Have the corn slightly warmed in the oven, so that when the batch is done cooking, you can get the corn and syrup mixed good, and the balls moulded up before it gets too cold.
PEANUT BAR.
- 1 pound sugar.
- 1 pound glucose.
- 2 pounds raw Spanish peanuts.
- ½ pint water.
Put the sugar, glucose and water in a kettle, stir until it boils, wash down the sides of the kettle with a damp cloth and cook to 240. Take out the thermometer and add the raw peanuts and stir continually, until the batch turns a yellowish color, and the peanuts pop and are roasted. Simply lift out the paddle with a few peanuts on it occasionally, is a better way to tell when the peanuts are roasted enough. Do not try to get these peanuts too brown in the kettle, as they will roast considerably after being poured on the slab, but just until they turn a yellowish color and pop in the kettle. You must stir the batch continually after you add the peanuts, and do not use too hot a fire. They are liable to scorch a little but if your fire is right and you stir them enough, they will be all right. As soon as the peanuts are roasted, remove from the fire, take out the paddle and scrape out of the kettle onto a greased slab, between the bars. Take a knife and spread it out even, so that it will fill all the corners of the square made by the bars. Take a greased rolling pin, and run over the top to smooth it down a little. When almost cool, run a knife under the batch to loosen it from the slab. Then cut or saw the batch in bars as desired, but do this while it is yet warm. Have the raw peanuts ready so that when the thermometer registers 240 you can take it out, put in the paddle and peanuts and start stirring immediately, and remember, if the fire is too hot, but not allowed to just simmer, it is liable to scorch the candy before the nuts are half roasted. It is best to wrap this candy in wax paper, or put it in air-tight cans or jars in wet weather. Do not make this candy in warm weather and expect to get good results, as it is essentially a cold weather candy.
NOUGATINES.
- 1½ pounds sugar.
- 1 pound glucose.
- Butter size of a walnut.
- ¼ teaspoonful essence of lemon.
- 1½ pounds almonds or peanuts.
Roast the almonds in the oven, (or peanuts if you desire) and chop fine, then set them where they will keep warm until needed. Put sugar, glucose and one-half pint of water in the kettle, set on fire, and stir until it commences to boil; then take out paddle, wash down sides of the kettle and cook to 295. Set off the fire and remove thermometer, put in the butter and essence of lemon, and stir in well. Have someone add the warm nuts slowly, while you stir them in, and when mixed good set the kettle back on the fire for a second or two, to loosen the batch in the kettle, then scrape out on a greased slab between bars, about three-quarters of an inch thick; roll it out even between the bars with a rolling pin quickly, and mark off into blocks three-eighths by one inch and cut while still warm. You will have to watch very close, so that your batch will not get too stiff before you get it cut up. You must use a sharp knife and use a sawing motion while cutting, as you cannot push the knife straight down and cut them right. If your batch should happen to get too cold before you get it cut up, hold it over the fire, turning it over to warm both sides, until it softens or bends easily, then finish cutting. This is an elegant piece, when dipped in chocolate, but they must not be coated until they are perfectly cold.