange-flower water and then with bitter almond (see page [391]); for pink, color with carmine and flavor with maraschino or with rose-water; for chocolate, mix in cocoa powder and flavor with vanilla; for white, flavor with noyau, peach, or anything preferred. When liquid flavors are used, if the fondant becomes too soft, mix in a little confectioner’s sugar; use as little as possible, as too much gives a raw taste. Work in the flavorings and colors by hand, and wash the hands between each different color. After the fondant is prepared, roll it into balls the size of filberts, then roll them in almonds chopped fine. The nuts improve them, but may be omitted if desired. Let the balls stand for two or more hours to harden before putting them together. If the balls are wanted of one color on the outside, omit the nuts and dip them in liquid fondant colored as desired.

NEAPOLITAN SQUARES

Color and flavor fondant in three colors as directed above; roll it into layers one quarter inch thick, and place the layers one on the other; press them together lightly and cut into inch squares.

NUT CREAMS

Mix chopped nuts of any kind into flavored fondant, then roll into a layer three quarters of an inch thick, and cut into squares.

SUGAR-PLUMS

Take small pieces of fondant, flavored and colored to taste; form it into olive-shaped balls. Hold one in the palm of the hand, cut it half through and press into it an almond; form the fondant around it, leaving a narrow strip of the nut uncovered, giving the appearance of a shell cracked open, showing the kernel. If chocolate color is used the almond should be blanched, but with light colors the skin is left on to give contrast. When green color is used it represents a green almond.

CHOCOLATE CREAMS

Roll fondant flavored with vanilla into small balls; let them stand a few hours to harden. Melt an ounce of unsweetened chocolate, add to it two tablespoonfuls of milk, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a quarter teaspoonful of butter. Stir till smooth; drop the balls into it and remove with a fork or candy wire. If the chocolate becomes too stiff, add a few drops of syrup and heat it again.

CREAMED NUTS AND CREAMED FRUITS

Put one or two tablespoonfuls of fondant into a cup. Place the cup in a basin of hot water and stir constantly until the fondant becomes soft like cream or molasses. If it is not stirred it will go back to clear syrup; flavor and color the liquid fondant as desired. Drop the nuts in one at a time, turn them until well covered with fondant, lift them out with a candy-spoon, and place them on an oiled paper, or on an oiled slab. English walnuts, cherries, strawberries, and grapes are very good creamed in this way. The hulls are left on strawberries, the stems on cherries and grapes. Brandied cherries may also be creamed in the same way. If the fondant becomes too stiff, melt it again. After it has been melted twice it no longer works well. A few drops of syrup at 34° can then be added. It is well to have some syrup prepared to keep in stock for this purpose. A drop or two of liquid is sufficient to soften fondant, and unless care is used it will be diluted too much, in which case confectioner’s sugar can be mixed in; but this gives a raw taste to the fondant, and should be avoided if possible.

COCOANUT CREAMS

Grate some cocoanut fine. Mix it with as much liquid fondant as will bind it well, and flavor with a little vanilla. Spread it in a layer one inch thick and cut into one inch squares, or roll it into balls, and dip the balls into melted chocolate, the same as directed for chocolate creams, or into liquid fondant, flavored and colored as desired.

COCOANUT CAKES

Moisten a cupful of sugar with the milk of a cocoanut; boil it to the soft-ball; then stir in as much grated cocoanut as the boiled sugar will moisten; stir it only enough to mix and not granulate. Drop a spoonful at a time on an oiled slab, making flat round cakes about two inches in diameter. If the sugar granulates before the cakes are all spread, add a little water and cook it again to the soft-ball.

PEPPERMINT CREAMS

Melt fondant as directed for creamed nuts; flavor it with essence of peppermint. With a spoon drop the liquid fondant in even amounts upon an oiled slab, making lozenges; or, better, turn it into starch molds (see [starch molds], below).

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINTS

Dip the peppermint lozenges into liquid chocolate, as directed for chocolate creams.

TO MAKE STARCH MOLDS AND CAST CANDIES

Fill a box-cover with corn-starch, having it very light and dry; shake it down even. Press into it a die of any shape desired, making the indentations carefully. Plaster casts are made for this purpose, but buttons make very good dies. A smooth flat button one half inch in diameter makes a good shape for peppermints. Molds are used for cream drops, chocolates, or any of the flavored clear candies.

The liquid candy is dropped carefully into the molds and removed when cold and the starch dusted off. The starch can then be stirred light and again pressed into molds.

CANDIES MADE FROM SUGAR BOILED TO THE CRACK OR THE CARAMEL

PEPPERMINT DROPS

Boil a cupful of sugar to the hard-ball. Remove it from the fire; add a half teaspoonful of essence of peppermint and stir it just enough to mix in the flavoring and cloud the sugar. Drop it into starch molds or upon an oiled slab, letting four drops of the candy fall in exactly the same spot; it will then spread round and even.

These drops should be translucent or a little white. Unless care is used the candy will grain before the drops are molded; therefore it is better to pour it from the spout of the pan than to dip it out with a spoon.

CARAMELED NUTS

Boil a cupful of sugar to the crack or to the caramel, as preferred; add a few drops of lemon-juice. Blanch a few almonds and dry without coloring them. Drop one at a time into the sugar; turn it until well covered without stirring the sugar; lift it out with the candy-spoon, and place it on an oiled slab. Do not drain the nuts when lifting them out, and enough sugar will remain to form a clear ring of candy around each one. English walnuts, filberts, or any other nuts may be used in the same way. They should be warmed so as not to chill the candy. The work should be done quickly. If the sugar becomes hard before the nuts are all done, return it to the fire to heat. Add a teaspoonful of water if necessary, and boil it to the right degree again. If the sugar is boiled to the crack, the candy will be without color; if boiled to the caramel, it will be yellow.

ALMOND HARDBAKE

Blanch some almonds and split them in two. Dry them in a moderate heat without coloring them. Lay them with the flat side down on an oiled layer-cake tin, entirely covering it. Pour over the nuts enough sugar boiled to the crack to entirely cover them. The almonds may be laid in regular order like wreaths, or in groups like rosettes, if desired. Mark off squares or circles on the candy while it is warm, and it can then be broken in regular pieces when cold.

PEANUT CANDY

Fill a small square tin a half inch deep with shelled peanuts, leaving the skins on. Boil some sugar to the crack or to the caramel, and pour it over the nuts, just covering them. Cut it into two-inch squares before it becomes quite cold.

TAFFY

Put into a saucepan two and a half cupfuls of sugar and a half cupful of water; stir until it dissolves; then wash the sides of the pan, and let it boil without touching until it reaches the soft-ball stage; add a tablespoonful of butter and a half teaspoonful of lemon-juice, and let it boil to the crack; add a teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn it onto an oiled slab or a tin to cool. Mark it off into squares before it becomes cold.

MOLASSES CANDY

Put into a large saucepan a cupful of brown sugar, two cupfuls of New Orleans molasses, and a tablespoonful each of butter and vinegar. Mix them well and boil until it will harden when dropped in water. Then stir in a teaspoonful of baking-soda, which will whiten it, and turn it into a greased tin to cool. When it can be handled pull it until white and firm; draw it into sticks and cut it into inch lengths.

CANDIED ORANGE OR LEMON PEEL

Keep the peel of the fruit, as it is used, in a weak brine until enough has collected to preserve. Wash it thoroughly in several waters. Let it boil in plenty of water until tender, changing the water several times. If the peels are fresh they need be boiled in one water only. When they can be pierced with a straw, drain off the hot water. Let them cool, and scrape out the white pulp with a spoon. Make enough syrup to cover the yellow peels, using the proportion of a pound of sugar to a pint of water. When the syrup is boiling, drop in the peels and let them cook slowly until they are clear. Then boil rapidly until the syrup is reduced almost to dryness, using care that it does not burn. Spread the peels on a flat dish and place them in a warm place to dry for twelve hours or more. When perfectly dry pack them into preserve jars. They are cut into shreds and used in cakes, puddings, and wherever raisins and citron are used. They are also used in pudding sauces. It is very little trouble to make the candied peels, and they are a delicious addition to various sweet dishes. The boiled peel can be cut into shreds before being cooked in the syrup if preferred.

Chapter XXIV
FRUITS

In point of general usefulness, apples hold the first place among fruits. Oranges also serve a great number of purposes, and, like apples, can be depended on nearly the whole year. Peaches and apricots, although of short season, can be so successfully preserved that they, as well as berries, render important service in cooking. All of these fruits are excellent prepared as compotes, with pastry, with corn-starch, or with gelatine, making a variety of dishes without number. In the index will be found a list of dishes under each of these heads. In the fruit season one is sometimes at a loss to know how to utilize the abundance there may be at command. Usually the fresh fruit is most acceptable at that time, but the little trouble and slight expense of canning should make one provident enough to secure a year’s store to supply the various purposes which cooked fruit serve.

Fresh fruits are always wholesome, beautiful, and inviting, and should always have a place on every table. Temperature. The practice of leaving fruit on the sideboard in a warm room from one meal to another is a mistake, for fruit should be fresh, firm, and cold to be in its best condition. An exception to this rule may be made for fruits fresh from the garden with the heat of the sun upon them. The small fruits are much more delicious when tasting of the sunshine, but fruits obtained from markets are better for being chilled. Arranging. Much taste may be shown in arranging fruits for decorating the table. They may be combined in large dishes, giving effect of abundance, or a quantity of one kind massed together for color-effects, or a few choice specimens of a kind placed on separate compotiers. All the ways are good and, if the fruit is fresh and fair, will be most attractive. Green leaves should be combined with fruits; grape-leaves under small groups of peaches, plums, grapes, etc., are much used by the French, who excel in the beautiful arrangements of fruit. White grapes, shading from those with pink tints to white below, give pleasing effects on white dinner-tables.

Apples. Apples should be washed and rubbed until well polished. Fine apples so treated make an attractive centerpiece dish.

Illustrations. A few ways of preparing oranges are given in illustrations.

Oranges, grape-fruit, or shaddocks. The grape-fruit is served at breakfast, or as a first course at luncheon. The pulp must be separated from the thin bitter skin which separates the sections, with a silver knife. A little sugar is added, and sometimes a teaspoonful of sherry, to each portion. The pulp and juice is eaten with a spoon from the peel, one half the shaddock being served to each person, or it may be served in small glasses. The peels prepared as fancy baskets can be kept fresh for several days in water.

Peaches. Peaches should have the down taken off lightly with a soft brush before being served. A fruit doily should be given at the time they are passed, as peaches stain the table linen.

Strawberries. Large fine strawberries are served with the hulls on and piled in a pyramid. Sugar is passed with them, or they may be served on individual plates around a small mound of sugar, made by pressing the sugar in a wineglass and then unmolding it in the center of the plate.

Berries. No berries should be washed. If strawberries are sandy, cold water must be poured over them and drained off at once, but the berries will no longer be at their best. Sugar should always be passed, and not put over the berries before serving them, as it extracts their juice and destroys their firmness. They should also be served in small dishes, as they crush with their own weight. Where a large quantity is being served, several dishes should be used.

Currants. A mixture of red and of white currants makes an attractive breakfast fruit. They may be served on the stems if fine and large clusters.

Bananas sliced, sautéd, and fried. Bananas sliced and covered with whipped cream make a good light dessert for luncheon. They may be moistened with orange-juice or with sherry before the cream is added, if desired. Bananas may be cut in two lengthwise, sautéd in a little butter, and served as a vegetable or as an entrée; or they may be cut in two, the ends cut square, so they will resemble croquettes, then rolled in flour, and fried in hot fat to a light color, and served as a dessert with currant jelly sauce. To make the sauce, dilute the jelly with boiling water; add a few chopped blanched almonds and shredded candied orange-peel. The unripe and not fully developed banana is devoid of sweetness and when roasted resembles a baked potato. In hot climates the natives live mostly on bananas, and a nation is said to be cursed where they grow, because the ease with which they get their living makes them lazy.

Stewed figs. Soak dried figs in cold water for several hours, then stew them slowly until plump. Drain and pile them on a dish, and serve with whipped cream slightly sweetened and flavored with vanilla, sherry, maraschino, or with essence of almond. Arrange the cream in a circle around the figs.

Salpicon of fruits. Mix together lightly an equal proportion of orange-pulp, bananas cut into half-inch dice, and grapes cut in two and the seeds removed. Add sugar if necessary, and a little sherry or liqueur if desired; serve in glasses or in half-orange skins. Grape-fruit may be used in the same way; it may also be combined with the orange salpicon. There should be a good quantity of juice with the mixture.

Melons. Melons are in perfection in hot dry weather. They absorb water readily and should not be gathered after a heavy rain storm. Small melons are cut in two, the seeds removed, a piece of ice placed in each piece, and a half melon served to each person. Large melons are cut in broad sections and a generous piece served as a portion. Melons may be served at the beginning or the end of any meal. They are usually most acceptable as a first course. They should be thoroughly cold.

Frozen fruits. Any of the fruits can be partly frozen and served as an ice. Cut them into pieces, sweeten with sugar syrup, and pack in ice and salt for an hour, but do not leave them long enough to become stiff. Berries are of course left whole.

Quinces baked. Pare and core quinces the same as apples. Put them in a shallow earthen dish, with enough water to fill the dish a quarter inch deep. Place them in a moderate oven and bake until tender, basting them often. Serve them hot with butter and sugar as a luncheon dish.

Nuts. Nuts with hard shells are cracked, the meats removed and placed in bonbon dishes, or are piled on lace papers in small compotiers. Almonds with paper shells are served whole. Almonds are also served blanched. Peanuts with the shells and skins removed, and served in bonbon dishes, are much liked and seldom recognized as the much-despised nut. Peanuts may be salted the same as almonds.

Salted almonds. Blanch the almonds by putting them in boiling water for a few minutes; the skins can then be easily rubbed off. Put the blanched nuts into a pan with a small piece of butter, and place them in a moderate oven. Stir them frequently so they will brown on all sides. Sprinkle them freely with salt as soon as they are taken from the oven.

Salted almonds No. 2. Blanch the almonds, and when they are thoroughly dry pour a tablespoonful of oil on every cupful of nuts. Let them stand in the oil for an hour, then add a tablespoonful of fine salt to each cupful. Stir them and place in a shallow pan in the oven until they are colored a light brown. Stir them occasionally while in the oven, so they will be evenly colored. Turn them onto a paper to dry, and shake off the loose salt before serving.

Salted English walnuts and filberts. Brown them in the oven with a little butter the same as almonds. Filberts are blanched, but walnuts do not have the skin removed.

A mixture of salted almonds, walnuts, and filberts makes a good combination.

Salted nuts are served at luncheon or dinner, and are eaten at any and all times during those meals.

SALPICON OF FRUIT PUNCH

This is served in glasses, in place of and in the same way as frozen punch after the roast. Cut a pineapple into small dice; remove the bitter skin carefully from the segments of three shaddocks and cut them into pieces. Cut in two and remove the seeds from a pound of white grapes; mix the fruit together. Put a cupful of rum and a cupful of sugar into a saucepan on the fire and let them come to the boiling point, then pour them over the fruit and let stand until cold. The rum will not penetrate the fruit so well if put on cold. Put the mixture into a freezing-can and pack in ice and salt for several hours, or until ready to serve. Stir the mixture together carefully every little while.

PUNCH OF WHITE CALIFORNIA CANNED CHERRIES

Drain off the liquor; make a rum syrup as above; soak and freeze in the same way.

JELLIED FRUIT

Cut the pulp of two oranges into small pieces; cut two bananas into dice; cut half a dozen candied cherries into quarters; chop a dozen blanched almonds. Mix all lightly together and turn them into a bowl or a china mold. Soak a half ounce of gelatine in a half cupful of cold water for an hour; dissolve it in a cupful of boiling water; add a half cupful of sugar and stir over the fire until dissolved; then add the juice of half a lemon, the juice which has drained from the fruit, and a tablespoonful of sherry. Turn it into the mold slowly, so it soaks into the fruit, and set aside to cool. Serve with cream if convenient. Any mixture of fresh fruits may be used in the same way; raisins may be used instead of cherries, or both may be omitted. This is a good way to utilize fruits that are going to waste.

FRUIT JUICES

The juice of oranges, strawberries, currants, or any fruit makes a delicious first course for luncheon in summer time or the fruit season, when prepared as directed below. It is served cold in small glasses and eaten with a spoon.

Take a quart of fruit-juice; this will require about a dozen oranges, or two quarts of strawberries or other juicy fruit; strain it through filter paper to make it clear (see page [415]); put it in an earthenware or porcelain-lined saucepan on the fire, and as soon as it steams, stir in three teaspoonfuls of arrowroot moistened in a little cold water. Cook it until clear; then add a half cupful of sugar (or more if an acid fruit), and as soon as the sugar is dissolved turn it into a bowl to cool. At the moment of serving put a piece of ice in each glass.

Chapter XXV
COMPOTES, PRESERVING AND CANNING, PICKLES

COMPOTES

For plain desserts. Compotes are fresh fruits stewed. They are good served with cake as a plain dessert. In combination with rice or other molded cereals they are a very wholesome sweet for children.

Serving. Make a syrup of 28° (see page [513]). When it is boiling drop the fruit in, a few pieces at a time, so it will not get broken or crushed. Let it cook until tender, but still firm enough to hold its form. Remove it carefully with a skimmer. Arrange the pieces in regular order, overlapping, or piled like uncooked fruit in a glass or silver dish. After the fruit is cooked, let the syrup boil down until thick, or about 32°, and strain it over the fruit. Let it cool before serving.

APPLE COMPOTE

Pare and core the apples; leave them whole, or cut them into halves, quarters, or thick round slices. Boil them until tender, and finish as directed above. Have a few slices of lemon in the syrup and serve them with the fruit. Pieces of cinnamon and cloves boiled with the fruit give a good flavor.

For jellied apples boil down the syrup to the jelly point. When partly cooled pour it slowly with a spoon over the apples, so enough will adhere to give them a glaze. The center of the apples may be filled with a bright-colored jelly or jam.

COMPOTE OF PEARS

Use pears that are not quite ripe. Cut them in two lengthwise, splitting the stem. Remove the core carefully with a scoop. Boil and serve them as directed above.

COMPOTE OF PEACHES OR APRICOTS

Peel the fruit and cut it in halves. Prepare it as directed above. Mix with the syrup some meats taken from the pits.

COMPOTE OF ORANGES

Peel the oranges down to the pulp, using a sharp knife. Cut them in two crosswise. Remove with a pointed knife the core and seeds from the center. Boil them, one or two at a time, until tender, in a syrup with a little lemon-juice added, and be careful to keep them in good shape. Boil the syrup down until it threads, and pour it over the oranges piled in a glass dish. A candied cherry in the center of each one gives a pretty garnish. Orange compote is good served plain, or with whipped cream, with ice-creams, Bavarians, or corn-starch puddings. Mandarin oranges make a delicious compote.

PRESERVING AND CANNING

Sterilizing the fruit. The success of preserving and canning depends upon heating the fruit until all germs are destroyed, then sealing it air-tight while still scalding hot. In this way no new germs of ferment or mold can reach the fruit. Patent jars are generally used, and must be put into scalding water before being filled to prevent their breaking, and also to sterilize them. The preserve must be put into them scalding hot, a spoon-handle run down the sides to liberate any bubbles of air, the jar filled to the very brim, and the top put on each one at once after it is filled. Use of paraffin. A simple and very effectual way of hermetically sealing fruit is to cover it with paraffin. This can be obtained at any pharmacy. Place the paraffin in a small saucepan on the side of the range; it melts at a low degree of heat. When the jar or glass is filled with hot preserves wipe the glass close to the fruit to free it of syrup. Cover the top with a tablespoonful of liquid paraffin, and do not move the jar until the paraffin has set; it will then adhere closely to the glass. This will be found a very easy and satisfactory way of sealing fruits. The paraffin when taken off the fruit can be washed and kept to use again. Proportions. In preserving, sugar is used in the proportion of three quarters of a pound or one pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and the fruit is thoroughly cooked. In canning, one quarter of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is used, the fruit is only thoroughly scalded, and so retains its flavor better. Fruits should be under rather than overripe for preserving, and only the finest should be selected. Inferior fruit may be used for jams. It is most abundant when at its best, and at this time it is cheapest. Utensils. A porcelain-lined kettle and wooden spoons should be used in the cooking, and a wide-mouthed funnel is a convenience for filling the jars.

PRESERVED PEACHES

The skin can easily be removed from peaches, leaving a smooth surface, by placing them in a wire basket and plunging it for a moment into boiling lye. The lye is made by adding two cupfuls of wood ashes to four quarts of water. From the lye put the fruit into cold water and rinse it several times, then rub off the skin. Cut each peach in two and place again in cold water to preserve the color until ready to use. Place in a porcelain-lined kettle three quarters the weight of sugar you have of fruit. Add a very little water to dissolve the sugar. Let it boil a minute, and take off any scum that rises. Then add as much fruit as will float without crowding, and cook until it is transparent, but not until it loses shape. Remove each piece separately as soon as it is cooked. When ready to fill the jars place them carefully in a pan of boiling water; have the tops and rubbers also in hot water. Part of the fruit has become cooled while the rest was cooking, but, as it must go into the jars hot, place it again in the boiling syrup, a little at a time. Use a ladle or cup to dip out the fruit; run a spoon-handle around the inside of the jars after they are filled to liberate any air bubbles. Add enough syrup to fill them to overflowing, and adjust the rubber and top on each jar as it is filled. Any juice that is left over may be boiled down to a jelly, or it may be bottled to use as flavoring or for sauces.

PRESERVED PEARS

Peel the pears; cut them in two lengthwise, splitting the stem, or they may be left whole if preferred. Place them carefully in jars; fill the jars with a syrup of 30° (see page [513]); cover the jars without fastening the tops. Place the jars in a boiler of warm water, half covering them. Stand the jars on muffin-rings, slats of wood, or something to raise them off the bottom of the boiler, or they will break while cooking. Cover the boiler and cook the fruit until it is tender and looks clear. Remove the jars carefully, fill them completely full, using more hot syrup, or the contents of one of the cooked jars. Adjust the tops and set them to cool where the air will not strike them. (See [canning].) Pears may be cooked the same as peaches, but they are such a very tender fruit, it is better to use the method given, as the shape is kept better in this way.

PRESERVED PLUMS

Preserve plums in the same way as directed for peaches or for pears. Remove the skin from them or not. If left on it is likely to crack open and come off if boiled too long. To prevent this, in a measure, prick the plums in several places with a fork before cooking.

GRAPE PRESERVES

Press the pulp out of each grape. Boil the pulps until tender, then pass them through a colander to remove the seeds. Mix the skins with the pulp and juice, add as many cupfuls of sugar as there are of grapes, and boil all together until well thickened.

Seal while hot the same as other preserves.

Green grapes are preserved by cutting each grape in halves, taking out the seeds, then adding an equal quantity of sugar, and boiling all together until of the right consistency.

PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES No. 1

Select firm, large berries and remove the hulls. To each pound of fruit (one basketful of berries will weigh about a pound) add three quarters of a pound of granulated sugar. Mix it with the berries, and let them stand ten to fifteen minutes, or long enough to moisten the sugar but not soften the berries. Put them in a granite or porcelain-lined saucepan and let them boil slowly five to ten minutes, or until the berries are softened: do not stir them, as that will break the berries, and do not boil long enough for them to lose their shape. Cook one basketful of berries only at a time. A larger quantity crushes by its own weight. A good method is to have two saucepans and two bowls, and leave the berries, after being hulled, in the baskets until ready to use; then put a basketful at a time in a bowl with sugar sprinkled through them; while one bowlful is being cooked, the bowl refilled, and the glasses filled, the other one is ready to use. In this way no time is lost, and the cooking is accomplished in as short a time as though all were put into a preserving kettle together. It is well to put strawberries into glasses. One basketful of berries will fill two half-pint tumblers. Cover the tops with paraffin as directed above, page [537].

PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES No. 2

Fill pint jars with as many berries as they will hold; pour over them a hot syrup of 32° (see page [513]). After standing a few minutes they will shrivel, and more berries should be added. Cover and cook them in a boiler as directed for preserved pears and canning.

Strawberries require more sugar than other fruits to preserve their color, therefore they do not can well.

Strawberries, if carefully prepared by either of the foregoing receipts, will resemble the Wiesbaden preserves.

RASPBERRY PRESERVE

Raspberries are preserved the same as strawberries.

CITRON PRESERVE

Pare and core the citron; cut it into strips and notch the edges; or cut it into fancy shapes. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and to six pounds of the fruit allow four lemons and a quarter of a pound of ginger root. Tie the ginger in a cloth, and boil it in a quart and a half of water until the flavor is extracted; then remove it, and add to the water the sugar and the juice of the lemons; stir until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear; take off any scum; then add the citron, and cook until it is clear, but not soft enough to fall apart. Can and seal while hot.

CANNING

APPLES, PEACHES, PEARS, PLUMS, CHERRIES, BERRIES, ETC.

Proportions. Canning does not differ from preserving, except in the amount of sugar used. A quarter of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is the rule, but none at all need be used, as the fruit will keep just as well without it if it is thoroughly sterilized by heat and immediately sealed. Fruits that require sugar when eaten fresh need sugar in like proportion when canned. The fruit may be boiled in a syrup of 14°, which is made of one pound of sugar to a quart of water, and bottled the same as when preserved, but an easier and better way is to cook it in the jars. Red fruits. Pack the fruit tightly in the jars and cover it with a syrup of 14°; red fruits need more sugar to preserve their color, and should have a syrup of 24°, which is one pint of water to a pound of sugar. Place the jars in a boiler of water, half covering them; raise them off the bottom of the boiler by standing them on muffin-rings or slats of wood. Do not let them touch. Cooling. Cover the boiler, and let them cook until the fruit is tender; the fruit will fall a little, so the jars will have to be filled up again; use for this the contents of another jar, or plain boiling water; adjust and fasten the tops at once, and place them where the air will not strike them while cooling.

Another way is to pack the dry jars full of fruit, fasten down the tops at once, place them in a boiler of cold water nearly covering them, raise it to the boiling-point and cook for an hour, and leave them in the water until cold again. In this way they are cooked in their own juice, and are said to retain their flavor better than where water is used. Canned apples make a very good substitute for fresh ones for pies, compotes and apple-sauce.

JAMS OR MARMALADES

Testing. Use three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Place the fruit, pared and cored, in layers with the sugar in the preserving kettle. Let it stand a few minutes to extract some of the juice from the fruit; then place it on the fire and cook until it becomes a thick, consistent mass. Stir it frequently to break the fruit. When it has become tender, use a potato-masher to crush it. When it looks clear, put a little on a plate, and if it thickens, it is done. Put it into tumblers and cover. This does not require to be hermetically sealed. In making preserves it is well to reserve all the fruit which is not perfect and make it into jam.

QUINCE MARMALADE

Pare, core, and cut into pieces the fruit. Put the skins and cores into a kettle; cover them with water, and boil thirty minutes, or until tender; strain off the water through a colander, and as much pulp as will pass without the skins. To this add the rest of the fruit and three quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit. Boil it until it becomes a jelly-like mass. Mash the fruit as much as possible. It may be colored red, if desired, with cochineal. Turn it into glasses, tin boxes, or wooden salt-boxes. It becomes solid, and is served cut into slices. The Russians cut it into inch squares, and serve it as a bonbon.

ORANGE MARMALADE

Allow the juice and grated rind of one lemon to every five oranges. Weigh the fruit before cutting it, and allow three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Remove the peel in quarters, and boil it in plenty of water until it is tender enough to pierce easily with a broom-straw; then drain off the water and let it cool. Remove the seeds and as much of the skin as possible from the pulp. Boil the pulp with the sugar until the orange is well cooked. When the peel is cool take one piece at a time in the palm of the hand, and with a tablespoon cut out all the white pithy part, leaving the thin yellow rind. Place a number of these pieces together, and with a sharp knife cut them into thin shreds. By cutting many together in this way it is done quickly. Add the shredded rinds to the cooked oranges and let them cook until of the right consistency. It should be very thick, but not solid like jelly. This is a very good marmalade, and resembles the Dundee brand.

APPLE MARMALADE

Make the same as directed for jams.

BRANDY PEACHES

Cook the fruit the same as directed for preserving peaches; but for this purpose the peaches are left whole, the skin left on or not, as desired. If the skins are retained they should be carefully brushed to remove all the down; use only fine fruit. When the jars are filled, add to each quart a half cupful of brandy, and seal; or, after filling the jars with fruit, boil down the syrup until it is very thick, and to each cupful of syrup add a cupful of brandy; pour it over the fruit and seal. California brandy serves very well for this purpose.

JELLIES

CURRANT OR ANY BERRIES

To make clear jelly use only the perfect fruit. Pick it over carefully and remove the stems. Place it in a porcelain-lined kettle and crush it enough to give a little juice so it will not burn. Cook it slowly until the fruit is soft, then turn it into a heavy cloth and press out all the juice. Strain the juice several times if necessary, to make it clear. Passing it through filter paper is recommended. Measure the juice, and to each pint allow a pound of sugar. Put the sugar in the oven to heat, but do not let it burn. Put the strained juice into the kettle and let it boil twenty minutes; then add the hot sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the juice is clear again. Pour it into glasses and let it stand until set. Grapes and cherries do not jelly easily, and a little gelatine added will insure success. When fruit does not jelly it is usually because it is over ripe. The fruit should not be gathered after a rain, nor should it be washed.

APPLE JELLY

Wash the apples; cut them in pieces without peeling or coring, but remove any imperfect parts. Barely cover them with water and boil slowly until they are tender, then strain off the liquor through cheese-cloth without pressing. Measure the juice, and to each pint of juice allow a pound of sugar. Put the juice in the preserving kettle and let it boil five minutes; then add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Continue to boil it until a little dropped on a cold plate will jelly. It will take twenty to thirty minutes. Turn it into tumblers and cover. This jelly spread on the apple used in tarts improves them very much.

CRAB-APPLE JELLY

Make the same as apple jelly.

QUINCE JELLY

Make the same as apple jelly.

SPICED GRAPES

Prepare the grapes as for preserving, by removing the skins, boiling the pulp, and straining out the seeds. To seven pounds of fruit (weighed before the seeds are removed), add a cupful of strong vinegar, a cupful of grape-juice taken from the grapes used for preserves, two ounces of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves (tie the spices in a cloth so they can be removed), three and one half pounds of sugar. Boil until it becomes thick like a marmalade, which will take about an hour and a half. When done turn it into glasses. This is good with roast meats.

PLUM SAUCE FOR MEATS

To each pound of Damson plums, add a half cupful of sugar, one half ounce each of cinnamon, mace, and cloves (tie the spices in a bag). Remove the stones from the plums and boil until it becomes thick like jam.

SWEET PICKLED PEACHES AND PLUMS

Allow three and three quarter pounds of sugar to seven pounds of fruit. Put the sugar into the preserving kettle with a quart of vinegar and two ounces each of cloves and a stick of cinnamon. Boil them for five minutes after the sugar is dissolved. Pare the peaches and stick a clove into each one. Place a few at a time in the boiling syrup and cook them until they look clear, but are not softened enough to fall apart. When all are cooked, continue to boil the syrup until it is reduced nearly one half and pour it over the peaches. Plums are pickled in the same way. The skins may be left on both peaches and plums if preferred; in which case the down must be brushed off the peaches, and the plums must be pricked with a fork in several places to prevent the skins cracking when placed in the hot syrup.

PICKLED WALNUTS

Gather the walnuts when well grown, but still soft enough to be pierced through with a needle. Run a heavy needle through them several times and place them in strong brine, using as much salt as the water will absorb. Let them remain in brine for a week or ten days, and change the brine every other day; then drain the nuts and expose them to the air until they have turned black. Pack them in jars and cover them with boiling hot vinegar prepared as follows: To a gallon of vinegar add an ounce each of ginger root, mace, allspice, and cloves, and two ounces of peppercorns; boil them together for ten minutes and strain over the nuts. Let them stand a month before using.

CUCUMBER OR GHERKIN PICKLES

Gather each day the cucumbers of the size desired; rub them smooth with a cloth and place them in brine strong enough to float an egg. They will keep in the brine until wanted to pickle. Soak the cucumbers in water for two days after taking them from the brine, changing the water once, and then scald them in vinegar, or pour the boiling vinegar over them and let them stand in it two days before using. Put into each two quarts of vinegar an ounce of peppercorns, a half ounce each of mustard seed and mace, a piece of horseradish, a piece of alum the size of a pea, and a half cupful of sugar; boil them together for ten minutes before straining it over the cucumbers. The very small cucumbers are called gherkins.

GREEN TOMATO PICKLE

Slice the tomatoes and onions very thin; sprinkle a little salt through them and let them stand over night. Drain them through a colander and put them on to boil with enough vinegar to cover them and boil slowly until they are clear and tender, then drain them from the vinegar. Put into some fresh vinegar the sugar, mustard seed, mace, celery seed, and cloves, and let them boil for a few minutes; then pour it over the drained tomatoes, which have been mixed with the cayenne pepper, ground mustard, and turmeric. Mix them well together; add a half bottle of salad oil, and when cold put it in jars.

CHOW-CHOW

Mix them together and pack them in layers with salt; let them stand for twelve hours, then drain off the brine and cover them with vinegar and water, and let them stand another twelve hours.

Drain off the vinegar and cover them with one and one half gallons of scalding hot vinegar which has been boiled a few minutes with one pint of grated horseradish, one half pound of mustard seed, one ounce of celery seed, one half cupful of ground pepper, one half cupful of turmeric, one half cupful of cinnamon, and four pounds of sugar.

Let them stand until perfectly cold, then add one cupful of salad oil and one half pound of ground mustard. Mix them all thoroughly together and place in jars.

NASTURTIUM PICKLE

Pick the nasturtium seeds green; leave a short stem on them and place them in a weak brine for two days; then soak them in fresh water for a day. Pack them in jars and turn over them boiling vinegar; seal and let them stand a month before using.

Chapter XXVI
BEVERAGES

FILTERED WATER

Boiling the water. It is a recognized fact that many diseases are contracted through drinking impure water, yet many are so careless as not to take the simple means of removing this danger. It only requires boiling the water to destroy the germs. This, however, does not remove the foreign matter, such as decayed vegetable growth and other substances, therefore it is well to filter as well as to boil water. Many good filters are made which are cheap and easy to clean. The Gate City Stone Filter is perhaps the simplest one, being an earthen crock with a porous stone bottom. Although all filters claim to remove germs as well as impurities from water, it is safer to boil it first. Bright, crystal-like water in clear glass carafes is an ornamental addition to the table service as well as a convenient way of serving it. If the carafes are stopped with cotton and placed in the refrigerator for several hours, the water will be refreshingly cool, and cracked ice, which many do not use, in the belief that it arrests digestion, will not be required.

TO FREEZE CARAFES

Packing. Fill the bottles a little less than half full. The water should be below the largest part of the bulb; stop the bottles with cotton, and over the top of each one invert a tin cup. Individual timbale-molds may be used. Cover the bottom of a tub with ice and salt, place the bottles on it, leaving some space around each one, then fill the tub with ice and salt, the same as in packing ice-creams, and cover it. Within two or three hours the water will become frozen. Care must be taken that the water in the tub is never high enough to flow into the top of the carafes. When ready to serve, wipe the frozen carafes and fill them with ice water.

TEA

The water. You cannot have first-rate tea or coffee unless you use freshly-boiled water. Water that has been boiled for an hour or more lacks life, and gives a dull taste to the decoction. Draw freshly filtered water and let it come to a hard boil before using.

Scald the pot and immediately put into it the tea-leaves.

When the water boils hard, pour upon the tea-leaves the required quantity of water. Shut down the cover of the tea-pot and let it stand just five minutes before serving.

Proportions. To give the proportions of tea and water is impossible, as such different degrees of strength are demanded. One teaspoonful of tea to a pint of water, steeped five minutes, makes a weak tea. Two teaspoonfuls give the color of mahogany, if an English breakfast tea is used. Oolong tea does not color the water very much, so its strength cannot be as well judged in that way. Steeping. Tea, to be perfect, should not steep longer than five minutes; it may continue to grow stronger after that time, but the flavor is not as good, and if the leaves remain too long in the water the tea becomes bitter.

The Russians, who are reputed to have the best tea, prepare it at first very strong, getting almost an essence of tea; this they dilute to the strength desired, using water which is kept boiling in the samovar. Water removed from the kettle and kept in a pot where it falls below the boiling-point, will not give satisfactory results in diluting a strong infusion.

The tea-bag. Where a quantity of tea is to be used, as at receptions, it is well to put the tea into a swiss muslin bag, using enough to make a very strong infusion. Place the bag in the scalded pot; add the boiling water; after five minutes remove the bag. Keep a kettle of water boiling over an alcohol flame, and use it to dilute the tea as needed. The tea will then be as good as though freshly made. If, however, the leaves are allowed to remain in the pot the tea will not be fit to use after a short time, and no matter how much it may be diluted, it will still have an astringent taste.

The tea-ball. Silver balls are convenient to use where one or two cups at a time only are to be made for the friend who drops in for the afternoon cup of tea. The ball holding the tea is placed in the cup, water from the boiling kettle poured over it, and the ball removed when the water has attained the right color.

Russian tea. Various preparations of tea are made by adding flavorings.
Tea punch. The so-called Russian tea is made by adding sugar and a thin slice of lemon to each cup; tea punch by soaking the sugar first in rum or brandy. These, however, as well as milk, destroy the flavor of tea and change the character of the drink. Iced tea. Iced tea is a very refreshing drink in summer. It is served in glasses, with plenty of cracked ice, and should not be made very strong, or it will become clouded when the ice is added. Iced tea is improved by adding lemon. One tablespoonful of lemon-juice to a glass of tea is a good proportion.

COFFEE

CARE OF THE COFFEE-BEAN

It is generally understood that tea becomes air-drawn if not kept closely covered. It is also desirable to keep coffee in the same way.

COFFEE MIXTURES AND BRANDS

⅔ Java,
⅓ Mocha. Mandhaling coffee, which is grown by the Dutch government on the island of Sumatra, is considered the finest coffee in the world. The finest Mocha which comes to this market contains twenty per cent. of “Long Bean.” The best-known mark of this coffee in New York is H. L. O. G. A favorite mixture is two thirds Mandhaling to one third Mocha. The ordinary mixture of two thirds Java to one third Mocha is misleading, as there are an indefinite number of inferior qualities of both “Mocha” and “Java.” The best Java comes from the port of Padang in Sumatra, and the only true Mocha comes from Aden in Arabia. The finest grades of Mexican, Maracaibo, Bogota, and Jamaica coffees are highly esteemed. High grades of “Washed Rio” are also richly flavored coffees. These high-class coffees are difficult to get unadulterated. Another difficulty in buying coffee is that each variety has many grades, so the only assurance one can have of the quality received is the good faith of the grocer with whom one deals. A practice among grocers is to make mixtures which they sell under their own trademark.

TO MAKE COFFEE

To have the coffee right is one of the difficulties of the housekeeper. The making of coffee is a very simple operation, but the nicety and care with which it is prepared mark the difference between the good and bad decoction. The best quality of coffee carelessly made is not as acceptable as that well made from an inferior bean. Coffee readily absorbs foreign flavors. If the pot is wiped out with a soiled cloth, or if the coffee is strained through a flannel not perfectly sweet, the coffee betrays it. If the spout is allowed to collect a film of stale coffee, it will ruin all the fresh coffee put into the pot. To have perfect coffee, use an earthen or china pot, and have the water boiling when turned onto the coffee. Like tea, the results will not be right if the water is allowed to fall below the boiling-point before it is used. Have the coffee ground to a fine powder in order to get its full flavor as well as strength. There is great waste in having coffee ground coarse. A pound will go three times as far in the former as in the latter case, therefore a good coffee-mill is an economy in a household. Like tea, it should also be freshly made. It seems to lose its fine flavor if kept hot for any considerable time. Black coffee is usually made by dripping. Any coffee is better made in that way, using less coffee if less strength is desired, but a strong infusion diluted with hot milk makes a better drink than weak coffee flavored with milk.

DRIP COFFEE

One heaping tablespoonful of coffee to a cupful, or half pint, of water will make black coffee. Put the coffee powder into a felt bag, or on a thick flannel laid on a strainer and pour the boiling water over it. The flannel must be thick, and close enough to prevent the fine powder straining through. If enough coffee is used to make it of much depth in the strainer, the water will pass through very slowly and the coffee will be cold, therefore have the pot hot before beginning, and stand it in a pan of hot water while it is dripping. Coffee will not be right unless the water is violently boiling when poured on the grounds. Serve the coffee at once.

BOILED COFFEE

Put the ground coffee into the pot, pour over it boiling water; let it come to the boiling-point; remove, and stir into it the slightly beaten white of an egg and the crushed shell; replace it on the fire and let it boil one minute. This is to clear the coffee of the fine particles held in suspension. Pour a tablespoonful of cold water down the spout and place it on the side of the range where it will be perfectly still for five minutes, then pour off carefully the liquid coffee. Do not let the coffee boil three minutes altogether. The aroma of the coffee is the escaped volatile oils—all that is lost detracts just so much from the flavor of the drink.

ICED CAFÉ AU LAIT

Add enough cold black coffee to milk to give it the desired strength and flavor. Sweeten to taste and let it stand on ice until ready to serve. Serve it in glasses instead of cups. Any coffee left from breakfast prepared in this way makes a refreshing and acceptable drink for luncheon in summer.

CHOCOLATE

Maillard’s chocolate is excellent; his receipt is given below. For each cup of chocolate use one cupful of milk and one bar of chocolate. With Maillard’s chocolate this is nearly one and a quarter ounces. Put the cold milk into a porcelain-lined saucepan, break the chocolate into small pieces, and add them to the milk. Place the saucepan on the fire, and with a wooden spoon stir constantly and rapidly until the chocolate is dissolved and the milk has boiled up once. Beat it vigorously to make it smooth, and serve at once. More milk may be added if this is too rich. Chocolate should not be kept standing.[553-*]

COCOA

Dissolve a teaspoonful of cocoa in half a cupful of boiling water; then add a half cupful of boiling milk and boil it for one minute, stirring vigorously all the time. Sweeten to taste.

Brioche or Bath buns are good to serve with chocolate or cocoa for a light lunch.

LEMONADE

Squeeze the lemons, allowing two lemons for every three glasses of lemonade; remove any seeds that may have fallen in, or strain the juice if the lemonade is wanted clear. Sweeten the juice with sugar, or, better, with sugar syrup. When ready to use, add the necessary amount of water and a large piece of ice if served in a bowl, or put cracked ice into the glasses if only a few glassfuls are made. Put a thin slice of lemon or a few shavings of lemon-zest into each glass.

ORANGEADE

To two and one half cupfuls of orange-juice, the juice of two lemons, and the grated rind of one orange, add two cupfuls of syrup at 32° (see page [513]), or sweeten to taste; add enough water to bring it to 11° on the syrup gauge, or to taste; strain and place it on ice until ready to use.

COBBLERS

Put a claret-glassful of claret into a tumbler; add a teaspoonful of sugar, or sweeten to taste; fill the glass with ice cracked fine, and add a little water if desired. Place a shaker over the glass and mix it well; add a strawberry, raspberry, bit of pineapple, orange, or any fruit convenient; add, also, two straws. Cobblers may be made of sherry, Catawba, or any wine, using a quantity in proportion to the strength desired. They are meant as light cooling drinks, and should not be strong of wine.

CLARET CUP No. 1

CLARET CUP No. 2

Sweeten to taste.

CHAMPAGNE CUP No. 1

CHAMPAGNE CUP No. 2

MOSELLE CUP

SAUTERNE CUP

Use brand “Graves.”

To a quart of Sauterne add the strained juice of four large lemons. Sweeten with powdered sugar to taste, add a cocktail glassful of brandy, two thirds glassful of maraschino (noyau can be used, but it is not so good), and a teaspoonful of Angostura bitters. Put it on ice until ready to use, and then, not before, add a bottle of Delatour soda, also chilled, or the same amount of soda from syphon. Lastly, add six thin slices of cucumber and a few pieces of any fruit convenient, such as pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, etc., and a piece of ice. Borage is better than cucumber for cups if it can be had.

CIDER CUP

THE THORP COCKTAIL

The following formula is for one cocktail only; the same proportions must be observed in making any number of them. Have the glasses well chilled before beginning, and always use sugar syrup instead of sugar for sweetening.

Enough cracked ice to chill but not to dilute. Stir with a spoon until thoroughly chilled and blended. The mixture must not be shaken, as that fills it with air. Lastly, take a piece of lemon zest the size of a ten-cent piece, hold it over the cocktail, and express a little of the oil, then drop it in the glass.

EGG-NOG

Beat the yolk of one egg and a teaspoonful of sugar to a light cream; whip the white of the egg to a stiff froth; mix them together; turn them into a glass; add one teaspoonful of rum or brandy and as much milk as the glass will hold. Stir or shake it well together; add more sugar and rum if desired. Grate a dash of nutmeg over the top; whipped cream may be used instead of milk, and will give more nourishment when it is used for an invalid.

MILK SHAKE

Fill a glass two thirds full of milk; sweeten it to taste with any fruit syrup, or with a syrup made of boiled sugar flavored with vanilla, orange-flower water, or any liqueur; strained preserve of any kind or liquefied jelly may be used. Fill up the glass with cracked ice and shake together until well mixed.

MILK PUNCH

Add to a glass of milk a teaspoonful or more of sherry, brandy, or rum; sweeten to taste; shake well and dust over the top a little grated nutmeg.

FRUIT SYRUPS

A refreshing drink can be made of fresh strawberries, raspberries, cherries, or currants. Cook a quart of fruit with a pint of water until well softened; then strain and press out the juice through a heavy cloth. When cold, sweeten and dilute to taste and serve in glasses filled with cracked ice.

GRAPE-JUICE

Add a quart of water to three quarts of grapes, free from the stems; let them come slowly to the boiling-point; then strain through a thick cloth. Return the liquid to the fire, let it again come to the boiling-point, and turn at once into glass jars and seal immediately. Use a porcelain-lined kettle and wooden spoon in preparing the juice.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR

Put three quarts of ripe raspberries into an earthen bowl; pour over them a quart of vinegar; at the end of twenty-four hours press and strain out the liquor and turn it over another three quarts of fresh ripe berries. Let it stand another twenty-four hours; again express and strain the juice, and to each pint add a pound of sugar, and boil for twenty minutes. Turn it into bottles, and cork when cold. When used dilute the raspberry vinegar with three parts of water.

KOUMISS

Koumiss, which is simply fermented milk, can easily be made at home after the receipt given below, and can then be had sweet and is much more palatable than the acid koumiss sold at pharmacies. It is a valuable drink or diet for invalids with weak digestion, or for dyspeptics.

For making koumiss it is necessary to have strong bottles (champagne bottles are best), and they must be scrupulously clean. Driving the corks. A corking machine is requisite for driving in the corks. This is placed over the bottle; the cork, which has steamed an hour or more in hot water until softened, is placed in the side opening and the rammer pounded until the cork is free from the machine. Tying the corks. The cork must be tied down to insure safety. A loop of twine is placed over it, then drawn tight around the neck of the bottle, brought back, and tied over the top of the cork.

The champagne tap. A champagne tap for drawing the koumiss is also necessary, as it contains so much gas, it is impossible to draw the cork without losing a good part of the contents of the bottle.

Receipt.—Fill quart bottles three quarters full of fresh milk; add to each one a tablespoonful of fresh brewer’s yeast and a tablespoonful of sugar syrup. The syrup is made by boiling sugar and water together to a syrup (the sugar must be used in this form). Shake the bottles for some minutes to thoroughly mix the ingredients, then fill them nearly full with milk and shake them again. Cork and tie them, and stand them upright in a cool place for two and a half days; then turn them on the side and use as needed. They should be kept in a cool, dark place, so the fermentation will be slow, and the temperature should be about 52°, or low enough to prevent the milk from souring.

Brewer’s yeast is best and gives the koumiss the taste of beer; but compressed yeast may be used, a fifth of a cake dissolved being added to each bottleful of milk.

[553-*] Huyler’s, Baker’s, and other brands of chocolate may be prepared in the same way, the proportions being regulated by the richness desired.—M. R.

Chapter XXVII
WINES

The temperance movement has made great advance since the days when it was not considered etiquette for a man to leave the table sober, and also from recent times when men lingered at the table after the ladies had withdrawn, to partake of strong liquors with their cigars.

To-day there are some people who exclude wine entirely from their table, and many others who serve it only in moderation. It is common now to have but three kinds, such as sherry, claret and champagne, and sometimes only one. In this respect, therefore, one may follow his own conviction without fear of being considered peculiar.

The usual order of serving wines is as follows:

White wines. With the first course of the dinner there should be served a white wine of some kind, such as Niersteiner, Hochheimer, or Liebfrauenmilch amongst the Rhine wines; Zeltinger, Josephshöfer, or Scharzberger Muscatel amongst the Moselle wines; Haut Barsac, Haut Sauterne, or Château Yquem amongst the white Bordeaux wines; and Chablis, Nuersault or Montrachet amongst the white Burgundies.

Sherry. Sherry is served with soup. It should be light and dry, and should be chilled by being placed in the ice-box for some time before dinner. Champagne. Champagne is now served with the fish and continued all through dinner.
Claret. Claret or Burgundy is served with the game. Pontet Canet, Larose, Léoville, Margaux, and Lafite are standard vintages amongst the clarets.
Burgundy. Chambertin, Clos de Tart, Clos de Vougeot and Romanée amongst the Burgundies. Claret is sometimes, and very properly, served at the same time as champagne, as many people drink no other wine. In this case a higher grade of claret or a fine Burgundy should be served with the game. Temperature.The white Bordeaux and Burgundy wines should be served cool.

Rhine and Moselle wines are best at a temperature of about 40° F.

The champagne should be very dry (brut) and served very cold. Half an hour in ice and salt before dinner will bring it to about the right temperature. Sweet champagnes are but seldom served nowadays, and are more appreciated, perhaps, at ladies’ luncheons than at dinners. Sweet champagne. Sweet champagne cannot be too cold and should be frappé if convenient. Clarets and Burgundies should stand upright on the dining-room mantelpiece for at least twenty-four hours before they are required, in order that the wine may acquire the temperature of the room, as well as be prepared for decanting. Care of wines. Wines old in bottle will form more or less deposit, which, if shaken up with the wine, will injure it.
Decanting. After standing twenty-four hours the sediment will fall and the wine should then be decanted (with the aid of a candle), care being taken that no sediment passes into the decanter.

Port. Neither claret nor Burgundy is good the second day after decanting. They contain too small a percentage of alcohol to keep their flavor more than a few hours after the bottle is opened, and what remains over from dinner should be put into the vinegar demijohn. Ports and Madeiras are but little used at dinners, but may still be served with the cheese at the end of dinner, or with the dessert. A glass of port with a biscuit at five o’clock is very popular in many quarters, and will be welcomed by those who are afraid of tea.

Madeira. A fine Madeira may be served with the soup instead of sherry, and is the wine par excellence to drink with terrapin.
Brandy. A superior quality of brandy and various liqueurs are usually served with coffee. In buying wines it is always best to go directly to a reliable wine merchant and take his advice. Liqueurs. Especially is this true when the buyer himself has no great knowledge of the different kinds of wines. It has been said that a man’s wine merchant should stand in as close relation to him as his lawyer or his physician.