The Complete Confectioner (1800)/Miscellaneous Receipts

MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS.

To make Orange Rings and Faggots.

Pare your oranges as thin and as narrow as you can; put the parings into water whilst you prepare the rings, which is done by cutting the oranges, so pared, into as many ring as you please; then cut out the meat from the inside, and put the rings and faggots into boiling water; boil them till they are tender, then put them into as much clarified as will cover them; set them by till next day, boil them all together, and set them by till the day after; then drain the syrup and boil it till it is very smooth, return your oranges into it, and give all a boil; the next day boil the syrup till it rises almost up to the top of your pan; then return your oranges into it, give them a boil, and put them by in a pot to be candied, as hereafter mentioned, whenever you shall have occasion.

To make a Zest of China Oranges.

Pare off the outward rind of the oranges very thin, and strew it only with fine powder sugar, as much as their own moisture will take, and dry them in a hot stove.

To candy Orange, Lemon, and Citron.

Drain what quantity you wish to candy clean from the syrup, wash it in lukewarm water, and lay it on a sieve to drain; then take as much clarified sugar as you think will cover what you will candy; boil it till it blows very strong, then put in your rings, and boil them till it blows again; take it from the fire, let it cool a little, and, with the back of a spoon, rub the sugar against the inside of your pan, till you see the sugar becomes white; then, with a fork, take out the rings one by one, and lay them on a wire grate to drain; then put in your faggots, and boil them as before directed; rub the sugar, and take them up in bunches, have somebody to cut them with a pair of scissars to what size you please, laying them on your wire to drain.

Note.—Thus you may candy all sorts of oranges, lemon peels, or chips; lemon rings and faggots are done the same way, with this distinction only, that the lemons ought to be pared twice over, that the ring may be the whiter; so you will have two sorts of faggots; but you must be careful to keep the outward rind from the other, otherwise they will discolour them.

To make fine Citron of green Melons.

Cut them all length-ways into quarters; scrape out the seeds and inside, and preserve and candy the same as above, only with this difference, boil them three times up in the syrup.

Note.—You must look over this fruit kept in syrup, and if you perceive any froth on them, give them a boil; and if they should become very frothly and sour, you must first boil the syrup, and then all together.

To make Pippin Knots.

Take your pippins and weigh them, then put them into your preserving pan; to every pound put four ounces of sugar, and as much water will scarce cover them; boil them to a pulp, and pulp them through a sieve; then, to every pound of the apples weighed, take one pound of sugar clarified; boil it till it almost cracks, put in the paste, and mix it well over a slow fire; take it off and pour it on flat pewter plates, or the bottoms of dishes, to the thickness of two crowns, and set them in the stove for three or four hours; then cut it into narrow slips, and turn it up into knots of what shape or size you please; put them into the stove to dry, dusting them a little; turn them, and dry them on the other side, and, when thorough dry, put them into your box.

Note.—You may make them red, by adding a little cochineal; or green, by putting a little of the following colour.

To prepare a green Colour.

Take gum-bouge one quarter of an ounce, of indico and blue the same quantity; beat them very fine in a brass mortar, and mix with it a spoonful of water; so you will have a fine green.

To rock candy Violets.

Pick the leaves off the violets, then boil some of the finest sugar till it blows very strong, which pour into your candying-pan, being made of tin in the form of a dripping-pan, about three inches deep; then strew the leaves of the flowers as thick on the top as you can, and put it into a hot stove for eight or ten days; when you see it is hard candied, break a hole in one corner of it, and drain all the syrup that will run from it, break it out, and lay it on heaps in plates to dry in the stove.

To candy Violets whole.

Take the double violets, and pick off the green stalks; then boil some sugar till it blows very strong, throw in the violets, and boil it till it blows again; rub the sugar against the sides of the pan with a spoon till white; then stir all till the sugar leaves them, and sift and dry them. Jonquils are done the same way.

To candy Figs.

Take figs when they are ripe, weigh them, and to every pound of figs add a pound of loaf sugar, wetted so as to make a syrup; put the figs in when the syrup is made, that is, melted; let it not be too hot when you put them in; boil them gently till they are tender, and put them up in pots: if they are kept too long candied they lose their beauty; but when you are desirous to use them, and you take any out of the pots, you must take care to add as much sugar, boiled to a candy height, as will cover those remaining in the pots; but before you put the figs into the sugar, they must be washed in warm water,and dried with a cloth; let not your syrup be boiled above a syrup candy height; let the figs lie a day or two, then take them up, and lay them upon glasses to dry; they will candy with lying one hour in the syrup, but it is better that they lie longer.

To make March Pans.

Blanch and beat a pound of almonds with rose or orange flower water, and, when they are well beaten, put in half a pound of double refined sugar beat and seered; work it to a paste, spread some on wafers, and dry it in the oven; when it is cold, have ready the white of an egg beaten, with rose water and double refined sugar; let it be as thick as butter, and draw your march pan through it, and put it in the oven; it will ice in a little time, and keep for use. If you wish to have your match pan large, cut it, when it is rolled out, by a gutter plate, and edge it about like a tart; wafer the bottom, and see as aforesaid when the ice is rising; you may colour, gild, or strew them with comfits, and form them in what shape you please.

Mrs. Smith's Way to candy Cherries.

Take cherries before they are ripe, stone them, and pour them clarified sugar boiled upon them.

To candy Apricots, Pears, Plumbs, &c.

Cut your fruits in half, put sugar upon them, bake them in a gentle oven close stopped up; let them stand half an hour, and lay them one by one, on glass plates to dry.

To make Lady Leicester's Spanish Pap.

Take a quart of cream, boil it with mace, then take half a pound of rice, sifted and beat as fine as flour, boil it with the cream to the thickness of a jelly; sweeten it with sugar, and turn it into a shallow dish; when cold, slice it, and you may eat it like flummery, with cold cream.

To candy any Sort of Flowers.

Pick your flowers from the white part, and boil as much double refined sugar to candy high as you think will receive the flowers you do; then put in the flowers and stir them about, till you perceive the sugar to candy about them; take them off the fire, and keep them stirring till they are cold in the pan you candied them in; then sift the loose sugar from them and keep them dry in boxes; or you may candy the flowers whole, just as you think best.

To candy Orange Flowers.

Take half a pound of double refined sugar finely beaten, wet it with orange flower water, and boil it candy high; then throw in a handful or orange flowers, keep it stirring, but not let it boil; and when the sugar candies about them, take it off the fire, drop it on a plate, and set it by till it is cold.

To make Sugar of Raspberries.

Take what quantity of fine sugar you please, well beaten and seered; put it into a bason, set it over hot coals, and have the juice of raspberries infused in a pot of water, as you do you common cakes; then throw a little sugar among the juice, but not too much, that it may not dissolve the sugar, but dry with it presently; let it dry to a candy height, and it will keep all the year.

To make Orange Posset.

Squeeze the juice of two Seville oranges and one lemon into a china bason that holds about a quart, sweeten this juice with the syrup of double refined sugar, put to it two spoonfuls of orange flower water, and strain it through a fine sieve; boil a large pint of cream, with some of the orange peel cut thin; when it is pretty cool, pour it into a bason of juice through a flannel, which must be held as high as you can from the bason; let it stand a day before you use it; when it goes to table, stick slips of candied orange, lemon, and citron peel on the top.

To make a Whim-wham.

Take a pint of sack and half a pound of Naples biscuits, put them in a deep dish or bowl, and let them stand ten minutes; take a quart of cream, whisk it well, pour it over the wine and biscuit, and send it to the table directly; it must be made just as you are going to use it: you must mind to put in as much biscuit as will soak up the wine, and no more.

To make Quadrille Cards.

Take six square tins the size of a card, fill them with very stiff flummery? when you turn them out, have ready a little cochineal dissolved in brandy, strain it through a muslin rag, then take a camel's hair pencil, and make hearts and diamonds; for spades and clubs, take a little chocolate, with a little sweet oil upon a marble, rub it till it is fine and bright; if you chuse the suit to be in hearts, you must place the ace of spades first, then the seven of hearts, the ace of clubs, the ace of hearts, and the two and three of hearts; if in diamonds, the same as hearts; but if you chuse the suits in black, then place the ace of spades, the two of spades, the ace of clubs, and the three, four, and five of spades; do the same in clubs; observe that the two black aces are always trumps in any suits; pour a little Lisbon wine into the dish, and send it up.

To make a Dish of Snow.

Put in cold water twelve large apples, set them on a slow fire, and when soft put them on a hair sieve, skin them, and put the pulp in a bason; beat the whites of twelve eggs into a froth; sift half a pound of double refined sugar, and strew it in eggs; beat the pulp of your apples to a strong froth, and beat them all together till they are like a stiff snow; then lay it on a china dish, heaped as high as you can, and set round green knots of paste, in imitation of Chinese rails, stick a sprig of myrtle in the dish, and serve it up.

To make Raspberry Fool.

Bruise a pint and an half of raspberries, put them through a sieve, pound half a pound of fine sugar, and sweeten them; boil a spoonful of orange flower water two or three minutes; take a pint and an half of cream and boil it; stir it till cold, and when the pulp is cold, stir them both together till they are well mixed, then put them in cups or glasses. Gooseberry fool may be made in the same manner, only using milk instead of cream, and putting in three yolks of eggs to a quart of milk; keep stirring it whilst boiling, and till it is cold: the quantity of gooseberries must be one quart.