These are either the juices of fruits, or a decoction or infusion
of the leaves, flowers or roots of vegetables, impregnated with a
sufficient quantity of sugar for their preservation, and retaining them
in a liquid state.
A great portion of this class comes more under the notice of the
apothecary than the confectioner; but it may now be considered, with
lozenges, as a branch of pharmacy in the hands of the latter, the most
agreeable of which are now manufactured by him to supply the place
of fresh fruits, etc., when out of season, for the making of cooling
drinks, ices, etc., for balls and routs.
GENERAL RULES AND OBSERVATIONS.--Two things are essentially necessary
to be observed, which are:--the proper methods of making decoctions and
infusions. These require some knowledge of the nature and properties of
vegetable matter.
The virtues of most plants are extracted by infusion, and this is
generally the case with aromatic plants, and those whose properties
depend on an essential oil; for, in boiling the whole of the aroma of
the plant is dispersed, and the syrup loses that delicate flavor for
which it is prized.
Aromatic herbs, and the leaves of plants in general, yield their
virtues most perfectly when moderately dried. Cold water extracts from
these in a few hours the lighter, more fragrant and agreeable parts,
and then begins to take up the more ungrateful and grosser. By pouring
the same liquor on fresh parcels of the herb, it becomes stronger,
richer, thicker, and balsamic.
Those only should be decocted whose principles consist of mucilage,
gum, or resin, and require boiling to extract them.
The compact resinous woods, roots and barks yield their virtues most
freely while fresh. Dry, they yield little to cold or moderately warm
water, and require it to be boiling. By this process the grosser, more
fixed saline and mucilaginous parts are dissolved, the resinous melted
out, and the volatile dissipated.
INFUSIONS.--These are watery solutions of vegetable matter obtained
by maceration, either in hot or cold water, with the assistance of
ebullition. In selecting and conducting the operation, the following
general rules should be observed:
"1st. Infusion should always be preferred before decoction, where
the virtues of the vegetable substance reside in volatile oil, or in
principles which are easily soluble, whereas, if they depend upon
resino-mucilaginous particles, decoction is an indispensable operation.
"2d. The temperature employed must be varied according to the
circumstances of each case, and infusion made with cold is in general
more grateful but less active than one made with heat.
"3d. The duration of the process must likewise be regulated by the
nature of the substances; for the infusion will differ according to the
time in which the water has been digested on the materials; thus the
aroma of the plant is first taken up, then in succession the coloring,
astringent, and gummy parts.
DECOCTIONS.--"These are solutions of the active principles of
vegetables, obtained by boiling them in water.
"1st. Those principles only should be decocted whose virtues reside in
principles which are soluble in water.
"2d. If the active principle be volatile, decoction must be an
injurious process; and if it consists of extractive matter, long
boiling, by favoring its oxidizement, will render it insipid,
insoluble, and inert.
"3d. The substances to be decocted should be previously bruised or
sliced, so as to expose an extended surface to the action of the water.
"4th. The substances should be completely covered with water, and the
vessel slightly closed, in order to prevent as much as possible the
access of air; the boiling should be continued without interruption,
and gently.
"5th. In compound decoctions, it is sometimes convenient not to put in
all the ingredients from the beginning, but in succession, according
to their hardness, and the difficulty with which their virtues are
extracted; and if any aromatic, or other substances containing volatile
principles, or oxidizable matter, enter into the composition, the
boiling decoction should be simply poured upon them, and covered up
until cold.
"6th. The relative proportions of different vegetable substances to the
water must be regulated by their nature. The following general rule may
be admitted: Of roots, barks, or dried woods, from two drachms to six
to every pint of water; of herbs or flowers, half that quantity will
suffice.
"7th. The decoction ought to be filtered through linen while hot, as
important portions of the dissolved matter are frequently deposited
on cooling; care must also be taken that the filter is not too fine,
for it frequently happens that the virtues of a decoction depend upon
the presence of particles in a minutely divided state."--_Paris's
Pharmacologia._
All acid syrups ought to have their full quantity of sugar, so as to
bring them to a consistence without boiling, because the very action of
much heat destroys their acidity, and makes them liable to candy, and
this more particularly holds good where the infusion or juice, etc.,
has any fragrancy in flavor, because the volatile oil is dissipated by
boiling. The same observation is also applicable to those infusions
of flowers which give out their color, and which is necessary to be
retained, such as violets, pinks, etc., as boiling injures them.
Those syrups which are made from decoctions, and do not take a
sufficient quantity of sugar to bring them to a due consistence without
boiling, require to be clarified so as to render them transparent; but
this is often an injury, as the whites of eggs take off some of their
chief properties with the scum; therefore, the decoction should first
be rendered clear by settling or filtering, and the sugar should be
clarified and boiled to the height of the feather or ball before the
decoction is added, when it may be reduced to the proper degree.
The best and most general method of making syrups is to add a
sufficient quantity of the finest loaf sugar, in powder, with the juice
or infusion, etc., stirring it well until a small portion settles
at the bottom, then place the pan in a larger one containing water;
this is termed the bain-marie; put it on the fire, and the heat of
the water as it boils will dissolve the sugar; when this has been
thoroughly effected, take it off and let it cool; if more sugar is
added than the quantity above named, it will separate in crystals, and
not leave sufficient remaining in the syrup for its preservation. (See
observations on Sugar-boiling.) When cold, put it into small bottles,
fill them, cork closely, and keep in a dry cool place. Be particularly
careful that no tinned articles are used in the making of syrups from
the juice of red fruits, as it will act on the tin and change the color
to a dead blue.
SYRUP OF ALMONDS--SIROP DE ORGEAT.--One pound of sweet almonds, four
ounces of bitter ones, one pint and a half of water, sugar three
pounds, orange-flower water two ounces.
Blanch the almonds, and as they are blanched throw them into cold
water; when they are finished, take them out and pound them in a marble
mortar, sprinkling them with a little orange-flower water, to prevent
their oiling, or use water with the juice of a lemon; add sufficient in
the pounding to reduce them to a paste, and when quite fine add half a
pint more water; mix, and strain through a tamis cloth twisted tight
by two persons; receive the milk which comes from the almonds into a
basin; what is left in the cloth must be pounded again with some of
the water, and strained. Continue this until the whole of the milk is
obtained, and the water is consumed; then clarify, and boil the sugar
to the crack; add the milk of almonds, and reduce it to the pearl; then
strain it again, add the orange-flower water, and stir it well until
nearly cold; when cold, bottle; shake the bottles well for several
succeeding days, if you see it at all inclined to separate, which will
prevent it.
BRANDY AND WINE SYRUPS may be made in the same manner as Syrup of Rum
Punch.
COFFEE, SYRUP OF.--Fresh roasted Mocha coffee two pounds, water one
quart, sugar three pounds eight ounces. Grind the coffee in a mill, and
make a cold infusion with the water in a close vessel; let it stand for
a day, then filter it through blotting paper, add the sugar, and finish
in the bain-marie.
COLTSFOOT, SYRUP OF.--Fresh Coltsfoot flowers, one pound eight ounces;
water, one quart; sugar, three pounds. Pick the flowers about February,
and make an infusion of them with hot water; strain, and finish as
wormwood syrup. Two or three handfuls of the leaves may be pounded and
infused instead of the flowers.
CURRANT SYRUP.--One pint of juice, two pounds of sugar. Mix together
three pounds of currants, half white and half red, one pound of
raspberries and one pound of cherries, without the stones; mash the
fruit, and let it stand in a warm place for three or four days,
keeping it covered with a coarse cloth, or a piece of paper with holes
pricked in it, to keep out any dust or dirt. Filter the juice, add the
sugar in powder, finish in the bain-marie, and skim it. When cold, put
it into bottles, fill them, and cork well.
GINGER, SYRUP OF.--Ginger, two ounces; water, one pint; sugar, two
pounds.
Slice the root if fresh, or bruise it if dried; pour the water on it
boiling, and let it macerate in a warm place for a day; then strain,
and boil to the pearl.
ANOTHER.--A better flavored and a richer ginger syrup is made in the
following manner: Take any quantity of scraped white Jamaica ginger
and infuse for several days in good spirits of wine; decant the clear
liquor when sufficiently saturated with the ginger, and add to the hot
sugar, previously boiled to the ball or feather, a sufficient quantity
of the liquor to impart to the syrup the agreeable aroma of the ginger
root.
The spirit will be rapidly driven off when it is poured into the
boiling syrup, and a bland and beautiful syrup will be the result; let
it cool, and bottle immediately.
GOOSEBERRY SYRUP.--One pint of juice, one pound twelve ounces of sugar.
To twelve pounds of ripe gooseberries add two pounds of cherries
without stones, squeeze out the juice, and finish as others.
LEMON SYRUP.--One pint and a quarter of juice, two pounds of sugar. Let
the juice stand in a cool place to settle. When a thin skin is formed
on the top, pour it off and filter, add the sugar, and finish in the
bain-marie. If the flavor of the peel is preferred with it, grate off
the yellow rind of the lemons and mix it with the juice to infuse, or
rub it off on part of the sugar and add it with the remainder when you
finish it.
LICORICE, SYRUP OF.--Licorice-root two ounces, white maidenhair one
ounce, hyssop half an ounce, boiling water three pints; slice the root
and cut the herbs small, infuse in the water for twenty-four hours,
strain and add sufficient sugar, or part sugar and honey, to make a
syrup; boil to the large pearl. An excellent pectoral.
MARSHMALLOWS, SYRUP OF--SIROP DE GUIMAUVE.--Fresh mallow roots eight
ounces, water one quart, sugar three pounds. Cleanse the roots, and
slice them; make a decoction (see Decoctions), boiling it a quarter
of an hour, so as to obtain the mucilage of the root; strain, and
finish as wormwood. One ounce of licorice-root and one ounce of white
maidenhair, with a few stoned raisins, may be added.
MORELLO CHERRY SYRUP.--Take the stones out of the cherries, mash them,
and press out the juice in an earthen pan; let it stand in a cool place
for two days, then filter; add two pounds of sugar to one pint of
juice, finish in the bain-marie, or stir it well on the fire, and give
it one or two boils.
MULBERRY SYRUP.--One pint of juice, one pound twelve ounces of sugar.
Press out the juice and finish as cherry syrup.
ORANGE-FLOWER SYRUP.--Picked orange-flowers one pound, sugar three
pounds. Take one half of the sugar and make a syrup, which boil to the
large pearl, put the flowers in a basin or jar, and pour the syrup
on them boiling hot, cover the jar or basin quite close and let them
infuse in it for five or six hours, then drain off the syrup, boil the
remaining portion of sugar, and pour over them as before; when cold,
strain and bottle.
ORANGE SYRUP.--Same as lemon syrup.
PINEAPPLE SYRUP.--Take one and a half pints of syrup boiled to the
ball; add to this, one pint of the juice of the best Havana pineapples,
let it then come to a boil, remove the scum, and bottle when cool.
PINKS, SYRUPS OF.--Clove pinks one pound eight ounces, water two pints
and a half, sugar three pounds. Let the flowers be fresh-gathered, cut
off the white points of the petals and weigh them. Finish as syrup of
violets. This syrup may be made with a cold infusion of the flowers,
first pounding them with a little water in a marble mortar. Finish as
before. If the flowers of the clove pink cannot be obtained, use other
pinks, adding a few cloves to infuse with them, so as to give the
flavor.
RASPBERRY SYRUP.--One pint of juice, two pounds of sugar. Choose the
fruit either red or white, mash it in a pan, and put it in a warm
place for two or three days, or until the fermentation has commenced.
All mucilaginous fruits require this, or else it would jelly after it
is bottled. Filter the juice through a flannel bag, add the sugar in
powder, place in the bain-marie, and stir it until dissolved; take it
off, let it get cold, take off the scum, and bottle it.
RASPBERRY VINEGAR SYRUP.--One pint of juice, two pints of apple
vinegar, four pounds and a half of sugar. Prepare the juice as before,
adding the vinegar with it, using white raspberries; strain the juice,
and boil to the pearl.
Three pounds of raspberries, two pints of vinegar, three pounds of
sugar. Put the raspberries into the vinegar without mashing them, cover
the pan close, and let it remain in a cellar for seven or eight days:
then filter the infusion, add the sugar in powder, and finish in the
bain-marie. This is superior to the first, as the beautiful aroma of
the fruit is lost in the boiling, as may be well known by its scenting
the place where it is done, or even the whole house; the fruit may also
be afterwards used with more, for raspberry cakes.
ROSES, SYRUP OF.--The dried leaves of Provence roses eight ounces,
double rose leaves six ounces, water one quart, sugar four pounds.
Pour the water on the leaves when nearly boiling into a glazed earthen
vessel, cover it quite close, and let it remain in a warm place for a
day; then strain and finish as violets. The leaves of the damask rose
are purgative.
RUM PUNCH, SYRUP OF.--Jamaica rum one quart, the juice of twelve or
fourteen lemons, sugar four pounds. Rub off the yellow rind of half of
the lemons on a piece of the sugar, and scrape it off with a knife into
a basin as it imbibes the oil; clarify and boil the remaining portion
to the crack; strain the juice into the rum and add to it the sugar
with that on which the peels were rubbed; mix together, and give it
one boil. The yellow rind of the peels may be cut off very thin, and
infused in the spirit for some days before the syrup is made.
SARSAPARILLA, SYRUP OF.--Half a pound of bruised sarsaparilla root, two
ounces of ground orange peel, one ounce liquorice root, sassafras bark
bruised two ounces, one gallon of water; boil to half a gallon; strain;
to each pint of liquor add one pound of sugar; put on the fire till it
boils, and take off the scum which may arise.
SIROP DE CAPILLAIRE--SYRUP OF MAIDENHAIR.--There are several sorts
of Maidenhair, but the best is that of Canada, which has a pleasant
smell joined to its pectoral qualities. The true Maidenhair--_Capillus
Veneris_--is a native of Italy and of the southern parts of
France. It has an agreeable but very weak smell. Common or English
Maidenhair--_Trichomanes_--is usually substituted for the true, and
occasionally for the Canadian. Its leaves consist of small round
divisions, growing as it were in pairs. It grows on rocks, old
walls, and shady banks, and should be gathered in September. Black
Maidenhair--_Adianthum Nigrum_--has smooth and shining leaves, the
middle rib being black, and the seeds are all spread on the back of
the leaf. It grows on shady banks, and on the roots of trees. White
Maidenhair--Wall Rue--Tent Wort--_Ruta Murana Salvia Vitæ_. The
leaves of this are shaped something like rue, and covered all over
the back with a small seed-like dust. Golden Maidenhair--_Muscus
Capillaris_--grows in moist places, and the pedicle arises from the top
of the stalk. I have given these particulars, because I find they are
often substituted one for the other by persons who are not aware that
there is any difference. Although all of them have nearly the same
qualities, only two have a volatile oil, but they are all mucilaginous.
Canada capillaire two ounces, sugar two pounds. Chop the capillaire
into small bits, and make as orange-flower syrup. By this method the
oil is not allowed to escape, which, being exceedingly odoriferous and
volatile, is soon dissipated if boiled; or make a cold infusion (See
Infusions) of the plant by putting one quart of water to four ounces
of capillaire, add four pounds of sugar, and finish in the bain-marie,
adding one ounce of orange-flower water. [This is a fashionable and
delicate syrup, but is rarely obtained genuine.]
Simple syrup, flavored with orange-flower water, is usually substituted
for it.
SIROP DE PISTACHE is made in the same manner as Syrup of Almonds,
coloring it green with a little spinach.
STRAWBERRY SYRUP.--Make as pineapple, taking care to strain carefully
at least twice, through a fine flannel bag, so as to remove entirely
all sediment and the small seed of the fruit.
VIOLETS, SYRUP OF.--One pound of violet flowers, one quart of water,
four pounds of sugar. Put the flowers cleared from their stalks and
calyx, into a glazed earthen pan; pour on the water boiling hot, and
stop the pan quite close; let it remain in a warm place for a day, then
strain off the infusion through a thin cloth; add the sugar, and place
in a bain-marie; stir it well and heat it until you can scarcely bear
your finger in it; then take it off, and when cold, bottle. A laxative.
This syrup is often adulterated by being made with the flowers of
heartsease, or columbine scented with orris-root, and colored.
WORMWOOD, SYRUP OF.--There are three sorts of wormwood most generally
known--the common, sea, and Roman. The first may be distinguished by
its broad leaves, which are divided into roundish segments of a dull
green color above, and whitish underneath; its taste is an intense and
disagreeable bitter. The sea wormwood has smaller leaves, and hoary
both above and underneath; it grows in salt marshes, and about the
sea-coasts; the smell and taste are not so strong and disagreeable as
the common.
The Roman differs from the others by the plant being smaller in all
its parts; the leaves are divided into fine filaments and hoary all
over, the stalk being either entirely, or in part of a purple color.
Its smell is pleasant, and the bitterness not disagreeable; it is
cultivated in gardens. The sea wormwood is generally substituted for it.
The tops of Roman wormwood, two ounces; water, one pint; sugar, two
pounds. Make an infusion of the leaves in warm water; strain; add the
sugar to the infusion, and boil to the pearl. If the common wormwood
only can be obtained, put the tops into three times the above quantity
of water, and boil it over a strong fire until reduced to a pint. This
will deprive it of part of its bitterness and disagreeable smell.