Although spinning sugar has been called the climax of the art of sugar
work, you need not be deterred from trying it. It cannot be made on a
damp day or in a moist atmosphere.
Spun sugar makes a beautiful decoration for ice creams, glace fruits
and other cold desserts.
1 pound sugar.
½ cup water.
½ saltspoonful cream of tartar.
Put the sugar, water and cream of tartar into a kettle and stir until
it commences to boil. Wipe down the sides of the kettle and steam. Put
in the thermometer and cook to 310. Care must be used so that it does
not burn. Remove it from the fire. Place the pan in a pan of cold water
to stop the boiling, because the heat of the pan and sugar might cause
it to boil higher.
Place two of the steel bars (which you use for the slab) on a table so
that the ends project a little way; spread some papers on the floor
under them. For spinning, two forks may be used, but some wires drawn
through a cork are better because they give more points. After the
syrup has cooled a little; take the pan in the left hand, the wire or
forks in the right; dip them into the syrup and spin it over the rods,
and on the return motion, under the rods; fine threads of sugar will
fly off the points and remain on the rods. If the syrup gets too cold,
it may be reheated. Take the spun sugar carefully off the rods from
time to time and fold it around a pan turned over, or roll it into
nests or any form desired. Place the spun sugar under a glass globe as
soon as made. Under an air tight globe with a piece of lime, it may be
kept crisp for a day or two, but it readily gathers moisture, and it is
better to make it the day it is to be used. Do not attempt to make it
on a damp or rainy day, and do not have a boiling kettle in the room.