Cut the ferns into lengths of from two to four inches. Mix the wired candies through the bunch of ferns, occasionally twisting a strand of fern around the wires so that all wires will be hidden. Slip the lace mat up over the wires and the ends of the ferns, wrap wires with tissue paper and cover with tinsel foil, either silver or gilt, and tie the center of the ribbon around the stem directly under the mat and form a rosette. About five inches from the point tie the ends together in a bow knot.
XIII
CARROT
To the art of candy-making, the use of carrots has brought a harmless new color. Formerly the peculiar yellowish orange of the carrot candy was a shade that the confectioner, amateur or otherwise, could not hope to attain without the use of artificial substances.
The statement that carrots are valuable in candy-making for their color must not be thought to mean that the confections made from them are not very good to eat. Quite the contrary; carrot candies have a very pleasing flavor.
Carrot Rings.—To make them, peel medium sized carrots and let them stand several hours in cold water. Cut cross-wise into slices about one-quarter of an inch thick and with a small round cutter or sharp knife remove the center pith. Drop the rings into boiling water and cook until tender. After they have thoroughly drained, drop them into a syrup made by boiling one part of water and three parts of sugar to two hundred and twenty degrees. Boil until the rings become translucent—probably about ten minutes. Dry on a wire rack, taking care that the rings do not touch. The next day, heat the syrup to two hundred and twenty-five degrees and again dip the rings and dry as before. If desired, when they are dry, fill the centers with bon-bon cream or marzipan. When this center has become firm, dip the candy into a syrup cooked to two hundred and twenty-eight degrees. Even if the centers are not filled, it is well to make this third dipping; the thermometer should, however, register two hundred and thirty degrees instead of merely two hundred and twenty-eight.
Crystallized Carrot.—For this confection, proceed exactly as directed in the previous chapter for crystallized parsnip, substituting, of course, the carrots for the parsnips.