The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Part 92

CURRANT DROPS.

Use currant juice instead of water, to moisten a quant.i.ty of sugar.

Put it in a pan and heat, stirring constantly; be sure not to let it boil; then mix a very little more sugar, let it warm with the rest a moment, then, with a smooth stick, drop on paper.

LEMON DROPS.

Upon a coffeecupful of finely powdered sugar pour just enough lemon juice to dissolve it, and boil it to the consistency of thick syrup, and so that it appears brittle when dropped in cold water. Drop this on b.u.t.tered plates in drops; set away to cool and harden.

NUT MOLa.s.sES CANDY.

When making mola.s.ses candy, add any kind of nuts you fancy; put them in after the syrup has thickened and is ready to take from the fire; pour out on b.u.t.tered tins. Mark it off in squares before it gets too cool. Peanuts should be fresh roasted and then tossed in a sieve, to free them of their inner skins.

SUGAR NUT CANDY.

Three pounds of white sugar, half a pint of water, half a pint of vinegar, a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, one pound of hickory nut kernels. Put the sugar, b.u.t.ter, vinegar and water together into a thick saucepan. When it begins to thicken, add the nuts. To test it, take up a very small quant.i.ty as quickly as possible directly from the centre, taking care not to disturb it any more than is necessary. Drop it into cold water, and remove from the fire the moment the little particles are brittle. Pour into b.u.t.tered plates. Use any nuts with this recipe.

COCOANUT CANDY.

One cocoanut, one and one-half pounds of granulated sugar. Put sugar and milk of cocoanut together, beat slowly until the sugar is melted, then boil five minutes; add cocoanut (finely grated), boil ten minutes longer, stir constantly to keep from burning. Pour on b.u.t.tered plates; cut in squares. Will take about two days to harden. Use prepared cocoanut when other cannot be had.

b.u.t.tER-SCOTCH.

Three cupfuls of white sugar, half a cupful of water, half a cupful of vinegar, or half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and eight drops of extract of lemon. Boil _without stirring_ till it will snap and break. Just before taking from the fire, add a quarter of a teaspoonful of soda; pour into well-b.u.t.tered biscuit tins, a quarter of an inch thick. Mark off into inch squares when partly cold.

EVERTON TAFFY, OR b.u.t.tER-SCOTCH.

Two cupfuls of sugar, two cupfuls of dark mola.s.ses, one cupful of cold b.u.t.ter, grated rind of half a lemon. Boil over a slow fire until it hardens when dropped in cold water. Pour thinly into tins well b.u.t.tered, and mark into inch squares before it cools.

MAPLE WALNUTS.

Beat the white of one egg to a stiff froth, stir in enough powdered sugar to make it like hard frosting, dip the walnut meats (which you have taken care to remove from the sh.e.l.ls without breaking) in a syrup made by boiling for two or three minutes two tablespoonfuls of maple sugar in one of water, or in this proportion. Press some of the hard frosting between the two halves of the walnut and let it harden. Dates may be prepared in this way, and b.u.t.ternuts and English walnuts also.

POP-CORN CANDY. No. 1.

Put into an iron kettle one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, three tablespoonfuls of water and one cupful of white sugar; boil until ready to candy, then throw in three quarts nicely popped corn; stir vigorously until the sugar is evenly distributed over the corn; take the kettle from the fire and stir until it cools a little, and in this way you may have each kernel separate and all coated with the sugar.

Of course it must have your undivided attention from the first, to prevent scorching. Almonds, English walnuts, or, in fact, any nuts are delicious prepared in this way.

POP-CORN CANDY. No. 2.

Having popped your corn, salt it and keep it warm, sprinkle over with a whisk broom a mixture composed of an ounce of gum arabic and a half pound of sugar, dissolved in two quarts of water; boil all a few minutes. Stir the corn with the hands or large spoon thoroughly; then mold into b.a.l.l.s with the hands.

POP-CORN b.a.l.l.s.

Take three large ears of pop-corn (rice is best). After popping, shake it down in pan so the unpopped corn will settle at the bottom; put the nice white popped in a greased pan. For the candy, take one cup of mola.s.ses, one cup of light brown or white sugar, one tablespoonful of vinegar. Boil until it will harden in water. Pour on the corn. Stir with a spoon until thoroughly mixed; then mold into b.a.l.l.s with the hand.

No flavor should be added to this mixture, as the excellence of this commodity depends entirely upon the united flavor of the corn, salt and the sugar or mola.s.ses.

h.o.a.rHOUND CANDY.

Boil two ounces of dried h.o.a.rhound in a pint and a half of water for about half an hour; strain and add three and a half pounds of brown sugar; boil over a hot fire until sufficiently hard; pour out in flat, well-greased tins and mark into sticks or small squares with a knife as soon as cool enough to retain its shape.

JUJUBE PASTE.

Two cupfuls of sugar, one-quarter of a pound of gum arabic, one pint of water. Flavor with the essence of lemon and a grain of cochineal.

Let the mixture stand, until the gum is dissolved, in a warm place on the back of the stove, then draw forward and cook until thick; try in cold water; it should be limber and bend when cold. Pour in b.u.t.tered pans, an eighth of an inch thick; when cool, roll up in a scroll.

CANDIED ORANGES.

Candied orange is a great delicacy, which is easily made: Peel and quarter the oranges; make a syrup in the proportion of one pound of sugar to one pint of water; let it boil until it will harden in water; then take it from the fire and dip the quarters of orange in the syrup; let them drain on a fine sieve placed over a platter so that the syrup will not be wasted; let them drain thus until cool, when the sugar will crystallize. These are nice served with the last course of dinner. Any fruit the same.

FIG CANDY.

One cup of sugar, one-third cup of water, one-fourth teaspoonful cream of tartar. Do not stir while boiling. Boil to amber color, stir in the cream of tartar just before taking from the fire. Wash the figs, open and lay in a tin pan and pour the candy over them. Or you may dip them in the syrup the same as "Candied Oranges."

CANDY ROLEY POLEY.

Take half a pint of citron, half a pint of raisins, half a pound of figs, a quarter of a pound of sh.e.l.led almonds, one pint of peanuts before they are hulled; cut up the citron, stone the raisins, blanch the almonds, and hull the peanuts; cut up the figs into small bits.

Take two pounds of coffee-sugar and moisten with vinegar; put in a piece of b.u.t.ter as large as a walnut; stew till it hardens, but take off before it gets to the brittle stage; beat it with a spoon six or eight times, then stir in the mixed fruits and nuts. Pour into a wet cloth and roll it up like a pudding, twisting the ends of the cloth to mold it. Let it get cold and slice off pieces as it may be wanted for eating.

MOLa.s.sES CANDY.

Put one quart of West India mola.s.ses, one cupful of brown sugar, a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of half an egg, into a six-quart kettle. Let it boil over a slack fire until it begins to look thick, stirring it often to prevent burning. Test it by taking some out and dropping a few drops in a cup of cold water. If it hardens quickly and breaks short between the teeth it is boiled enough. Now put in half a teaspoonful of baking soda, and stir it well; then pour it out into well-b.u.t.tered flat tins. When partly cooled, take up the candy with your hands well b.u.t.tered then pull and double, and so on, until the candy is a whitish yellow. It may be cut in strips and rolled or twisted.

If flavoring is desired, drop the flavoring on the top as it begins to cool and when it is pulled, the whole will be flavored.

STRAWBERRY CONSERVE.

Prepare the fruit as for preserving, allowing half a pound of loaf sugar to one pound of fruit. Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit at night; in the morning, put it on the fire in a kettle and boil until the berries are clear. Spread on dishes and put in the sun until dry; after which roll the fruit in sugar and pack in jars.

PEACH CONSERVE.