There has of late years been so much criminal adulteration of candy that the cautious parent is tempted to condemn all bonbons as unfit for human stomachs. In our wholesale condemnation we are prone to forget that the longing for sweets is a natural craving of the system, and that pure sugar, taken in moderation and at the proper time, is not injurious, but rather aids in the process of digestion.
A moderate amount of good candy eaten directly after a hearty meal should not prove injurious to any healthy person.
Appreciation of this hygienic law has led to the introduction of the bonbonnière upon the luncheon and the dinner table. The sweet morsels are nibbled because it is fashionable to partake of them, but the good results are the same as if intelligent comprehension of need and supply were the motive power.
Maple candy
Break a pound of maple sugar into bits and then crush it fine with a rolling-pin. Stir it into two cupfuls of hot milk; put over the fire, and stir until the sugar is melted. Now boil hard, stirring all the time, until the syrup is brittle when dropped into cold water; beat in a lump of butter the size of a small hen’s egg, and as soon as this melts, pour the candy into greased pans. Cut into large squares before it hardens.
Maple caramels
Break two pounds of maple sugar into a quart of milk—half cream, if you have it—and boil steadily, until a little dropped into cold water, hardens. Pour into greased pans, and as it cools, mark into squares.
Maple fudge
Break a pound of maple sugar into small pieces and put it over the fire with a cupful of milk. Bring to a boil, add a tablespoonful of butter and cook until a little dropped into cold water becomes brittle. Take from the fire, stir until it begins to granulate a little about the sides of the pot, and then pour into a greased pan. Mark into squares with a knife.