When flavored with lemon, they are called lemon-acid drops; with otto of roses, rose-acid drops. The sticks are made in the same manner as the drops, without being cut into small pieces.
Almond Hardbake.—Oil a square or round tin with low edges; split some almonds in half, put them in rows over the bottom, with the split side downward, until the surface is covered; boil some raw sugar to the crack, and pour it over them so as to cover the whole with a thin sheet of sugar. Cocoanut (cut in thin slices), currant, and other similar candies, are made as the hardbake, except that the sugar is grained before it is poured over.
Almond Rock.—This is a similar production to nogat, and is made with raw sugar, which is boiled to the crack. Pour it on an oiled stone, and fill it with sweet almonds, either blanched or not; the almonds are mixed with the sugar by working them into it with the hands, in a similar manner as you would mix anything into a piece of dough. If they were stirred into the sugar in the pan it would grain, which is the reason why it is melted for nogat. Form the rock into a ball or roll, and make it into a sheet about two inches thick, by rolling it with a rolling-pin. The top may be divided into diamonds or squares by means of a long knife or piece of iron; when it is nearly cold cut it into long narrow pieces with a strong knife and hammer.
Barley Sugar.—Boil some clarified loaf sugar to the crack or caramel degree, using a little acid to prevent its graining; pour it out on a marble slab, which has been previously oiled or buttered. Four pieces of iron, or small square bars, are usually employed to form a sort of bay to prevent the sugar running off the stone, which is necessary in large casts. When the edges get set a little, remove the bars, and turn them over into the center. This is occasionally flavored with lemons. When it is required, pour a few drops of the essential oil of lemons in the center, before the edges are folded over, then cut it into narrow strips with a large pair of scissors or sheep shears. When nearly cold, twist them, put them into glasses or tin boxes, and keep them closed to prevent the access of air. It is seldom boiled higher than the crack, and saffron is used to make it the color of caramel.
This derives the name of barley sugar from its being originally made with a decoction of barley, as a demulcent in coughs, for which it is now most generally used.
Barley Sugar Drops.—Boil some sugar as for the preceding. Spread some finely powdered and sifted loaf sugar on a table or tea-tray, with a piece of stick, round at the end similar to the half of a ball; make several holes, into which you run the sugar from a lipped pan, or it may be dropped on an oiled marble slab with a funnel, letting only one drop fall at a time; or from the lip pan, separating each drop with a small knife, or a straight piece of small wire; take them off the stone with a knife, mix them with powdered loaf sugar, sift them from it, and keep in glasses or tin boxes.
Barley Sugar Tablets or Kisses.—Spread some sugar, as for the last. Have a piece of wood about an inch and a half thick, with the surface divided into small squares, each being about an inch in breadth and half an inch in depth; with this form the impressions in the sugar, and fill them with sugar boiled as for drops, flavoring it with essence of lemon; or instead of this, it may be poured out in a sheet on an oiled marble slab, as for barley sugar, and when nearly cold divide it into pieces with a tin frame, having small square divisions, when the whole sheet may be divided at once by pressing hard on it so as to cut it nearly through. When cold, separate them and mix them with powdered sugar, take them out and fold them separately in fancy or colored papers, with a motto on each.
They are also occasionally made into balls, thus: First cast the sugar in a sheet on an oiled marble slab; when the edges are set, fold them in the middle, then oil a small square tin with edges to it, put the sugar in this, and place it under the fire-place of the stove so as to keep warm; cut off a piece and roll it into a pipe, then cut it into small pieces with a pair of shears, and let your assistant roll it into small balls under his hand on a sandstone; marble is too smooth for this purpose. Many lads who are used to it can turn eight or ten under each hand at one time. When they are finished, pat them into powdered sugar, wrap them in fancy papers, fringed at the ends, put a motto in each, and fasten them with small bands of gold paper. Sometimes a cracker is folded up in each, which is made with two narrow strips of stiff paper, a small piece of sand or glass paper is pasted on the end of each, and these are placed over each other with a little fulminating powder between, a piece of thin paper is bound round it, and pasted to keep them together; when these are pulled asunder, the two rough surfaces meeting cause the powder to explode, and out flies the ball of sugar with the motto. This innocent amusement often causes much mirth in a company.
Brandy Balls, etc.—These are made from loaf sugar boiled to the crack, and colored either with cochineal or saffron, and finished in the same way as acidulated drops, without being flattened.
Clove, Ginger, or Peppermint Candy.—These are all made in the same way as raspberry, using the essential oil of each for flavor. For clove, the mixture, whilst boiling, is colored with cochineal; ginger with saffron; but the peppermint must be kept perfectly white, except the stripes, which is done by cutting off as many pieces from the bulk as you have colors, which should be in powder; put a sufficiency in each piece to give the desired tint, and keep them warm. When the remaining portion of the sugar is pulled, lay them over the surface in narrow stripes, double the roll together, and the face each way will be alike. Pull them out into long sticks and twist them; make them round by rolling them under the hand, or they may be cut into small pieces with a pair of shears or scissors.