From the Following Recipes and Formulae, Hundreds and
Even Thousands of Candies Can Be Made.
Candy Making at Home.--The proverbial "sweet-tooth" is a characteristic of
the American people. Hundreds of tons of candy are annually consumed, and
fortunes have been made in the business. The range of price is from ten
cents to a dollar a pound, with some specially wrapped and boxed bon-bons
exceeding the latter price, not because of intrinsic excellence, but
because of the ornamental form in which they are presented. Cheap candies
are adulterated and hence more or less detrimental to health. Good candies
are not harmful, unless eaten to excess. Delicious candy may be made at
home at much less cost, and some famous candies, like the "Mary Elizabeth"
and others, had their beginnings in a home kitchen and grew into popular
favor because of their known purity and uniform excellence. The cost of
ten one-pound boxes of candies is estimated at $1.50 when materials are
bought in small quantities; such candies, placed on sale at church fairs,
bazars, etc., are sold at forty and fifty cents per box. Even at
twenty-five cents a box there is a profit of ten cents on each box. Any
girl can prepare bon-bons for a luncheon or a party at home, if she is
willing to take the trouble,--which is, after all, a pleasure to many. She
may save her own candy boxes and by getting a supply of paraffin paper,
fill them again with candies quite as good as those they originally
contained; or buy new boxes of the paper box manufacturers at two or three
cents apiece. A box of home-made candy makes a nice Christmas or birthday
gift.
Boiling the Sugar.--Confectioners recognize seven degrees in boiling sugar
for candy, only four of which, however, are practically important. The
first of these is the "thread" at about 215 degrees, by the sugar
thermometer, when a short thin thread forms when thumb and forefinger are
separated with a drop of syrup between them. This passes very quickly into
a second stage, known as the large or long thread, when it can be drawn
out to a considerably greater length without breaking. In a moment more it
can be extended as far as the thumb and forefinger can be separated. The
next stage is the "pearl," shown when the surface of the syrup is covered
with bubbles, and is the stage at which much candy is made. The "blow" and
"feather" come next; then the "ball" or fondant stage at 235 to 245
degrees; this is the third important stage. To discover when the boiling
has progressed to this stage, drop a little of the syrup on to ice water,
or dip the tips of the thumb and forefinger into ice water and then into
the syrup and instantly into the ice water again with the syrup between.
One can use a small stick in the same way. If the syrup can be rolled into
a soft, but not sticky ball, it is in the soft ball stage; half a minute
more of boiling will convert it into the "hard ball," if tested in the
same manner. For fondant, the "soft ball" is chosen. The next is the
"crack" or brittle stage, at about 300 degrees; when testing as above the
syrup remains dry and hard on the fingers. This is the stage for candy
that is to be pulled. At the caramel stage the syrup begins to brown, and
must be quickly taken from the fire or it becomes "burnt sugar;" dropped
in water it crackles and snaps.
[CANDY MAKING 849]
Making the Fondant.--Fondant ("foundation") is the basis of all French
bon-bons, so-called. An endless number of varieties may be made from it in
combination with other material. There are two ways of preparing it. The
easiest and simplest way is to add to the white of an egg an equal bulk of
cold water and a teaspoonful of vanilla; beat until it froths, then add,
gradually, one pound or more, of confectioners' XXX sugar; if the egg is
large, one and one-half pounds may be required. Ordinary sugar will not
do. Add sugar until the mixture forms a stiff paste; work this with a
spoon until it is very smooth, then put away in a cool place for at least
twenty-four hours, letting it stand in an earthen dish, and cover with a
doubled napkin wrung out of cold water.
French, or Boiled Fondant.--Put into a porcelain lined kettle a pint of
the best granulated cane sugar, half a pint of cold water and a salt spoon
of cream of tartar dissolved in warm water. Stir it till the sugar is
dissolved and boil rapidly without stirring or moving the kettle. Without
a sugar thermometer it is impossible to tell exactly how many minutes it
should boil, but usually in about ten minutes a little of the syrup
dropped into cold water will form a soft waxy ball between the moistened
fingers. It should then be removed from the fire and put in a cool place
until the hand can rest with comfort on the bottom of the kettle. If too
hot, it will turn back to sugar; if too cold, it will not thicken
properly. In either case it is not spoiled, try again; add boiling water,
stir until dissolved, and repeat the boiling. A little experience makes
one to seize "the psychological moment" when the syrup is in the right
condition. When the syrup has cooled to the degree indicated above, begin
to stir it, using a long-handled wooden spoon. It will turn milky at
first, then thick and white, finally dry on the edge of the dish and get
so stiff it is difficult to stir. Then take the mass out on a marble slab
and knead as you would bread dough; if you have no marble slab you may
work it in the hands.
[350 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
Flavor and Color.--At this point add the flavoring. Make little holes in
the fondant with the fingers and put in each a little of the flavoring,
working it through the mass. The essential oils are better than extracts.
Three or four drops of any of the oils will flavor a pound of fondant.
Three cents worth would be sufficient for a number of pounds. The flavor
should not be strong. About a teaspoonful of any extract will be
sufficient. If it is desirable to have two or more flavors, divide the
fondant into the required number of portions, and have an assistant take
up the kneading of each. Work the fondant until it is creamy. The pure
food laws discourage the use of colorings, and it is difficult for the
amateur to procure them in economical quantities. Cochineal can always be
had and provides any number of shades of pink. Spinach heated over steam,
and the juice expressed, gives a pretty green which is perfectly harmless.
Work into the fondant as you used the flavoring oil or extract. The above
ingredients will make one pound of fondant, all the beginners should
undertake at one time. It may be kept for some time by packing it in glass
cans and sealing tightly. The fondant should "mellow" for at least
twenty-four hours before being used, especially as centers for chocolate
creams, etc.; and these in turn should stand as long before being dipped.
It is also advisable to let the bon-bons stand a day at least before being
wrapped and packed. Choose a dry, clear, quiet day to make fondant, and do
not attempt to work with it in wet weather; it is very sensitive to
atmospheric conditions.
Making the Bon-bons.--After the fondant has stood the required interval it
is ready to make up. Here comes in play the ingenuity of the candy maker
in the employment of various accessories. Candied cherries, candied
violets and rose petals, angelica, dates, figs, hard jellies, raisins,
white grapes, crystallized ginger, cocoanuts, marshmallows, nuts, all are
employed, while chocolate is used in so many forms that it gives rise to
an entire class of candies. When ready to make up the bon-bons, roll the
fondant out evenly and cut in squares of equal size; shape these with the
fingers. The hands must be frequently dipped into ice water and wiped dry,
but never greased. Roll the fondant into a ball; while still in the hand,
press into the top an English walnut meat, or whatever decoration is
desired, and lay on paraffin paper to harden. Another class is made by
using a nut meat, say a blanched almond or pecan meat, a raisin, etc., as
center, and rolling the fondant round it. The ball may be rolled in beaten
white of egg and then in coarse white sugar. By using various centers, and
ornamenting the tops differently a great variety of bon-bons may be made;
in fact, hundreds or even thousands can be worked out by changing the
flavor, nuts, coloring, etc.
Chocolate Candies.--If the American girl had to be restricted to one class
of candies, there would be little doubt she would profess a preference for
those prepared with chocolate.
[CANDY MAKING 851]
Chocolate Creams.--To make chocolate creams, roll the fondant into balls
of uniform size; let them stand on paraffin paper twenty-four hours or
more. Also coat nut meats, raisins, candied cherries, etc., with fondant.
In making a small quantity of chocolate dipped candies, get a small bowl
that will fit into the top of the teakettle; into this cut half a pound of
unsweetened chocolate and a lump of paraffin as large as a black walnut,
and let them melt; when smooth and well mixed let cool a little, and then
set on a hot soapstone. Have ready a colander and a long darning needle.
Cover the bottom of the colander with paraffin paper, stick the point of
the needle into the piece to be dipped, immerse in the melted chocolate,
let it drip a moment, then push the eye of the needle through one of the
holes in the colander, reach the other hand under and pull out the needle.
There then remains no disfiguring hole in the bottom of the cream. When
the colander is filled, lift the paper very, very carefully, and put in a
cool place to harden. Unless the colander must be used again it is best to
let the creams stand in it to harden. Nut meats, white grapes, candied
cherries and the like, may be dipped in the melted chocolates and coated
like the creams. If the chocolate gets too thick, thin it with a little
olive oil or unsalted butter; not with water which will make it grain.
Chocolate Creams. No. 2.--Put two cups of granulated sugar into half a cup
of sweet cream. Boil five minutes from the time it begins to boil hard.
Set the pan into cold water and stir in the flavoring, a teaspoonful of
vanilla, usually. Stir until the candy is so stiff that stirring is
difficult; drop from a spoon on waxed paper; as it hardens, mould into
balls, and dip in chocolate as above.
Chocolate Candy, Plain.--Melt a square of unsweetened chocolate and stir
into plain fondant, flavoring generously with vanilla.
Chocolate Caramels.--Put together over the fire one cup of molasses and
two teacupfuls of sugar. Add a quarter of a pound of grated chocolate and
a piece of butter the size of an egg. Boil, without stirring, fifteen to
twenty minutes; pour into flat buttered dishes to a depth of one-third of
an inch, and when nearly cold cut into squares. Wrap each in a square of
paraffin paper.
Chocolate Nut Caramels.--Boil together a cup of molasses, a cup of sugar
and half a cup of sweet milk until a little hardens in cold water. Cut
into it a piece of butter the size of an egg and add a cup of chopped
nuts. Proceed as above.
Chocolate Fudge.--Put into a porcelain lined pan two cups of granulated
sugar, four sections of unsweetened chocolate, grated, one cup of milk and
two rounded tablespoonfuls of butter. Cook, stirring constantly, for
twenty minutes. Dip out a little of the mixture, put on a cold plate, and
if it is done it will form a soft pliable paste. Flavor generously with
vanilla, beat hard for a few minutes, then turn into buttered pans and cut
into squares while warm.
[852 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
CHOCOLATE CANDIES. Cocoanut Cream Bars.--Boil three pounds of granulated
sugar, one cup of cold water and half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar
until thick--or in the "ball" stage. Let cool slightly, then beat until
creamy. Have ready a large cocoanut, grated; mix and stir well, then pour
into shallow tins covered with buttered paper. When cold, cut into bars.
Let stand a day or two before using.
Cocoanut Caramels.--Three pounds of granulated sugar, one cup of milk, a
tablespoonful of butter and two teaspoonfuls of lemon extract. Put into a
kettle, stir till dissolved; add one grated cocoanut and boil to the
"pearl" stage. Pour into buttered pans, after it has cooled a little mark
off into squares, and when cold break apart. Use when quite fresh.
Cocoanut Snow Balls.--Knead dessicated cocoanut into fondant; make into
balls, and roll in grated cocoanut. Dessicated cocoanut may be used but is
not as good as grated cocoanut.
MAPLE CANDIES. Maple Creams.--Beat thoroughly one cup of the best maple
syrup and the while of one egg. With XXX confectioners' sugar, make it
into a stiff fondant or paste. Use as the centers for bon-bons, or make
into balls to be dipped into chocolate.
Maple Creams No. 2.--To two pounds of maple sugar add a cup of water and a
quarter teaspoonful cream of tartar. Shave the sugar, and stir till
dissolved. Boil without stirring to the soft ball stage; let stand in the
kettle until cool, not cold; beat until creamy and pour into a shallow
buttered pan.
Maple Balls.--Boil without stirring, two cups of shaved maple sugar and a
cup of water. At the hard ball stage add a heaping tablespoonful of good
butter. Beat till creamy. As soon as it can be handled form into balls and
press the half of an English walnut or pecan on one side.
WAFERS.--To make wafers, boil without stirring two cups of granulated
sugar, a half cup of water. When it will "spin a thread" set the kettle in
cold water and beat till creamy. Flavor with peppermint, wintergreen,
cinnamon, or any flavor you choose. Squeeze through a pastry tube upon
paraffin paper in quantities that will spread to the size of a quarter
dollar.
Chocolate Peppermint Wafers.--Take some of the fondant prepared as above,
flavor rather strongly with peppermint and dip in sweet chocolate.
MOLASSES CANDIES.--Nothing pleases children more than a "candy pull." Turn
them loose in the kitchen and let them make molasses taffy.
Molasses Taffy.--Boil a cup of good Porto Rico molasses, a cup of brown
sugar and a piece of butter the size of an egg until a little will harden,
in cold water. Cool on buttered plates, and as soon as it can be handled
grease the fingers and pull till hard and light colored. To prevent
boiling over, grease the edge of the pan or kettle in which it is boiled.
[CANDY MAKING 853]
Molasses Taffy No. 2.--Four cups of sugar, two of molasses, half a cup of
vinegar. Boil till it hardens in cold water, then add a tablespoonful of
soda dissolved in a little water. Pour into buttered dishes and pull when
sufficiently cool to handle.
Butter Scotch.--One cup of each of sugar and molasses, half a cup of
vinegar, one tablespoonful of butter and a quarter teaspoonful of soda.
Nougat.--Nuts intended for nougat should be blanched, skinned and dried.
Melt in a porcelain lined vessel, one pound of fine white sugar with two
tablespoonfuls of water, stirring continually with a wooden spoon. Heat
the nuts in the oven, after chopping them, add to the syrup, and stir for
five minutes. Remove from the fire and add a little grated lemon rind. Oil
a flat pan; place it in a warm place on the range and pour the candy into
it. When brown, turn out of the mould, cut in cubes and wrap in oiled
paper.
Nut Bars.--Chop any kind of nutmeats you prefer, or a mixture of nuts,
moderately fine. Butter a shallow pan and spread the nuts evenly over the
bottom. Boil one pound of granulated sugar with half a cup of water and a
pinch of cream of tartar till thick, but not too brittle. Pour over the
nuts and set aside to cool. When it begins to harden mark into bars with a
sharp knife. Let stand several days, when it becomes soft and delicious.
Nut Loaf.--Chop nutmeats into small pieces and work into fondant. Make
into a roll, and after standing a day or two, cut into slices. Chopped
dates, figs and raisins may be used in the same way.
Peanut Candy.--Carefully remove the shells and brown skins from roasted
peanuts. Put them an inch thick in a buttered pan. Boil a pound of crushed
loaf sugar with three gills of water and a salt spoon of cream of tartar
(to prevent graining) dissolved in water, to the caramel stage. The
instant the sugar reaches that point, shown by its beginning to brown, it
must be removed from the fire and the pan set in cold water to check the
boiling; then pour over the nuts.
Pop Corn Candy.--Boil two cups of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter and
a cup of water until it threads. Stir in four quarts of nice popped corn,
rejecting all hard kernels, take from the fire and stir till cool. Make
into balls.
Popcorn Baskets.--Prepare the corn as above, instead of making into balls,
butter the bottoms of tumblers and press the candy around them to form
little baskets, in which ice cream may be served or which may be filled
with candies.
Sour Drops.--Strain the juice of three or four large lemons into a bowl,
and stir in powdered loaf sugar till it is quite thick. Put into a pan and
let boil five minutes, stirring constantly. Drop from the end of a spoon
upon writing paper, and when dry keep in tin cannisters. Tartaric acid is
generally used by commercial candy makers, but is much more injurious to
health.
[854 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
Crystallized Fruits.--Other Candies.--Boil two cups of granulated sugar
with two-thirds of a cup of water until it hardens in cold water, do not
stir. When it is brittle without being sticky, it is ready to use. Dip the
fruit to be candied, sections of oranges, white grapes, cherries, squares
of pineapple, etc., into this, and lay on paraffin paper. Dip a second
time after the first has hardened, to ensure a good coat. Use the same
rule for the syrup to glace nuts.
Cream Dates.--Remove the stones from nice dates. Replace them with the
roll of flavored fondant. Or roll a blanched almond in fondant and stuff
the date with it.
Hoarhound Candy.--Boil the hoarhound in a little water till the strength
is extracted. Make a sugar syrup, adding the hoarhound to it; let it boil
up and stir against the sides of the pan until it thickens. Pour out on
paraffin paper dusted with fine sugar, and cut into squares.
Marshmallows.--Dissolve over a slow fire eight ounces of best gum arabic
in three gills of water. Boil one ounce of marshmallow roots in a little
water for half an hour. Strain, and boil down. Put this and the gum arabic
solution with half a pound of loaf sugar, let it cook slowly till it makes
a paste that can be rolled between the fingers to the "soft ball" stage.
Then add the beaten whites of two eggs; when well mixed pour in a pan
which should be lined with white paper, with enough projecting over the
sides so that as the mixture cools it can be lifted out and cut in cups
with a sharp knife, then rolled in powdered sugar.
Marrons Glaces.--Remove the shells from a quart of large Italian or French
chestnuts. Let stand fifteen minutes in boiling water. Drain; rub off the
skin; cover again with boiling water and simmer gently half an hour or
till tender, but not soft. Drain in a sieve. Boil together one cup of
granulated sugar and one cup of water; add the nuts and simmer until they
begin to look clear. Make another syrup of one pound of granulated sugar
and one cup of water; boil till it will spin a thread, add a teaspoonful
of lemon juice and set aside till it cools a little; then beat till it
begins to turn white. Set in a basin of hot water, flavor with vanilla,
and when melted to a syrup, dip each nut. When coated, lay on paraffin
paper to dry. These sugared chestnuts are highly esteemed as a sweetmeat
and are expensive to buy.
Stick Candy.--Three pounds of granulated sugar, two cups of water, one
teaspoonful of cream of tartar dissolved in a little warm water. Stir over
the fire till the sugar is dissolved; cover the kettle while the syrup is
boiling and skim carefully a few drops. When it will harden in cold water,
take from the fire and add the flavoring and coloring, then pour on well
buttered plates. When cool, pull, and make into sticks or mark off into
squares.
[CANDY MAKING 855]
School Girl's Delight.--Two cups of white sugar, three-fourths cup of
golden color corn syrup and a quarter cup of water. Put into a granite
sauce pan and boil till a little will crisp in cold water. Beat the
whites of two eggs very stiff in a large bowl; pour the syrup very slowly
into the bowl, beating the while, and beat and stir until it begins to
harden. Then add one teaspoonful of vanilla, half a cup of chopped
nutmeats, and five cents worth of dates, cut up with the scissors. Pour
upon oiled paper in a flat pan and cut in squares. Those who eat this
candy will ask to have it made again.
A Few Hints.--Many candy makers consider coffee A sugar, better than the
granulated, as being purer. Choose a sugar that is dry, uniform in quality
and with hard, sparkling crystals. Cane sugar is greatly to be preferred
over beet sugar. When you can, let the sugar and water stand together for
some time. The syrup may be stirred until it reaches the boiling point,
but not afterward. Unless otherwise specified, cook over a hot fire. The
syrup passes quickly from one degree to another and must be tested often
and carefully. Cream of tartar must be dissolved in a little warm water
before being put into the syrup. So also must soda. If you use nuts, be
careful to remove every particle of shell and skin before putting them
into the syrup. Almonds are blanched by letting them stand in boiling
water for a few minutes and then nipping off the skins between the
fingers. They should be warmed in the oven before being put into the
syrup. Dessicated cocoanut should be steamed a few minutes before being
used; put in a dish in a colander over boiling water. Use the fresh
cocoanut if you can get it. Bonbons made of fondant are probably the
easiest form of candy making for the amateur to attempt, and the most
interesting on account of the variety possible through the use of other
materials in combination.
[858 MOTHERS' REMEDIES ]
OVER THREE HUNDRED
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES
A GOLD MINE OF INFORMATION FOR
PROGRESSIVE HOUSEWIVES