GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON PRESERVES, CONFECTIONARY, ICES, AND DESSERT
DISHES.
PRESERVES.
1495. From the nature of vegetable substances, and chiefly from their
not passing so rapidly into the putrescent state as animal bodies, the
mode of preserving them is somewhat different, although the general
principles are the same. All the means of preservation are put in
practice occasionally for fruits and the various parts of vegetables,
according to the nature of the species, the climate, the uses to which
they are applied, &c. Some are dried, as nuts, raisins, sweet herbs,
&c.; others are preserved by means of sugar, such as many fruits whose
delicate juices would be lost by drying; some are preserved by means of
vinegar, and chiefly used as condiments or pickles; a few also by
salting, as French beans; while others are preserved in spirits. We
have, however, in this place to treat of the best methods of preserving
fruits. Fruit is a most important item in the economy of health; the
epicurean can scarcely be said to have any luxuries without it;
therefore, as it is so invaluable, when we cannot have it fresh, we must
have it preserved. It has long been a desideratum to preserve fruits by
some cheap method, yet by such as would keep them fit for the various
culinary purposes, as making tarts and other similar dishes. The expense
of preserving them with sugar is a serious objection; for, except the
sugar is used in considerable quantities, the success is very uncertain.
Sugar also overpowers and destroys the sub-acid taste so desirable in
many fruits: these which are preserved in this manner are chiefly
intended for the dessert. Fruits intended for preservation should be
gathered in the morning, in dry weather, with the morning sun upon them,
if possible; they will then have their fullest flavour, and keep in good
condition longer than when gathered at any other time. Until fruit can
be used, it should be placed in the dairy, an ice-house, or a
refrigerator. In an icehouse it will remain fresh and plump for several
days. Fruit gathered in wet or foggy weather will soon be mildewed, and
be of no service for preserves.
1496. Having secured the first and most important contribution to the
manufacture of preserves,--the fruit, the next consideration is the
preparation of the syrup in which the fruit is to be suspended; and this
requires much care. In the confectioner's art there is a great nicety in
proportioning the degree of concentration of the syrup very exactly to
each particular case; and they know this by signs, and express it by
certain technical terms. But to distinguish these properly requires very
great attention and considerable experience. The principal thing to be
acquainted with is the fact, that, in proportion as the syrup is longer
boiled, its water will become evaporated, and its consistency will be
thicker. Great care must be taken in the management of the fire, that
the syrup does not boil over, and that the boiling is not carried to
such an extent as to burn the sugar.
1497. The first degree of consistency is called _the thread_, which is
subdivided into the little and great thread. If you dip the finger into
the syrup and apply it to the thumb, the tenacity of the syrup will, on
separating the finger and thumb, afford a thread, which shortly breaks:
this is the little thread. If the thread, from the greater tenacity,
and, consequently, greater strength of the syrup, admits of a greater
extension of the finger and thumb, it is called the great thread. There
are half a dozen other terms and experiments for testing the various
thickness of the boiling sugar towards the consistency called _caramel_;
but that degree of sugar-boiling belongs to the confectioner. A solution
of sugar prepared by dissolving two parts of double-refined sugar (the
best sugar is the most economical for preserves) in one of water, and
boiling this a little, affords a syrup of the right degree of strength,
and which neither ferments nor crystallizes. This appears to be the
degree called _smooth_ by the confectioners, and is proper to be used
for the purposes of preserves. The syrup employed should sometimes be
clarified, which is done in the following manner:--Dissolve 2 lbs. of
loaf sugar in a pint of water; add to this solution the white of an egg,
and beat it well. Put the preserving-pan upon the fire with the
solution; stir it with a wooden spatula, and, when it begins to swell
and boil up, throw in some cold water or a little oil, to damp the
boiling; for, as it rises suddenly, if it should boil over, it would
take fire, being of a very inflammable nature. Let it boil up again;
then take it off, and remove carefully the scum that has risen. Boil the
solution again, throw in a little more cold water, remove the scum, and
so on for three or four times successively; then strain it. It is
considered to be sufficiently boiled when some taken up in a spoon pours
out like oil.
1498. Although sugar passes so easily into the state of fermentation,
and is, in fact, the only substance capable of undergoing the vinous
stage of that process, yet it will not ferment at all if the quantity be
sufficient to constitute a very strong syrup: hence, syrups are used to
preserve fruits and other vegetable substances from the changes they
would undergo if left to themselves. Before sugar was in use, honey was
employed to preserve many vegetable productions, though this substance
has now given way to the juice of the sugar-cane.
1499. The fruits that are the most fit for preservation in syrup are,
apricots, peaches, nectarines, apples, greengages, plums of all kinds,
and pears. As an example, take some apricots not too ripe, make a small
slit at the stem end, and push out the stone; simmer them in water till
they are softened and about half done, and afterwards throw them into
cold water. When they have cooled, take them out and drain them. Put the
apricots into the pie-serving-pan with sufficient syrup to cover them;
let them boil up three or four times, and then skim them; remove them
from the fire, pour them into an earthen pan, and let them cool till
next day. Boil them up three days successively, skimming each time, and
they will then be finished and in a state fit to be put into pots for
use. After each bailing, it is proper to examine into the state of the
syrup when cold; if too thin, it will bear additional boiling; if too
thick, it may be lowered with more syrup of the usual standard. The
reason why the fruit is emptied out of the preserving-pan into an
earthen pan is, that the acid of the fruit acts upon the copper, of
which the preserving-pans are usually made. From this example the
process of preserving fruits by syrup will be easily comprehended. The
first object is to soften the fruit by blanching or boiling it in water,
in order that the syrup by which it is preserved may penetrate through
its substance.
1500. Many fruits, when preserved by boiling, lose much of their
peculiar and delicate flavour, as, for instance, pine-apples; and this
inconvenience may, in some instances, be remedied by preserving them
without heat. Cut the fruit in slices about one fifth of an inch thick,
strew powdered loaf sugar an eighth of an inch thick on the bottom of a
jar, and put the slices on it. Put more sugar on this, and then another
layer of the slices, and so on till the jar is full. Place the jar with
the fruit up to the neck in boiling water, and keep it there till the
sugar is completely dissolved, which may take half an hour, removing the
scum as it rises. Lastly, tie a wet bladder over the mouth of the jar,
or cork and wax it.
1501. Any of the fruits that have been preserved in syrup may be
converted into dry preserves, by first draining them from the syrup, and
then drying them in a stove or very moderate oven, adding to them a
quantity of powdered loaf sugar, which will gradually penetrate the
fruit, while the fluid parts of the syrup gently evaporate. They should
be dried in the stove or oven on a sieve, and turned every six or eight
hours, fresh powdered sugar being sifted over them every time they are
turned. Afterwards, they are to be kept in a dry situation, in drawers
or boxes. Currants and cherries preserved whole in this manner, in
bunches, are extremely elegant, and have a fine flavour. In this way it
is, also, that orange and lemon chips are preserved.
1502. Marmalades, jams, and fruit pastes are of the same nature, and are
now in very general request. They are prepared without difficulty, by
attending to a very few directions; they are somewhat expensive, but may
be kept without spoiling for a considerable time. Marmalades and jams
differ little from each other: they are preserves of a half-liquid
consistency, made by boiling the pulp of fruits, and sometimes part of
the rinds, with sugar. The appellation of marmalade is applied to those
confitures which are composed of the firmer fruits, as pineapples or the
rinds of oranges; whereas jams are made of the more juicy berries, such
as strawberries, raspberries, currants, mulberries, &c. Fruit pastes are
a kind of marmalades, consisting of the pulp of fruits, first evaporated
to a proper consistency, and afterwards boiled with sugar. The mixture
is then poured into a mould, or spread on sheets of tin, and
subsequently dried in the oven or stove till it has acquired the state
of a paste. From a sheet of this paste, strips may be cut and formed
into any shape that may be desired, as knots, rings, &c. Jams require
the same care and attention in the boiling as marmalade; the slightest
degree of burning communicates a disagreeable empyreumatic taste, and if
they are not boiled sufficiently, they will not keep. That they may
keep, it is necessary not to be sparing of sugar.
1503. In all the operations for preserve-making, when the preserving-pan
is used, it should not be placed on the fire, but on a trivet, unless
the jam is made on a hot plate, when this is not necessary. If the pan
is placed close on to the fire, the preserve is very liable to burn, and
the colour and flavour be consequently spoiled.
1504. Fruit jellies are compounds of the juices of fruits combined with
sugar, concentrated, by boiling, to such a consistency that the liquid,
upon cooling, assumes the form of a tremulous jelly.
1505. Before fruits are candied, they must first be boiled in syrup,
after which they are taken out and dried on a stove, or before the fire;
the syrup is then to be concentrated, or boiled to a candy height, and
the fruit dipped in it, and again laid on the stove to dry and candy:
they are then to be put into boxes, and kept dry.
1506. Conserves consist of fresh vegetable matters beat into a uniform
mass with refined sugar, and they are intended to preserve the virtues
and properties of recent flowers, leaves, roots, peels, or fruits,
unaltered, and as near as possible to what they were when fresh
gathered, and to give them an agreeable taste.
1507. The last-mentioned, but not the least-important preparation of
fruit, is the _compôte,_ a confiture made at the moment of need, and
with much less sugar than would be ordinarily put to preserves. They are
most wholesome things, suitable to most stomachs which cannot
accommodate themselves to raw fruit or a large portion of sugar: they
are the happy medium, and far better than ordinary stewed fruit.
CONFECTIONARY.
1508. In speaking of confectionary, it should be remarked that all the
various preparations above named come, strictly speaking, under that
head; for the various fruits, flowers, herbs, roots, and juices, which,
when boiled with sugar, were formerly employed in pharmacy as well as
for sweetmeats, were called _confections_, from the Latin word
_conficere_, 'to make up;' but the term confectionary embraces a very
large class indeed of sweet food, many kinds of which should not be
attempted in the ordinary cuisine. The thousand and one ornamental
dishes that adorn the tables of the wealthy should be purchased from the
confectioner: they cannot profitably be made at home. Apart from these,
cakes, biscuits, and tarts, &c., the class of sweetmeats called
confections may be thus classified:--1. Liquid confects, or fruits
either whole or in pieces, preserved by being immersed in a fluid
transparent syrup; as the liquid confects of apricots, green citrons,
and many foreign fruits. 2. Dry confects are those which, after having
been boiled in the syrup, are taken out and put to dry in an oven, as
citron and orange-peel, &c. 3. Marmalade, jams, and pastes, a kind of
soft compounds made of the pulp of fruits or other vegetable substances,
beat up with sugar or honey; such as oranges, apricots, pears, &c. 4.
Jellies are the juices of fruits boiled with sugar to a pretty thick
consistency, so as, upon cooling, to form a trembling jelly; as currant,
gooseberry, apple jelly, &c. 5. Conserves are a kind of dry confects,
made by beating up flowers, fruits, &c., with sugar, not dissolved. 6.
Candies are fruits candied over with sugar after having been boiled in
the syrup.
DESSERT DISHES.
1509. With moderns the dessert is not so profuse, nor does it hold the
same relationship to the dinner that it held with the ancients,--the
Romans more especially. On ivory tables they would spread hundreds of
different kinds of raw, cooked, and preserved fruits, tarts and cakes,
as substitutes for the more substantial comestibles with which the
guests were satiated. However, as late as the reigns of our two last
Georges, fabulous sums were often expended upon fanciful desserts. The
dessert certainly repays, in its general effect, the expenditure upon it
of much pains; and it may be said, that if there be any poetry at all in
meals, or the process of feeding, there is poetry in the dessert, the
materials for which should be selected with taste, and, of course, must
depend, in a great measure, upon the season. Pines, melons, grapes,
peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, apples, pears, oranges,
almonds, raisins, figs, walnuts, filberts, medlars, cherries, &c. &c.,
all kinds of dried fruits, and choice and delicately-flavoured cakes and
biscuits, make up the dessert, together with the most costly and
_recherché_ wines. The shape of the dishes varies at different periods,
the prevailing fashion at present being oval and circular dishes on
stems. The patterns and colours are also subject to changes of fashion;
some persons selecting china, chaste in pattern and colour; others,
elegantly-shaped glass dishes on stems, with gilt edges. The beauty of
the dessert services at the tables of the wealthy tends to enhance the
splendour of the plate. The general mode of putting a dessert on table,
now the elegant tazzas are fashionable, is, to place them down the
middle of the table, a tall and short dish alternately; the fresh fruits
being arranged on the tall dishes, and dried fruits, bon-bons, &c., on
small round or oval glass plates. The garnishing needs especial
attention, as the contrast of the brilliant-coloured fruits with
nicely-arranged foliage is very charming. The garnish _par excellence_
for dessert is the ice-plant; its crystallized dewdrops producing a
marvellous effect in the height of summer, giving a most inviting sense
of coolness to the fruit it encircles. The double-edged mallow,
strawberry, and vine leaves have a pleasing effect; and for winter
desserts, the bay, cuba, and laurel are sometimes used. In town, the
expense and difficulty of obtaining natural foliage is great, but paper
and composite leaves are to be purchased at an almost nominal price.
Mixed fruits of the larger sort are now frequently served on one dish.
This mode admits of the display of much taste in the arrangement of the
fruit: for instance, a pine in the centre of the dish, surrounded with
large plums of various sorts and colours, mixed with pears, rosy-cheeked
apples, all arranged with a due regard to colour, have a very good
effect. Again, apples and pears look well mingled with plums and grapes,
hanging from the border of the dish in a _négligé_ sort of manner, with
a large bunch of the same fruit lying on the top of the apples. A
dessert would not now be considered complete without candied and
preserved fruits and confections. The candied fruits may be purchased at
a less cost than they can be manufactured at home. They are preserved
abroad in most ornamental and elegant forms. And since, from the
facilities of travel, we have become so familiar with the tables of the
French, chocolate in different forms is indispensable to our desserts.
ICES.
510. Ices are composed, it is scarcely necessary to say, of congealed
cream or water, combined sometimes with liqueurs or other flavouring
ingredients, or more generally with the juices of fruits. At desserts,
or at some evening parties, ices are scarcely to be dispensed with. The
principal utensils required for making ice-creams are ice-tubs,
freezing-pots, spaddles, and a cellaret. The tub must be large enough to
contain about a bushel of ice, pounded small, when brought out of the
ice-house, and mixed very carefully with either _salt, nitre,_ or
_soda._ The freezing-pot is best made of pewter. If it be of tin, as is
sometimes the case, the congelation goes on too rapidly in it for the
thorough intermingling of its contents, on which the excellence of the
ice greatly depends. The spaddle is generally made of copper, kept
bright and clean. The cellaret is a tin vessel, in which ices are kept
for a short time from dissolving. The method to be pursued in the
freezing process must be attended to. When the ice-tub is prepared with
fresh-pounded ice and salt, the freezing-pot is put into it up to its
cover. The articles to be congealed are then poured into it and covered
over; but to prevent the ingredients from separating and the heaviest of
them from falling to the bottom of the mould, it is requisite to turn
the freezing-pot round and round by the handle, so as to keep its
contents moving until the congelation commences. As soon as this is
perceived (the cover of the pot being occasionally taken off for the
purpose of noticing when freezing takes place), the cover is immediately
closed over it, ice is put upon it, and it is left in this state till it
is served. The use of the spaddle is to stir up and remove from the
sides of the freezing pot the cream, which in the shaking may have
washed against it, and by stirring it in with the rest, to prevent waste
of it occurring. Any negligence in stirring the contents of the
freezing-pot before congelation takes place, will destroy the whole:
either the sugar sinks to the bottom and leaves the ice insufficiently
sweetened, or lumps are formed, which disfigure and discolour it.
1511. The aged, the delicate, and children should abstain from ices or
iced beverages; even the strong and healthy should partake of them in
moderation. They should be taken immediately after the repast, or some
hours after, because the taking these substances _during_ the process of
digestion is apt to provoke indisposition. It is necessary, then, that
this function should have scarcely commenced, or that it should be
completely finished, before partaking of ices. It is also necessary to
abstain from them when persons are very warm, or immediately after
taking violent exercise, as in some cases they have produced illnesses
which have ended fatally.
[Do ladies know to whom they are indebted for the introduction of ices,
which all the fair sex are passionately fond of?--To Catherine de'
Medici. Will not this fact cover a multitude of sins committed by the
instigator of St. Bartholomew ?]
RECIPES.