It is more convenient to buy your nuts already shelled, although it is
more expensive. English walnuts are probably used more than any other
nut, for tops of bon-bons and centers also. It is probably better to
purchase these with shells on and crack them yourself, as they are very
easily cracked.
In purchasing these nuts, get the smallest ones possible, as the
smaller they are the prettier they will look on your candies. We advise
you to always keep your bon-bons small in size.
The California English walnuts do not crack out as pretty as the
Grenoble nut does, as the meat in them is a much prettier shape and
rougher on top, and looks much nicer on the bons-bons. The Grenoble
nut is an English walnut, imported from Germany, and you may always
distinguish them from the fact that you can stand them on end; while a
California English walnut is so pointed at the ends that it will not
stand up. Crack carefully on the side which does not have the ridge
running down it, as then the halves will come out perfectly whole. The
ones that break may be chopped up and saved, to be used in the centers
of the bon-bons.
Almonds are very easily cracked and you will have no trouble with them.
Always crack hickory nuts on the edge. Black walnuts should be cracked
on the broad side, as you never use them only in small pieces, and it
is not necessary to use any care in cracking them. In some candies,
these walnuts are finer than any other nut, as they give the candy a
peculiar flavor, especially in caramels and different taffies. These
are the ordinary walnuts that grow wild all over the country.
Pecans are a very hard nut to get out whole, but if you purchase as
large thin-shelled ones as possible, put them in a pan, pour cold water
over them, let them stand for about five hours, then pour off the water
and let stand for a while, or even over night until they dry off on the
outside, you will then be able to get the meats out very nicely without
them breaking much. They are a very brittle nut, but by soaking them as
directed, they do not break very easily. Crack on the side which does
not have the small vein running from end to end, taking care not to hit
them too hard, and you will find that the halves will split open very
nicely; and if you will use a little care in removing them from the
shell, by using a knife with which to loosen them around the edge, you
will be able to get a great many of the halves out perfect.
Use the perfect halves for the tops of your bon-bons. Pick over the
broken ones and save the largest pieces of them with which to make
Chocolate Pecan Fritters (see recipe), and the small pieces you may
chop up fine and use for centers. It takes about two pounds of
unshelled pecans, almonds, or English walnuts, to make one pound of
shelled meats.
For peanut candy, always get if possible, the small unroasted Spanish
peanut, and they may be purchased of any confectioner or candy factory,
and at a great many of the large stores. They come already shelled and
should cost you from twelve and one half to fifteen cents a pound.
These nuts are much finer in flavor than the large peanut, and by using
the raw ones and roasting them in the candy as we direct you in the
recipe, you will find the flavor of your candy much nicer. Of course,
if you wish to use peanuts for the centers of bon-bons or chocolate
creams, any kind of roasted ones chopped up will answer the purpose.
In chopping your nuts, it is much better to lay them on the table and
use a butcher knife with which to cut them up, than it is to put them
in a bowl and use a chopping knife; as by chopping them in a bowl,
you are unable to get them so uniform, as the ones at the bottom will
be chopped up into a fine powder, for which you have no use, before
the ones on top are small enough. By cutting them up with a knife as
directed, you will be able to get them all about the same size. You
will see the advantage of this after trying it once.
Pistachio nuts make one of the prettiest tops you can find for
bon-bons. They are a small, dark green nut, which may be purchased at
a great many large grocery stores in cities, if you live convenient to
one. Also some confectioners have them on hand, but not many of them.
They are an expensive nut, but a few of them go a great ways, as they
must be split in two. After splitting them open, save the prettiest
halves for the tops of the bon-bons, and all broken and off-colored
ones you may chop up very fine, and use for sprinkling over the tops
of your pink bon-bons and they also look very pretty sprinkled over
chocolate creams before the chocolate hardens.