TO CLARIFY SUGAR FOR SWEETMEATS.—Break as much sugar as you may require in large lumps, and put a pound to a half a pint of water, in a bowl, and dissolve. Set it on the fire with the white of an egg, well whipped; let it boil up, and when ready to boil over, pour a little cold water in it to stop it; when it rises a second time, take it off the fire, and set it by in a pan for a quarter of an hour, during which time the foulness will sink to the bottom, and leave a black scum on the top; which take off with a skimmer, and pour the syrup into a vessel quickly from the sediment.
TO PRESERVE PEACHES, No. 1.—When ripe, choose the yellow ones, pare them as thin as possible, and weigh them; lay them in halves on dishes, the hollow part upwards; have ready an equal weight of good lump sugar, pounded, and strew it over them; when the fruit has lain twelve hours, put it with the sugar and juice into a preserving pan; let it simmer very gently till clear, then take out the pieces of peaches singly, put them into small pots on tins, and pour the syrup over them; the scum must be taken off as it rises. Cover them with white paper dipped in brandy.
TO PRESERVE PEACHES, No. 2.—Peel them a good round shape, take a quarter of a pound of white sugar to every pound of peaches; boil the peaches for fifteen minutes to make the syrup. You can preserve all fruits in the same way; be sure to bottle them air tight, as they will spoil if the air gets at them.
TO PRESERVE GREEN PLUMS.—Take the largest when they are ripe, and strew over them an equal quantity of sugar, which has been weighed; next day pour the syrup from the fruit, and boil it with the remainder of the sugar for six or eight minutes, very gently; skin and add the plums; some persons like to use the kernels; simmer till clear, taking off any skum that rises; put the fruit singly into pots, and pour the syrup over it.
TO PRESERVE WHOLE OR HALF QUINCES.—In two quarts of water put a quantity of good juicy apples cut in thick slices, not pared but wiped very clean; boil them very quickly, till the water becomes a thick jelly, then scald the quinces. To every pint of pippin jelly put a pound of the finest sugar; boil and skim it clear. Put those quinces that are to be done whole in the syrup at once, and let it boil fast; and those that are to be in halves by themselves; skim it and when the fruit is clear, put some of the syrup into a plate to try if it jellies, before taking off the fire. The quantity of quinces is to be a pound to a pound of sugar and a pound of jelly, already boiled with sugar.
TO PRESERVE FRUITS FOR WINTER USE.—It is necessary to observe that the boiling of sugar constitutes, more or less, the chief art of the confectioner, and those who are not practised in this, and preserve only for family use, are not aware that in two or three minutes a syrup over the fire will pass from one grade to another, known by the confectioner as degrees of boiling, of which there are several. Underboiling prevents sweetmeats from keeping, while quick and continued boiling brings them to a candy.
Preserves should be kept in a very dry place, otherwise they may ferment or become mouldy. They should be looked at two or three times in the first two months, that they may be gently boiled again if necessary.
Attention, without much practice, will enable a person to preserve any of the following kinds of sweetmeats, etc., and they embrace nearly all that are needed in a private family; the finer preserved fruits can be purchased for less than it costs to put them up yourself. Jellies of fruit, made with equal quantities of sugar, that is a pound to a pint, require but slight boiling.
TO PRESERVE FRUIT FOR FAMILY DESSERTS.—Gather cherries or plums of any sort, and American apples, when ripe, lay them in small jars that will hold a pound; strew over each jar six ounces of loaf sugar, pounded; cover with two bladders, each separately tied down; then set the jars in a stewpan of water, up to the neck, and let it boil gently for three hours. Keep these and all other kinds of fruit from damp.
ORANGE MARMALADE.—Cut out the pulp, then slice the rind and, boil very tender. Boil three pounds of white pounded sugar in a pint of water, skim it and add a pound of the rind; boil fast till the syrup is very thick, but stir it carefully; then put in the pulp and juice, (the seeds must be removed,) and a pint of apple liquor, if approved. Boil all gently until well jellied, which it will be in about half an hour.
Lemon Marmalade may be made in the same way.
They are fine sweetmeats. If these recipes are correctly followed out, they will prove very satisfactory.
QUINCE MARMALADE.—Pare and quarter quinces, weigh an equal quantity of sugar; to four pounds of the latter put a quart of water, boil and skim; then lay them in a stone jar, with a teacup of water at the bottom, and pack them with a little sugar strewed between; cover the jar close, set it on a stove or cool oven, and let them soften till the color is red; then pour the fruit, syrup, and a quart of quince juice into a preserving pan, and boil all together till the marmalade is completed; break the hard pieces. This fruit is so hard it requires a great deal of time.
APPLE MARMALADE.—Scald apples till they will pulp from the core; then take an equal weight of sugar in large lumps, dip them in water, add a little grated lemon peel, not too much, as it will make it bitter; and boil on a quick fire a quarter of an hour.
CHERRY JAM.—To each pound of cherries, weigh a pound of sugar; break the stones and blanch them; then put them to the fruit and sugar, and boil gently till the jam comes clear from the pan. Pour it into China plates and dry. Keep in boxes with white paper between.
CURRANT JAM, BLACK, RED, OR WHITE.—Let the fruit be very ripe, pick it clean from the stalks, bruise it; to every pound of fruit put three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar; stir and skim it well; boil for two hours.
GOOSEBERRY JAM.—Take some nice large green gooseberries when ripe, put a pound of gooseberries to three-quarters of a pound of fine sugar, and half a pint of water; boil and skim the sugar and water, then put the fruit in, boil it gently till clear, then mash and put it into jars.
RASPBERRY JAM.—Take seven pounds of raspberries and six pounds of sugar. Put the former into a preserving pan; boil and break; stir constantly, and let it boil very gently. When the juice is almost wasted, add the sugar, and simmer half an hour; it is better to boil the fruit first and then add the sugar, as it preserves the color and flavor.
CURRANT JELLY, RED OR BLACK.—Strip the fruit, and put it in a stone jar; stew them in a saucepan of water, or by boiling it on the stove; strain off the liquor, and to every pint of liquor a pound of loaf sugar; when nearly dissolved add the sugar; then put it in a preserving pan. Simmer and skim as necessary. When it will jelly on a plate, put it in small jars or glasses, and put white paper steeped in good brandy on top.
CALF'S FEET JELLY.—Boil two feet in one quart and a pint of water, till tender, and the water is half wasted; strain it, and when cold, take off the fat; then put it in a saucepan with the juice and rind of two lemons, and some sugar; beat up the whites of five eggs to a snow; do not stir the jelly after it begins to warm. Let it boil twenty minutes after it rises to a head, then dip the jelly bag in hot water, and pour it through the bag, which must be made of flannel. Run it through and through until it is clear; then put it into moulds or jelly glasses. The best way to clear the jelly is to throw a teacupful of cold water in and let it boil five minutes, then take the saucepan off the fire, cover it closely for half an hour; it will only require one running through the bag. Flavor it highly with brandy or some good wine.
VARIEGATED JELLY.—One ounce of gelatine to one quart of boiling water, one-half pound of white sugar, the rind and juice of two good sized lemons, one-half pint of good wine, or two gills of brandy, a pinch of salt, the whites of two eggs, beaten to a snow; give one boil up and then strain through the flannel jelly bag. Orange, or any fruit or flavor may be substituted.
Prepare some jelly with gold and silver water; remove the skin from six ounces of pistachios, and cut each kernel into six strips; set a jelly mould in a large pan on some pounded ice, pour a little of the jelly into a mould; then place some of the prepared pistachios, or any other fruit, into it; when it has become firm, pour in more of the jelly and pistachios, as the layers become set; repeat the process until the mould is filled, and allow the jelly to remain on the ice long enough to congeal.
COLORINGS FOR JELLIES, ICES, OR CAKES.—For Red—Boil very slowly for half an hour fifteen grains of powdered cochineal and a drachm and a half of cream of tartar, in half a pint of water, add a piece of alum the size of a pea, or use beet root sliced, and some liquor poured over.
For White—Use almonds, finely powdered, with a little water or cream.
For Yellow—Yolks of eggs, or a bit of saffron steeped in the liquid and squeezed.
For Green—Pound spinach or beet leaves, press out the juice, and boil a teacupful in a saucepan of water, to take off the rawness.
APPLE JELLY.—Prepare twenty good sized apples; boil them in a pint and a half of water till quite soft; then strain the juice through a colander; to every pint of liquor put three-quarters of a pound of sugar; add grated lemon or orange peel, and boil to a jelly.
HOW TO PREPARE ICE FOR CREAMS.—Break a few pounds of ice into small pieces, throw a handful of salt on, prepare in the coolest part of the cellar; the ice and salt being in a bucket, put your cream in an ice pot, cover it and steep it in the ice. In a few minutes put a spoon in it and stir well, removing the parts that ice round the edges to the centre; if the ice cream be in a form, shut the bottom close and move the whole in the ice; there should be holes in the bucket to let off the water as the ice melts.
ICE CREAMS.—Mix the juice of the fruits with as much sugar as will be wanted, before you add the cream, which should not be very rich.
LEMON CREAM.—Take a pint of thick cream, and add to it the yolks of two eggs, well beaten, four ounces of white sugar, and the thin rind of a lemon; boil it up; then stir it until almost cold. Put the juice of a lemon in a dish or bowl, and pour the cream upon it, stirring it till quite cold.
CHOCOLATE CREAM.—Scrape into one quart of thick cream one ounce of the best chocolate, and a quarter of a pound of sugar; boil it and mill it; when quite smooth take it off the fire and leave it to get cold; then add the whites of nine eggs, whisk and take up the froth in sieves; and serve the froth in glasses, to rise above some of the cream.
AN EXCELLENT CREAM.—Whip up three gills of cream to a strong froth with some finely grated lemon peel, a squeeze of the juice, half a glass of sweet wine and sugar to make it pleasant, but not too sweet; lay it on a sieve or in a mould; next day put it on a dish and ornament it with very light puff paste biscuit, made in tin moulds the length of a finger, and about two inches thick, over which sugar may be strewed, or a light glaze with isinglass, or you may use macaroons on the edge of the dish.
A CREAM FOR AN EVENING PARTY.—Boil half a pint of cream and half a pint of milk with a bay leaf, some lemon peel, a few ground almonds, sugar according to taste, and a little orange flower water; mix with the above a teaspoonful of flour made smooth with a little cold milk; when cold add a little lemon juice to the cream and serve it in cups or lemonade glasses.
FLOATING ISLAND.—One pint of cream and the whites of three eggs. Sweeten the cream to taste and add a gill of wine, if preferred; whisk the whites of the eggs to a dry froth and add a little lemon juice, orange flower water, or any essence. Let the cream boil up once, and then stir in the yolks of the eggs, which have first been beaten very light. Do not let the cream boil after putting in the eggs. Pile the froth upon the cream, and serve soon, as the whites will fall.
CURRANT OE RASPBERRY WATER ICE.—The juice of these, or any other sort of fruit, being gained by squeezing, sweetened and mixed with water, will be ready for icing.
LEMON DROPS—Grate three large lemons, and a large piece of loaf sugar; then scrape the sugar into a plate, add half a teaspoonful of flour; mix well, and beat into a light paste with the white of an egg. Drop it upon white paper, and put them into a moderate oven, on a tin plate.
GINGER DROPS, GOOD FOR THE STOMACH.—Beat two ounces of fresh candied orange in a mortar, with a little sugar, to a paste; then mix one ounce of powdered white ginger with one pound of loaf sugar. Wet the sugar with a little water, and boil it together to a candy; drop it on paper the size or mint drops.
PEPPERMINT DROPS.—Pound and sift four ounces of refined sugar, beat it with the whites of two eggs, till perfectly smooth; then add sixty drops of oil of peppermint; beat it well, and drop on white paper, and dry at a distance from the fire.
RATAFIA DEOPS.—Mix four ounces of ground almonds, with a little pounded or sifted sugar, then add the remainder of the sugar, and the whites of two eggs, beaten, making a paste; of which put little balls the size of a nutmeg, on wafer paper, and bake gently on tin plates.
TO KEEP DAMSONS FOR WINTER PIES—Put the fruit in stone jars or wide-mouthed bottles, up to their necks in a saucepan of cold water; scald them; next day, when cold, fill up with water, and cover them; you can boil one-third as much sugar as fruit with it until the juice adheres to the fruit and forms a jam; the general proportion of sugar must be three pounds to nine pounds of fruit. When it is cold, put a clean stick into the middle of the jar and let the upper end stand above the top. Cover the fruit with white paper; then pour melted mutton suet over the top, half an inch thick. Keep the jars in a dry cool place.
HOW TO KEEP ORANGES, LEMONS, ETC.—Squeeze the fruit, and throw the outside in water, without the pulp. Let them remain in the same a fortnight, adding no more. Boil them therein till tender; strain it from them, and when they are tolerably dry, throw them into any jar or candy you may have remaining from old sweetmeats; or if you have none, boil a small quantity of syrup of white sugar and water and put over them. In a week or ten days boil them gently in it till they look clear, and that they may be covered in a jar with it. You may cut each half of the fruit in two.
ORANGE BUTTER.—Boil six eggs hard, beat them in a mortar with two ounces of fine sugar, three ounces of butter and two ounces of blanched ground almonds; moisten with orange flower water, and when well mixed rub it through a colander on a dish; serve it on sweet biscuits or crackers.
ORANGE CHIPS.—Cut oranges in halves, squeeze the juice through a sieve; soak the peel in water; next day boil in the same till tender; drain them and slice the peels; put them to the juice, weigh as much sugar and put all together into a broad earthen dish, and put over the fire at a moderate distance, stir it often till the chips candy; then set them in a cool room to dry. They will not be so under three weeks.
TO KEEP GRAPES, FRESH FROM THE VINE.—Gather fresh, ripe grapes, put them in a glass or stone jar, and seal them air tight; put them away in a dark, dry place
CHERRIES IN BRANDY.—Weigh the finest morellas, having cut off half the stalk; prick them and drop them in a jar or wide mouthed bottle. Strew over them three-quarters of the weight of sugar, fill up with brandy, and tie a bladder over.
SUGAR CANDY.—Take half a pint of water to one pound of white sugar, half a sheet of isinglass, and a teaspoonful of gum arabic; dissolve the whole in a preserving pan; when it commences to boil, take it from off the fire and skim it well; then put it on again and boil it until it is brittle; you can ascertain this by dropping a little in cold water; if it is made of white sugar, add a teaspoonful of vinegar, or it will be too brittle; flavor it with any essence you wish; it can be colored; if nuts, or any sweetmeats are put in, it should be done before pouring out the compound. It can be moulded to any shape.
TO CANDY ANY SORT OF FRUIT.—When finished in the syrup, put a layer into a new sieve and dip it suddenly into hot water to take off the syrup that hangs about it; put it on a napkin before the fire to drain, and then put some more in the sieve; have ready sifted double refined sugar, which sift over the fruit on all sides till quite white; set it on the shallow end of a sieve in a slightly warmed oven, and turn it two or three times. It must not be cold till dry. Watch it carefully and it will be beautiful.
HOW TO DRY CHERRIES.—To every five pounds of cherries stoned, weigh one of double refined sugar. Put the fruit into the preserving pan with very little water; make both scalding hot. Take the fruit immediately out and dry them; put them into the pan again, strewing the sugar between each layer of cherries; let it stand to melt, then set the pan on the fire and make it scalding hot, as before; take it off, and repeat this three times with the sugar. Drain them from the syrup, and lay them singly to dry on dishes, in the sun or on a stove. When dry, put them on a sieve, dip it into a pan of cold water, and draw it instantly out again, and pour them on a fine soft cloth. Dry them, and set them once more in the hot sun, or on a stove. Keep them in a box, with layers of white paper, in a dry place. This way is the best to give plumpness to the fruit, as well as color and flavor.
EXCELLENT SWEETMEATS.—Divide two pounds of peaches or apricots when just ripe, and take out the stones and break them, add the kernels without the skins to the fruit; add to it three pounds of greengages and two pounds and a half of lump sugar; simmer until the fruit is a clear jam; the sugar should be broken in large pieces and dipped in water, and added to the fruit over a slow fire; observe that it does not boil, and skim it well. If the sugar be clarified it will make the jam better.
STEWED PEARS.—Prepare some nice large hard stewing pears by peeling them very thin, and put them in a stewpan with water; cover well with brown sugar, cinnamon, grated lemon peel, whole ginger, grated nutmeg and whole allspice. Do not open the cover more than is necessary, and stew for five or six hours; when done, take them out and pour the liquor over them.
BAKED APPLES.—Take off a slice from the stalk end of some fine, large apples, and core, but do not pare them; mix some currants, grated lemon peel, almonds, chopped fine, and some candied peel, with some cinnamon, cloves and grated nutmeg. Make holes in the apples with a fork, and insert the spices, put them in a baking pan with plenty of brown sugar and a pint of water or raisin wine. Bake in a gentle oven.
MERINGUE CUSTARD.—Make a pastry of rich puff paste, as in directions for pastry, and line some tin plates with it; make a custard with eight well beaten eggs and one quart of new milk, flavored with vanilla, or any essence that is preferred, a grated lemon and six ounces of white sugar; grate the peel on some lumps of sugar; boil the milk for the custard with whole cinnamon, grated nutmeg and sugar; when it is cooled off a little add the milk to the eggs and beat all up together; line the plates with the custard, and bake for half an hour; when they are done, beat up the whites of four eggs to a thick snow, and two ounces of pulverized sugar; spread the snow over the custard pies about an inch thick, and bake a very light brown for two or three minutes. Any fruit tarts can be prepared the same way.
ORANGE TARTLETS.—Take out the pulp of two Seville oranges, and boil the peels until quite tender, then beat them to a paste with twice their weight in sifted white sugar; then add the pulp and juice of the oranges with a small piece of butter, and beat it all together; line some small patty pans with rich puff paste; lay the mixture in them, and bake for half an hour.
ROCK CAKES.—Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of dried flour and half a pound of fine moist sugar; mix this with two well beaten eggs, and half a glass of brandy or white wine, and a little essence of lemon; drop them on a baking sheet, and bake them for half an hour.
DRIED APPLES.—Take some tart apples and put them in a cool oven six or seven times, and flatten them gently by degrees, when soft enough to bear it; the oven should be very cool at first; if too hot they will waste.
STEWED SMALL APPLES.—Core and pare the apples very fine, and throw them in cold water. For each pound of apples, mix half a pound of refined sugar in syrup with a pint of cold water; skim, and put in the apples; stew until clear; add a little grated lemon peel; do not let the apples break. This makes a fine dish for dessert.