3½ pounds sugar.
1 quart cream.
⅜ teaspoonful cream of tartar.
Put sugar and cream in kettle, set on hot fire, stir until it commences
to boil, then add the cream of tartar, and put in the thermometer, and
stir constantly but very gently until it is cooked to 238, being sure
to move the thermometer very often with paddle, and stir underneath
it, to prevent it from sticking; then pour on slab, moistened a little
previously, but do not scrape out the kettle, and allow it to stand
until it is perfectly cold, then cream or turn it exactly as directed
for bon-bon cream, and when it works up into a hard ball, cover with
a damp cloth for about thirty to forty minutes, when you will see
that it has sweat enough so that it may be taken in the hands and
moulded up in any way desired, or may be sliced down with the knife,
cut into squares, and eaten at once if you wish. If you wish you may
add a good teaspoonful of vanilla while creaming it, and thus have a
vanilla fudge. If you wish to make a chocolate fudge out of this, as
soon as you remove the damp cloth, take part or all of it, and work
into it, with your hands, by kneading it, enough melted chocolate to
color it well, then pat it out into a thin cake and put it into a small
box cover previously lined with wax paper, smoothing it out to about
three-fourths of an inch thick, then set it away for several hours to
harden a little. To remove it, simply turn the lid over, letting it
fall out, and then peel the wax paper from it, and cut it up in small
squares. Take the remainder, after making part of it chocolate, and
into it work sufficient chopped nuts or chopped cherries and citron to
show up well, and if desired, color it pink and flavor with rose, and
mould up in the same manner as directed for chocolate fudge. As you
see, you may make this fudge any color or flavor you desire; but the
ones we have mentioned you will find about the best. You have probably
noticed that this fudge is made about the same as bon-bon cream,
only with this you do not cover and steam it, and also must stir it
constantly but gently, or it will sugar for you. You will also notice
that it takes longer to cream up than it does bon-bon cream, and is
very stiff when you commence turning it, but do not notice that, nor
get discouraged, because if you cooked it to the required degree, it
will not fail to come out all right for you. You will find that fudge
will keep fresh for quite a while, if you put it in a can or jar with a
tight cover, and keep it in a cool dry place.
If the fudge sugars for you, you will know that you have either stirred
it too much, started to cream it when too warm, or disturbed it while
cooling; try adding a pinch more of the cream of tartar in your next
batch.
Don’t forget to make the correct allowance, in case your thermometer
does not register 212 in boiling water.
If it should sugar and not cream up into a hard ball, it must not be
used for this fudge again, but add a little cream to it, also a small
amount of glucose, and make the plain fudge out of it.
Don’t have the slab too wet when pouring out this fudge, but just
moist, as it is liable to throw your batch back a few degrees.