making of small objects and all fine and thin work. The results are as
attractive to the palate as to the eye, although candy modeled from
potato fondant does not have the peculiar oily richness of the products
fashioned from almond paste.
For one batch take as much of the uncooked potato fondant as the work
in hand calls for. Into it work all the sugar that it will take. Stop
the kneading just as soon as the mixture shows a tendency to crumble.
Model it into any form desired. It is best not to make the pieces too
large. The modeling may be done with the small clay modeling tool now
common in kindergartens and technical schools, or with a clean orange
stick.
A thin sheet of glass will be found exceedingly satisfactory upon which
to model. As the glass is thin, intricate flowers of many petals, for
instance, can be slipped off with little disturbance. Use a thin knife
to loosen and lift only slightly, slipping each model off with as little
handling as possible. Another advantage is that the glass can easily be
washed.
=Coloring.=--The vegetable coloring pastes which are sold for use in
cooking are harmless. A set of the small jars ordinarily sold for ten
cents a jar will probably be enough for any candy that the amateur may
make in one season. The colors generally in the set are fruit red, leaf
green, golden yellow, caramel, violet, damask, rose, mandarin, orange
blue, salmon and chestnut.
These pastes may be used in three ways. They may be cooked or worked
into a candy mixture or they may be used very much the same as water
color pigments and applied with a brush.
In the first method it is well to remember that the shade should be
mixed a little heavier than desired and must be very thoroughly mixed if
used in fondant or prepared compounds. The rules of color combination
prevail here as everywhere. So if grades of tone or different colors are
desired almost any wish may be met by combination of color.
To get just the tone desired, after mixing the colors dissolve a small
portion in water and then dip into this liquid a lump of sugar. If the
tint is not the right one, it is easily changed.
Any shade of green may be obtained by mixing blue and yellow with leaf
green. All shades of orange are obtainable from yellow and red. All
shades of violet or mauve or even purple for deep violets may be made
from red and blue in different proportions.
If the color in your candy is not clear and uniform it is because it has
not been thoroughly mixed. To avoid spots it must be evenly incorporated
through the entire mass. If this does not seem possible with coloring
paste, dissolve in a little warm water and then add it to the fondant or
prepared compound.
In applying with the brush use the wash methods much as in water color
work and the shading will be much more artistic and the variety much
greater. Apply a medium shade uniformly and let thoroughly dry and then
shade with light and darker tones. Do not use much water, as the surface
of the candy does not absorb the water as does water color paper.
=White Daisy.=--This makes an unusually pretty modeled piece, as will be
seen from the illustration facing page 138, and from No. 13 of the
frontispiece.
White potato fondant is used for the petals and candied orange peel for
the center, and angelique for the stem and leaves.
Flavor the potato fondant with one of the stronger extracts such as
peppermint, cinnamon or cloves. If desired it may be used without
flavoring, but the more delicate flavors are not so pleasing. Mix enough
sugar with the fondant for it to mold smoothly and easily and hold its
shape. Upon a clean piece of glass, or oil cloth, if glass is not easily
obtainable, place a piece of angelique of a size suitable for the stem.
To form the petals roll pieces of potato fondant between the fingers.
Properly arrange these petals around the center. Press a piece of
candied orange peel down upon the stem and petals. This peel gives the
yellow center of the daisy and acts as an additional means for holding
the stem and petals together. Or, yellow fondant may be substituted. Run
a thin knife under the flower and lift it over the glass to an oil cloth
placed over a board or to a piece of waxed paper and dry for twenty-four
hours.
Cook to two hundred and twenty degrees, a syrup made of one cupful of
sugar and one-third of a cupful of water; pour this into a dish so that
the syrup will be about an inch deep. Add to the daisies such leaves cut
from angelique as may be desired and then dip into this liquid and lift
upon a wire rack. In the making of this as in all composite models the
crystal syrup--one cupful of sugar and one-third cupful of water cooked
to two hundred and twenty degrees--is an essential asset for gluing
purposes. A small bristle brush is good for applying, but care must be
used as in using glue not to use too much of the syrup. The syrup, when
dry, will hold the leaves to the stem. If the amateur confectioner is
very conscientious, she may improve the looks of the flowers by coloring
the outside edges of the centers lightly with sugar--first a little
brown and then a touch of yellow placed there with the pointed end of
the modeling stick.
Before the flowers have thoroughly set, free them from the wires of the
rack. Shortly after the dipping, when as much of the syrup as will has
run off the flowers, run the fingers along the under side of the rack
springing the wires under each piece. This method not only frees the
flowers but it rids them of undue accumulations of the syrup. Otherwise,
the wires would dry into the candies, which would be broken upon their
removal. Leave on the rack until dry.
=Yellow Daisy.=--Yellow daisies may be made by coloring the white potato
fondant or by making fresh fondant, using the yolk of the egg in place
of the white. The fondant made of the yolk will not model quite so
readily but coloring is unnecessary.
Form the yellow daisy as the white, but use a small raisin for the
center, instead of the piece of orange peel. No colored sugar is
necessary. Crystallize as before.
If exceptionally bright and clear colors are desired, the flowers may be
dipped twice into a thin crystal instead of once into an ordinary
crystal. Use the same proportions of sugar and water--one cupful to
one-third cupful cooked to only two hundred and twenty degrees. Into
this dip the flowers after they are thoroughly dry, and dry on a rack as
before. The next day dip them again into a crystal of the same sort. Dry
as before. The result will be glossy flowers, free from crystals, with
particularly beautiful yellows and browns.
=Calla Lily.=--This is particularly suitable for Easter time. For the
stem, use a small stick of angelique. Make the center from yellow
fondant. While still moist, dip into granulated sugar. See the
illustration facing page 138.
If the yellow fondant is not on hand, a little of the ordinary white may
be colored yellow and used. It is hardly worth while to make up a batch
of the special egg fondant for one set of lilies.
From the white potato fondant, pat out rather thin pieces, wrap them
around the stem, form the lily and curl the edges and make the pointed
top and the front fold prominent. If leaves are desired, cut a long leaf
from the angelique, dip the stem end into thick syrup and fasten to the
stem. To make a perfect union, cover the stem below the lily with syrup.
If the lilies are to be used for box trimmings, do not make the stems
very long and if leaves are used, bring them up well onto or behind the
flower to give added strength so that the stems will be unlikely to
break at their juncture with the lily.
=Red Apples.=--As dinner favors, red apples are unusually effective. For
the foundation use pulled figs, stuffed with any good mixture. Nuts and
pitted dates may be used for the filling, but the combination is a
little too heavy. Marshmallows and pecan meats are preferable. A third
possibility is chopped nuts and figs. Whatever filling is used, the
method of its insertion is the same. If the figs are dry, steam them
thoroughly. Make a slit in the side, fill with the chosen mixture, and
pinch together the edges of the opening.
As the covering for the figs, uncooked fondant must be used. Cinnamon is
a popular flavoring. Color it with red paste. At this stage in the
process it should not be made the shade desired for the finished
product, but there should be enough of the red to overcome the dead
white of the fondant. In other words, make the first coating much
lighter than it otherwise would be. Into the uncooked fondant, sugar
must be worked until modeling is easy.
Encase the stuffed fig in fondant. The thickness of the coating will
depend upon the size of the fig; the finished product should be about
the size of a real apple. Model the surface so that it looks as much
like an apple as possible. If it is desired to have the confection all
edible, use a piece of angelique for the stem; a twig from a vine or
bush really looks better, however. For the blossom end use a clove. If
the general directions given above are followed, the result will be a
surprising naturalness.
[Illustration: Fascinating to the Child]
Proceeding as directed on page 64, use the vegetable coloring pastes for
the coloring. As the red color paste is likely to have the magenta shade
overmuch, the first coating would better be of orange and the second of
enough dark red to give the true apple red.
To intensify the color and leave the apple glossy, brush it with crystal
syrup cooked to two hundred and twenty degrees. The syrup should be used
while yet warm and should be applied smoothly.
By the use of other colors, other sorts of apples can be made.
Before being eaten, these apples, like real apples, should be cut into
sections.
See the illustration facing this page, and No. 24 of the frontispiece.
=Single Roses.=--They may be pink, red, yellow or white. The process in
each case is the same except for the coloring and the flavoring. Take
as much fondant as is needed for roses of one color and as the base, use
uncooked potato fondant. Divide it into three lots and color with paste
the shade desired--the first so very faintly that its tint is just off
the white, the second a little deeper and the third deeper still. Always
remember that immersion in hot syrup deepens the color. Remember, too,
that the three lots of different shades are for roses of one color only.
For red roses, use cinnamon flavor and red coloring. For yellow roses,
use clove as flavoring and yellow as coloring. Yellow roses are shown as
Nos. 3 and 26 of the frontispiece. Be very careful not to use too much
color. For white roses, use the plain fondant, but after the rose has
dried a touch of green must be added to give depth and character.
For pink roses, use rose water as flavor and pink as coloring.
Whatever the color of the rose, form five petals, curling the edges to
imitate those of the natural rose, and using different shades for
different petals so that the rose will have natural variety of color. At
the center use a small piece of angelique; a touch of darker green
coloring to the center of the angelique gives the rose greater
verisimilitude. It is well to model them upon a sheet of glass and when
completed lift on to a waxed paper to dry.
If the rose is a white one, let it be remembered that it must be shaded
with light green.
When the flowers are dry dip them into a crystal, cooked to two hundred
and twenty-five degrees. Use brown and yellow sugar to imitate the
pollen around the green centers. The pointed end of the wooden tool will
be useful in placing these colored sugars. They must be made to stand
out clearly. If too much syrup has collected around the center, be sure
to push it out with the blunt end of the tool before trying to put the
sugar in place.
After the roses have dried, they are ready to look at and eat.
=Rose Buds.=--From potato fondant, colored as desired, model several
small petals. Cut a piece of angelique to represent the stem and
properly arrange the petals around one end of it and press them on. The
leaves and thorns are to be made from angelique and attached by
pressing them to the stem using the crystal, prepared for the dipping,
as glue.
The calyx, made from angelique, may be also so attached. When the buds
have dried dip them into a crystal cooked to two hundred and twenty-five
degrees. Dry on racks. The crystal will make stronger the union of
petals, leaves, thorns and stem.
=New Potato.=--A particularly appropriate form in which to model the
potato fondant is that of the new potato. Work the proper sized piece of
fondant into as close an imitation as possible of the new potato.
As this new potato has perhaps more of the fondant than many people will
wish to eat at one time, several partial substitutions are possible.
That statement, by the way, is no reflection upon the fondant, for any
piece of candy, no matter how good, of the size of this is likely to be
rather too much to be eaten at one time if of one flavor. Marshmallows,
pitted dates with nut meats, pulled figs closely rolled, or English
walnut meats are some of the things that may well be used as centers.
Whatever is used should be rolled in enough of the fondant to make
pieces of the desired size and form and then immediately rolled in dry
cocoa.
The result will be strikingly convincing--and good to eat.
=Pea Pod.=--From fondant colored green, a pea pod may be modeled, split,
and the peas modeled and placed within. When the forms are dry, dip them
in a crystal made by boiling one cupful of sugar and one-third cupful of
water to two hundred and twenty degrees. Use care that the syrup does
not settle between the peas. Granulated sugar dusted over the pod gives
a beautiful soft color and surface.
=Snow Balls.=--All modeled candies are a delight to children, but snow
balls always meet with a particular favor.
Stuffed figs, prepared as directed for red apples on page 70, form the
basis for them. To keep the color of the figs from showing through,
cover them with the uncooked fondant and roll in the hands until perfect
balls are formed. After the balls have dried two or more hours, roll
them again in this coating of uncooked fondant to which has been added a
small quantity of blue coloring. This is to insure the balls being
snow white. Brush these balls with the unbeaten white of an egg and roll
in equal parts of crystal and granulated sugar.
=Grapes.=--The confection described below and pictured opposite page 72
is good to look at, good to eat, and comparatively easy to make. It
should be borne in mind, by the way, that the directions for candies
often sound more difficult than the actual process.
As the basis for the grapes, take smooth almonds, not blanched. Into the
smaller end of each one insert nickeled wire, pushing it well into the
nut. Then cover the nuts with potato fondant. Work them with the fingers
until they assume the forms of single grapes. Dry in a corn starch bed.
When the forms are dry, brush all the corn starch off. The grapes so
formed should be colored a medium shade by the use of vegetable coloring
pastes to resemble catawba or purple grapes. Because of the opaqueness
of the grapes, they cannot be made to imitate closely the color of green
grapes, but if the confectioner has an unusual fondness for green
grapes, and is not over particular, there is no reason why she should
not attempt them.
After coloring, dry the grapes thoroughly on a wire screen, finish them
in thin crystal, which has been colored somewhat lighter than the shade
the finished grapes are expected to assume. In order to leave the
confection with a glossy surface, it is possible to add to the crystal a
very small quantity of gum Arabic.
After the crystal is thoroughly dry, the wires should be wound with
raffia of the leaf green shade, and, by twisting the wires together, the
single grapes formed into bunches of the size desired. If the
confectioner wishes large bunches, it is well to wind the wires onto a
tree twig, for the sake of the additional firmness. It should be
remembered that the large bunches are heavy. The use of the twig is also
recommended for the natural appearance it gives to the finished bunch.
Brush the stems with a thin syrup. The loose ends of the raffia may be
disposed of and the appearance of the confection made more natural by
dampening them with the syrup and winding them around any round object
of about the size of a lead pencil. The ends of the raffia, so treated,
will resemble tendrils.
In taste, the grapes are much like the usual hard-covered almonds.
=Other Possibilities.=--If the candy-maker has ambition and imagination,
she will regard the foregoing objects as merely suggestive; she will
work out for herself other objects of equal interest. The following
suggestions as to coloring, she will find valuable no matter how much
she may want to create for herself. For pears, use yellow with red; for
peaches, yellow with a very little red; for pumpkins, light orange with
touches of green; for radishes, light red, with green for the stem; for
carrots, orange with a slight touch of green; for plums, the so-called
violet with a very little red; for strawberries, red, touched with
yellow to simulate the seeds--and so on indefinitely.
IX
POTATO CARAMEL
Three receipts are given for potato caramels and one for opera caramels.
It should be noted that opera caramels and the ordinary potato caramels
are as different as fudge and taffy. The first of the receipts for
potato caramels is by all odds the best, but it means much hard work.
The second is much easier, but the results, while good to eat, are not
so pleasing in looks or consistency. The third is a compromise. In none,
owing to the very slow cooking, is it possible to use a thermometer to
advantage. The old tests, supplemented by a sort of intuition that old
candy-makers call "caramel sense" will have to be used to determine when
cookings are completed. But with good fortune and a little
experimenting, the amateur confectioner's judgment will soon become
accurate.
Potato Caramel No. 1.
Stir well one pound of sugar, one cupful of milk, one cupful of Irish
potato--boiled and sifted as directed before--two tablespoonfuls of
butter and one-half teaspoonful of salt. Boil until thick, and thin with
one-half cupful of milk, and again cook until thick; again thin with
one-half cupful of milk and cook until the mass is of caramel
consistency, tested in cold water. Stir as little as possible, but be
careful that the mass does not stick to the bottom of the kettle. Pour
on a well oiled marble between candy bars. Dry two days, cut in strips
and dry again before finally cutting in squares. Place them in a cold
place for several hours and then wrap them in parchment paper. They keep
well.
This is the kind of potato caramel that is especially good for chocolate
coating, although all of the potato caramels can be chocolate coated.
Make the caramels as above and allow them to dry in the open air for
several hours and then cover with chocolate.
The process is fully as laborious as it sounds, but the results are more
than worth the trouble. The repeated cookings give the characteristic
caramel taste and color. The following receipt, however, means less
work.
Potato Caramel No. 2.
Boil together one cupful of granulated sugar, one cupful of coffee A
sugar, one-half cupful of Irish potato--treated as before--one
tablespoonful of butter, one cupful of milk, caramel coloring. Stir
continually until the mass forms a soft ball in cold water. Then pour it
onto a well oiled marble between candy bars.
Potato Caramel No. 3.
Boil one pound of brown sugar, one cupful of milk, a piece of butter the
size of a walnut, and one-quarter cupful of Irish potato--prepared as
before--until a bit dipped from the mass will form a firm ball in cold
water. Stir as little as possible. Pour on an oiled marble between candy
bars. The result is more like fudge but is cooked to dryness without
being grained by beating.
Opera Caramel.
To two cupsful of sugar, one cupful Irish potato boiled, drained and
forced through a fine sieve, add one tablespoonful of butter and thin
with one-half cupful of milk. Cook until thick; remove from the fire.
Put in one-half cupful of milk again. Cook until thick, remove from the
fire and add one-half cupful of milk. Return the pan to the fire again.
This is the last time. It is wise to place an asbestos mat under the
saucepan. Cook until very thick--until a soft ball can be formed in cold
water.
After the mass has been removed from the fire, add one cupful of broken
walnut meats, and one cupful of bon-bon cream, broken in small pieces so
that it will be distributed quickly through the mass without much
stirring and pour the mixture between candy-bars on an oiled marble.
When cold cut it into squares; for home use it will not need wrapping.
As with potato caramel No. 1, this confection is most pleasantly
susceptible to chocolate coating. Allow it to dry in the open air for
several hours and then cover with chocolate as usual.
Broken nut meats can be added to any of the caramel recipes above.
X
POTATO--MISCELLANEOUS
Potatoes are probably the most useful vegetable known to the maker of
vegetable confectionery. As has been explained in the preceding
chapters, they are the basis of potato fondant and potato paste, both of
which are basic mixtures.
The usefulness of the potato does not end with decorative candy. In the
form both of paste and fondant and prepared in other ways, it is
responsible for several pleasing new confections.
=Mocha Walnuts.=--To the yolk of one egg beaten to a cream, add one-half
cupful of Irish potato--boiled, drained, and forced through a sieve as
described before--and one teaspoonful of coffee extract. Gradually stir
in confectioner's sugar until the mass can be made into soft balls.
Flatten these balls, press on walnut meats, and spread to dry. If
desired for packing, dip them into a crystal cooked to two hundred and
twenty degrees. To insure a good surface and keep the cream from drying
out, it may be well to dip the candy again after letting it dry a day.
See No. 8 in the frontispiece.
=Pecan Creams.=--The process for making them is the same as that
described for making mocha walnuts except that lemon or vanilla extract
is used instead of coffee,--see No. 14 of the frontispiece--and pecan
meats, instead of walnut meats. Indeed, the imaginative candy-cook will
be able to invent for herself several other new confections built upon
this same principle.
=Raisin Creams.=--To make them, form potato fondant--directions for
which are given on page 61--into balls and place a seeded raisin on each
side. Cook a crystal syrup to two hundred and twenty-eight degrees and
keep it warm by the use of the steam bath. Into it, dip, one by one, the
fondant balls, prepared as above. Dry on racks. If desired, ordinary
bon-bon cream, flavored and colored to suit the cook's fancy, may be
substituted for the potato fondant. A satisfactory variety is given
these raisin creams by pulling the raisin entirely over a pecan meat
before attaching to the cream. This confection is rich in flavor and
most attractive in shape.
=Peppermint Chocolates.=--Potato paste--described on page 52--is the
basis for them. Make a softer paste by using less sugar, work in
peppermint to taste, form it into balls, flatten and dry for a couple of
hours. Then dip them in chocolate as usual. After the finished candy has
stood for a time long enough for the chocolate covering to have mellowed
the center, the result will be a cream of excellent flavor and a texture
unusually attractive because of its grain. The difference between this
and the ordinary peppermint chocolate is so great that they really are
not the same confection.
=Celtic Almonds.=--This attractive confection is in reality a cream, but
a cream so different from the ordinary nut cream that it seems to fall
into a separate class. In place of the usual richness, there is here a
delicacy of flavor and clearness of outline that is a distinctly
enjoyable addition to confectionery.