ALMOND GEMS.
Ten pounds of Sugar, two quarts of water, small spoon of cream tartar; or seven pounds of Sugar and three pounds of glucose; add to batch one-half pint of New Orleans Molasses; stir till dissolved, then cook to 300°, and add one pound of sweet Butter; stir a moment, then pour out; scatter over the batch two pounds of chopped-up Almond-nuts; work all together, and run through a drop machine.
Pick over four pounds of Almond-nuts, rejecting all pieces and imperfect ones; cook sixteen pounds of Sugar and two quarts of water to a good ball; set it near the fire to keep warm; put the Almonds into a basin; set it over the fire, and stir the nuts around until quite hot; now, empty the nuts into a shaker-kettle, and while one person throws the nuts about by shaking the kettle, let another person pour the hot syrup, by means of a lip pan, over the Almonds in a thin, continuous stream; continue in this way until the nuts are as large as desired; if flavoring the syrup with Vanilla, leave the syrup clear; if with Rose or Nectar, color it with a few drops of red.
Another way to make Cream Almonds on a small scale, is to put into a sieve two pounds of selected Almonds; hold them over the fire, shaking them until very hot; cook eight pounds of Sugar to a good ball; use one-half spoon of cream tartar; when done, set near the fire; put the sieve containing the Almonds on the table, and while one person pours the hot syrup over the Almonds in a thin stream, let another person shake the sieve, letting it rest on the table. In making Jordan Cream Almonds, use only one and a half or two pounds of Sugar to each pound of Nuts.
Six pounds of Jordan Almonds, six pounds of Sugar and one quart of water, when the Sugar comes to a boil, add the nuts, and cook over a very slow fire until the nuts cease to crack; in this way, the nuts will be thoroughly roasted; now, set off the basin, and stir and turn the batch about until the Sugar granulates, throw all into a sieve, and shake the loose Sugar off; put this into the basin, with a little water to dissolve it; cook to a Soft Ball; remove the basin from the fire, and add the nuts; stir and turn the batch until the Sugar again granulates; throw into the sieve and shake off the loose Sugar as before; put it into the basin with enough Sugar added to make six pounds; add water to dissolve, and color a deep red; cook to a Soft Ball; remove and add Almonds as before; while granulating the Sugar this time, add one teaspoon of ground cinnamon; now, put into the basin one pint of dissolved gum arabic, made black by adding burnt Sugar color to it; set this on the fire, and when it boils, set off and throw in the Almonds; stir, throwing the nuts over and over until all are covered with the gum; then spread them out on a tray, and put in a warm place to dry; to make a hard coating, cook the Sugar to a Hard Crack, or 290° each time, instead of a soft ball; this kind will retain the gloss much longer, but the soft covering is the most popular.
SALTED ALMONDS.
Take any number pounds of blanched Almonds; put them into a pea-nut roaster, and roast them to a bright yellow color; throw them into a basin, and pour over them a little dissolved gum arabic; stir so all will be covered with it; now sprinkle over them table salt; remove them from the basin, and spread them out on a pan; they will soon be dry, with the salt adhering to them.
ALMOND NOUGAT.