VII. PASTRY, CUSTARDS, ETC.

125. -- Butter for Puff Paste.

The butter must be perfectly sweet, and before it is used worked on a marble slab to make it smooth. Salt butter from cows fed on poor land makes the best puff paste, but it must first be washed in two or three waters. For every kind of cakes the butter cannot be too rich.

126. -- Puff Paste.

3 lbs. of butter and 3 lbs. of flour. The butter must be tough: if salt, wash it in two waters the night before using it. Take half of it and rub into the flour, and with pure water make into a paste the same stiffness as the butter. Roll it on a marble slab half an inch thick, spot it with small pieces of butter, dust it with flour; then double it up again, spot it as before, and roll it out again, spot it the third time, roll out again twice, and put in a cool place for half an hour with a cloth over it, when it will be fit for use.

NOTE. -- Common puff paste for large pies may be made this way by using 1 lb. of butter and 2 lbs. of flour.

127. Another Way. -- 2 lbs. 8 ozs. of butter, and 3 lbs. 8 ozs. of flour. Mix the flour with water to the same stiffness as the butter, then roll out the paste, spot it with the butter. Roll it out three times, and dust it with flour as before. This paste is worse for lying, and should therefore be baked as soon as possible.

By using lard of a good tough quality, and mixing it as above, with the addition of a little salt, a good puff paste can be made suitable for wholesale purposes.

128. -- Crisp Tart Paste.

1 lb. of butter, and 2 lbs. of flour. Rub the butter and flour very finely together, then mix it, with water, into a paste of the stiffness of the butter. This is a choice paste for tarts made of fresh fruit.

129. -- Sweet Tart Paste.

6 ozs. of butter, 2 ozs. of sugar, 1 lb. of flour. Beat to a froth the whites of two eggs, rub the butter and flour very finely together, make the paste of the proper stiffness with whites of egg and a little water.

130. -- Paste for a Baked Custard.

8 oz. of butter and 1 lb. of flour. Boil the butter in a small teacupful of water, mix it into the flour, make it smooth, and raise it to any shape desired.

131. -- Paste for small Raised Pies.

12 ozs. of butter, 2 lbs. of flour, and 1 gill of water. Mix the same way as for baked custards.

132. -- To make a handsome Tartlet.

Take a large oval dish and sheet it with the best puff paste; cut it round the sides to make leaves, and fill it three-parts full with good preserved fruit. On the fruit put some device in cut paste, such as a large star, a sprig of flowers, or a tree.

133. -- Nelson Cake or Eccles Cake.

Take 2 lbs. of puff paste, roll out half of it, spread 1 1/2 lb. of clean currants and 1/2 lb. of raw sugar upon it with a little spice, and dash a little water on the sugar and currants to make them unite; then roll out the remainder of the paste and lay it on the top. Ice it well with whites of eggs and sugar. Bake on a square tin in a good oven.

134. -- To make a Custard.

Boil 1 pint of milk with a bit of cinnamon and a little fresh lemon-peel, then mix in a pint of cream and the yolks of 7 eggs well beaten. Sweeten to taste and let the whole simmer until of a proper thickness. It must not be allowed to boil. Stir it one way the whole time with a small whisk, until quite smooth, then stir in a glass of brandy.

135. -- Common Custard.

Beat up 3 eggs, add 1 gill of cream or new milk and a little sugar. Put a dust of cinnamon on each before putting in the oven.

VIII. FRUIT CAKES, BRIDE CAKES, ETC.

136. -- Directions for mixing Cakes made with Butter.

Take your Butter and work it on a marble slab, then cream it in a warm earthenware pan, and be particularly careful not to let the butter oil; add the sugar and work it well with your hand, mixing in one or two eggs at a time, and so on progressing until all the eggs are used. Beat it well up, and as soon as you perceive the mixing rise in the pan put in the flour and beat it well. Then add the spices, currants, and whatever else is required for the mixing. You may then put it up into the tins you intend for it. It will be necessary during the time of creaming it to warm it two or three times, particularly in cold weather.

137. Another Way. -- Proceed with the butter and sugar as before. Have ready separated the whites from the yolks of the eggs; mix in the yolks two or three at a time; let another person whisk up the whites stiff. Then put them to the other mixture and proceed as before directed.

138. -- London Way of mixing Cakes.

Weigh down the flour and sugar on a clean smooth table, make a hole in it, and bank it well up; in this hole put your eggs; cream the butter in an earthenware pan; then add to the flour and sugar the eggs and butter; mix all together and beat up well with both hands. You may work it up this way as light as a feather; then add the currants, spices, &c.

139. Another Way. -- Take six pieces of cane about 18 inches long, tie them fast together at one end, but in order to make them open put in the middle, where you tie them, one or two pieces half the length. This is called a mixing-rod. Provide a tall pot, as upright as can be procured, which make hot; work your butter on a marble slab, then put it in ú the pan and work it well round with the rod until it is nicely creamed; put in the sugar and incorporate both together; add one or two eggs at a time, and so on progressively until they are all used up; work away with the rod with all speed, and as soon as it is properly light (which you may know by its rising in the pan) take it out and mix in the flour, spices, currants, &c., with a spatter. This is esteemed the very best way of mixing cakes.

140. -- Citron Cake.

1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. 2 ozs. of sugar, 6 eggs, and 4 yolks; 1 lb. 4 ozs. of flour. Cut 4 ozs. of green citron in long thin pieces and place them in two or three layers as you put the cake up. It must be baked in a deep tin or rim papered with fine paper. Neatly buttered and baked in a slow oven.

141. -- Common Fruit Cake.

3 lbs. of butter, 2 lbs. of sugar, 24 eggs, 5 1/4 lbs. of flour, 4 1/2 lbs. of currants, 1 lb. 8 ozs. of lemon and orange peel, a little mace, a pint of warm milk, 1/4 oz. of soda, about 1/2 oz. cream of tartar. Proceed as directed.

142. -- Pound Cakes.

1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 8 eggs, 1 lb. 2 ozs. of flour, 1 lb. 8 ozs. of currants, 8 ozs. of orange and lemon peel. Proceed as directed.

143. -- Seed Cakes.

1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 8 eggs, 1 lb. of flour, caraway seeds. Some put 1 tablespoonful of brandy and 2 ozs. of cut almonds.

144. -- Two and Three Pound Cakes.

2 lbs. 4 ozs. of butter, 2 lbs. of sugar, 16 eggs, 2 lbs. 6 ozs. of flour, 3 lbs. 8 ozs. of currants, 1 lb. 8 ozs. of orange, lemon, and citron; almonds and brandy if required; 3/4 oz. of cream of tartar and carbonate of soda. Proceed as directed.

145. -- Another Seed Cake.

2 lbs. 8 ozs. of butter, 2 lbs. of sugar, 16 eggs, 2 lbs. 4 ozs. of flour, 4 ozs. of cut almonds, caraway seeds, and a glass of brandy; 3/4 oz. of cream of tartar and carbonate of soda. Proceed as directed.

146.--Four and Six Pound Cakes.

2 lbs. 8 ozs. of butter, 2 lbs. of sugar, 16 eggs, 3 lbs. 8 ozs. of flour, 6 lbs. of currants, 2 lbs. of orange and lemon, citron and almonds. Proceed as directed.

147.--Bride Cakes.

The following mixtures are made in a few first-class shops, and the recipes for the same are not generally known. The prices quoted allow for almond-icing as well.

Ingredients                10s.6d.     12s.     15s.     18s.     F1. 1s.     F1. 11s.     F2. 2s
                           lb. oz.    lb. oz.  lb. oz.  lb. oz.   lb. oz.     lb. oz.      lb. oz.
Butter                      0 11       0 13     1 1      1 4       1 6         2 1          2 12
Sugar                       0 7        0 8      0 10     0 12      1 0         1 6          1 12
Currants                    1 4        1 6      1 10     2 00      2 8         3 12         5 0
Orange and citron, mixed    0 6        0 7      0 8      0 10      0 12        1 2          1 8
Almonds                     0 1.5      0 2      0 2      0 3       0 3         0 4          0 6
Mixed spice*                0 1 1/2    ---      0 3/4    ---       0 1         0 1 1/2      0 2
Flour                       0 11       0 13     1 1      1 4       1 6         2 1          2 12
Eggs, number of               6          7        9       10        12          18           24
                \           Wine-      Wine-    Wine-    Wine-
Brandy or brandy >          glass-     glass-   glass-   glass    1/4 pint    1/4 pint     1/2 pint
and wine        /            ful.       ful.     ful.     ful.
* Nutmegs, mace, and cinnamon.

148. -- Icing Sugar for Bride Cakes, &c.

To make this take 2 lbs. of finely powdered icing sugar (first having an earthenware pan made warm), put in six fresh whites of eggs, and immediately whisk them, and as quickly as possible, until quite stiff; then add the sugar by degrees, whisking all the time. As soon as it appears light cease whisking, and beat it well with the spatter until you have put in all the sugar. A little tartaric acid or lemon-juice may be added towards the end of the mixing. To know when it is sufficiently beaten, take up a little on the spatter and let it drop into the basin again. If it keeps its shape it is ready; if it runs it is either beaten too little or requires more sugar.

A good substitute for eggs is French glue. Take a quarter of an ounce of it and fully one imperial pint of boiling water. Pour the water on the glue, and stir in with a spoon until all is dissolved. If convenient, make it two days before using. The glue is used similar to eggs. Add to it a small pinch of tartaric acid. This glue is mostly used for wholesale or cheap purposes.

149. -- Almond Icing for Bride Cakes.

1 lb. Valencia almonds, 2 lbs. of icing sugar, and about 3 whites of eggs and 2 yolks. Blanch and beat the almonds. Fine with whites of eggs, then add the sugar and whites and yolks, beat them well together and make them into a stiffish paste. As soon as the cake is baked, take it out and take off the hoop and the paper carefully from the sides, then put the almond icing carefully on the top of the cake, and make it as smooth as you can. Put into the oven, and let it remain until the almond icing is firm enough and of the colour of a macaroon; let it stand two or three hours, then ice it with sugar icing.

150. -- Wedding Cake.

1 1/4 lb. of flour, 1 lb. 2 oz. of butter, 1 lb. of moist sugar, 4 lbs. of currants, 1 1/2 lb. of mixed peel, 2 nutmegs grated, 1/2 oz. ground cinnamon, 10 eggs, 1/2 lb. blanched sweet almonds cut in halves, and a wineglassful of brandy. Mix as before directed.

151. -- Rich Twelfth Cake.

Same as wedding cake. In olden times a bean and a pea were introduced into the cake to determine who should be king and queen of the evening festivities.

152. -- Madeira Cakes.

1 3/4 lb. of butter, 2 lbs. of sugar, 2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of patent flour, 24 eggs. Proceed as before directed. This mixing makes eight cakes, selling at a shilling each. Put two thin slices of citron on each. Bake in a cool oven. Note. -- Patent flour is made with 8 lbs. of flour, 4 ozs. cream of tartar, 2 ozs. carbonate of soda, and sifted three times.

153. -- Plum Cake. (As made for best shops in Edinburgh.)

3 lbs. of butter, 3 lbs. of sugar, 4 1/2 lbs. of flour, 40 eggs, 8 or 10 lbs. of currants, 2 lbs, of peel, a few drops of essence of lemon. Cream and finish as before directed.

154. -- Genoa Cake.

1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 1 1/4 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of eggs, 2 1/2 lbs. of currants, washed and picked, 1 1/2 lb. of orange peel. Bake in a small square-edged tin. Proceed as before directed. When nicely in the tin have prepared some blanched and chopped almonds, strew them rather thickly on the top, and bake in a moderate oven.

155. -- Rice Cake (Scotch Mixture).

2 lbs. of butter, 2 lbs. of sugar, 2 1/4 lbs. of flour, 1/4 lb. of rice flour, 20 eggs, essence of lemon. Proceed as before directed.

156. -- Madeira Cake (Scotch Mixture).

1 1/4 lb. of butter, 1 3/4 lb. of sugar, 2 1/4 lbs. of flour, 20 eggs, a small pinch of tartaric acid and carbonate of soda. Proceed as before directed.

157. -- Pond Cake or Dundee Cake.

1 lb. of butter, 1 1/4 lb. of sugar, 13 eggs, 1 3/4 lb. of flour, 2 lbs. of peel cut in small squares. After it is creamed up and ready, entirely cover the top with small comfits. Bake in moderate oven. Do not cream it so light as for other cakes so as to keep the comfits from sinking in the cake.

158. -- Silver Cake.

1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 1 pint of whites of eggs, 1 3/4 lb. of flour, almond to flavour.

159. -- Gold Cake.

1 1/4 lb. of butter, 1 1/2 lb. of sugar, 1 pint of yolks of eggs, 1 3/4 lb. of sultana raisins, 1/2 lb. of lemon peel, 2 lbs. of flour, 1/4 lb. of patent or soda flour. Add a little milk to make it as soft as the Silver mixture, paper a deep square tin, and spread the gold mixture 2 inches thick, then spread the silver mixture nicely over the top of the gold. Baking, about 2 1/4 hours.

160. -- Plum Cake at 6d. per lb. (As sold by Grocers.)

8 lbs. of flour, 2 lbs. of butter, 3 lbs. of sugar, 4 lbs. of currants, 1/2 lb. of peel, 15 eggs, 2 ozs. of carbonate of soda, 3 ozs. of cream of tartar, essence of lemon, and fresh churned milk, to make into a nice dough. Have some square one-pound tins nicely papered, and weigh in 1 lb. of the mixture. This is an excellent mixture if well got up.

161. Another Way. -- 1 lb. of lard, 1 1/4 lb. of sugar, 8 ozs. of peel, 5 lbs. of currants, 6 lbs. of flour, a grated nutmeg, 1 oz. carbonate of soda, 2 ozs. cream of tartar, 8 eggs, the rest milk.

162. Another Way. -- 1/2 lb. of butter, 3/4 lb. of sugar, 4 eggs, 3 lbs. of currants, 4 lbs. of flour, 3/4 oz. of carbonate of soda, 1/2 oz. of tartaric acid. Dough with milk.

163. -- Mystery, or Cheap Plum Cake at 3d. per lb.

8 lbs. of common flour, 3 lbs. of brown sugar, 1 lb. of lard, 2 ozs. of peel, 3 lbs. of currants, 1 1/2 oz. of spice, 2 ozs. of carbonate of soda, 1 oz. of tartaric acid. Dough with milk. Bake in a slow oven, wash with egg on top.

164. -- Plum Cake at 4d. per lb.

4 lbs. of flour, 3 lbs. of currants, 12 ozs. of lard, 14 ozs. of sugar, 1 1/2 oz. of cream of tartar, 1 oz. of carbonate of soda, 1/4 oz. of spice. Dough with good churned milk.

165. -- Lafayette Cakes.

1/2 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of sugar, 1/2 lb. of flour, 6 eggs, 1/4 oz. of volatile salts in powder. Mix same as pound cake. Bake in round flat tins about 1/4 of an inch deep, or drop some of the paste on whity-brown paper and spread it out into a round thin cake about 6 inches in diameter. This will make 12 cakes. Bake them in a moderate oven in tins. Take them off the paper when baked, spread some raspberry or other jam on two of them and put three together. Trim them round the edges with a knife, and divide or cut them into 4, 6, or 8 parts according to the price at which they are to be sold.

166. -- American Genoa Cake.

Take 7 lbs. of common butter or butterine, 7 lbs. of castor sugar, 60 eggs, 12 lbs. of flour, 10 lbs. of currants, 3 lbs. of chopped peel, 1 1/2 oz. of cream of tartar, 3/4 oz. of soda, about 2 pints of churned milk. Cream the butter and sugar together, add the eggs, then mix all the other ingredients together. Paper a square-edged pan, lay on your batter about three inches thick, and bake in a sound oven. After the cake is baked, put it aside in a cool room till next morning, when you may turn it out of the tin, and then, after taking the paper nicely off, cut it into suitable sizes.

Note. -- The sides of the tin before being papered must be lined with wood upsets. This cake is sold at 6d. per pound.

167. -- Lemon Cake.

3/4 lb. of butter, 3/4 lb. of sugar, 1 lb. of eggs, 1/2 gill of brandy, lb. of flour, the grated rind of two lemons. Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs, in the usual way, stir in the lemon rind, brandy, and flour; put in small moulds and bake in a moderate oven.

168. -- Bristol Cake.

2 lbs. of butter, 2 lbs. of sugar, 2 lbs. of eggs, 2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of patent flour, 3 lbs. of sultana raisins. Cream this cake in the usual way, bake in small round hoops, weighed out at 1 lb. each. Bake in moderate oven.

l69. -- Jubilee Cakes.

4 1/2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. 6 ozs. of butter, 1 lb. 14 ozs. of castor sugar, 11 eggs, 1 1/4 oz. of carbonate of soda, 1 3/4 oz. of cream of tartar, churned milk to dough. Weigh the flour, add the tartar and soda, make a bay; have the butter previously warmed, put it in the bay with the sugar, cream it well with your hand, adding the eggs gradually, then mix all together and make into a nice batter. Weigh at 1 lb. for sixpence.

This makes a number of cakes of various kinds -- such as Cilron Cake, by adding a small quantity of thinly chopped citron; Madeira Cake by dusting the top with castor sugar, and placing two pieces of peel on the top; Plum Cake, by adding a few currants and cut peel; Coconut Cake, by adding a little cocoa-nut to the mixture, and dusting the top with cocoa-nut; and Seed Cake, by adding a few seeds. It is a capital mixture when nicely got up.

IX. HANDY WHOLESALE RECIPES FOR SMALL MASTERS.

170. -- Soda Cakes or Scones.

12 lbs. of flour, 6 ozs. of cream of tartar, 3 ozs. of carbonate of soda, 12 ozs. of lard, 2 ozs. of salt. Dough up with churned milk, mix the tartar and soda with the flour, rub the lard in the flour, make a bay, add the salt, and make into a nice dough with milk. Weigh off at 6 ozs. for a penny. Mould round, pin out the breadth of a small saucer, wash the top with milk, bake on the bottom of a good sound oven. Dock them with a docker.

171. -- Currant or Milk Scones.

6 lbs. of flour, 6 ozs. of lard, 6 ozs. of sugar, 3 ozs. of cream of tartar, 1 1/2 oz. soda, 1 lb. of currants, 1 oz. of salt; buttermilk to dough. Mix as above. Weigh off at 11 ozs. for 2d., mould, pin out and cut in four; put on flat clean tins; wash with egg on top. Bake in a sound oven.

172. -- Sugar or White Spice Biscuits.

7 lbs. of good fine flour, 12 ozs. of lard, 3 lbs. of moist sugar, 4 ozs. of ammonia, churned milk to dough; mix as above, but do not work the mixture too much. Take about 4 lbs. of the dough, work it into a square or round shape, pin it out a little thicker than a penny piece, cut out either in shapes or farthing or halfpenny biscuits, but well dock the sheet before you cut them.

Bake on greased tins; wash on top; a few currants strewn on the shapes. Bake in a sharp oven.

173. -- Halfpenny Scotch Cakes.

3 1/2 lbs. of flour, 12 ozs. of lard, 12 ozs. of sugar, 1/4 oz. vol, and a little milk, as much as will dissolve the volatile salts and sugar. Mix as above, but well rub the dough; make it nice and easy to work off. Pin out a sheet about 1/4 of an inch thick, cut out with a small round cutter; dock each one well; pinch round the edges with the finger and thumb. Bake on clean tins, but not greased, in a moderate oven.

174. -- Large Square Penny Albert Cake.

Rub 6 ozs. of lard in 6 lbs. of flour, then add 4 ozs. of cream of tartar and 2 ozs. of soda. Mix all together and make a bay. Put in the bay 2 lbs. of sugar and 3 lbs. of currants, and dough with churned milk, a little softer than for plum cake mixture. Have a large-edged pan cleaned and greased, put the mixture in the tin and spread it equally over the tin, putting your hand occasionally in a little milk to smooth over the surface. This mixture is best made up in a basin or large bowl and poured into the tin. Bake in a moderate oven and cut when cold.

175. -- Brandy Snaps.

Rub 1 lb. of lard in 4 lbs. of flour, put 4 lbs. of moist sugar on it and mix together; make a bay, put in 4 lbs. of syrup and about half a teaspoonful of essence of lemon. Make all into dough, pin it out, cut with a small round cutter, about the thickness of a penny. Bake on well-greased tins in a moderate oven. You can curl them round the peel or have them plain.

176. -- Nonpareil Biscuits.

Rub 6 ozs. of lard in 5 lbs. of flour, make a bay, put in 2 1/2 lbs. of moist sugar, 2 ozs. of ammonia; dough with milk; make into a dough, but do not work it too much. Cut out the same size and thickness as for brandy snaps; wash the top with milk; have some nonpareil sweets spread on the table, throw the biscuits on them, put on slightly greased tins. Bake in moderate oven.

177. -- Common Halfpenny Queen Cake.

3 lbs. of flour, add 1 oz. of cream of tartar, 1 oz. of soda; mix; rub in 12 ozs. of lard, make a bay, put in 24 ozs. of castor sugar, essence of lemon; dough with churned milk; dough rather soft. Have some fluted tins ready greased, take a spoon and three-parts fill your tins. Bake in a moderate oven.

178. -- Halfpenny lunch Cake.

2 lbs. of flour, 4 ozs. of lard, 8 ozs. of sugar, 8 ozs. of currants, 1 oz. of soda, 1 oz. of cream of tartar; dough with churned milk and mix as for queens. Have some square sponge cake tins ready greased, take a spoon and three-parts fill them; wash with egg on top, dust them with castor sugar and bake in sound oven.

179. -- Polkas or Halfpenny Sponges.

Put 2 1/2 lbs. of good flour on the table, make a bay, put in 5 eggs, l 1/2 lb. of castor sugar, and 1 oz. voil; beat eggs, sugar, and ammonia with your hand for twelve or fifteen minutes, add a little churned milk, take in your flour and beat all well together with 12 drops of essence of lemon. Have your tins greased, take a spoon, half fill it with the mixture; put on tins about 2 inches apart; put about 6 or 8 currants on each and bake in a hot oven.

X. CONFECTIONS IN SUGAR-BOILING.

180. -- Clarifying Sugar.

The clarifying and boiling of sugar to the different degrees must be considered as the key to all sorts of stove working, and I will give here the method used for clarifying sugar. The pan used must be perfectly clean and bright. Whisk two whites of eggs in one pint of water; break 30 lbs. of good lump sugar into small pieces and put it into the pan; pour over it 6 quarts of water, set it on a clear stove to melt, but be careful it does not blubber and boil before it is melted; when you see it rise it is then boiling, and must be stopped immediately by putting in 1 quart of water; when it rises again add the same quantity of water, and so on two or three times; this prevents the scum from boiling into the sugar and makes it rise to the top. Draw the pan to one side of the fire and take all the scum off; let it continue to simmer. Keep adding a little water to make the remaining part of the scum rise. By this time the scum will be very white and tough, which also take off if the sugar appear clear. Dip in your finger, and if a drop hang from it, it is of the first degree, called smooth, and may be put by for use.

You may clarify a much smaller quantity of sugar by carefully attending to these instructions.

181. -- Testing Sugar.

Granulated sugar is considered the best to use, as it is less liable to adulteration than any other kind. Of moist sugars, Demerara is the best. The simplest way to test sugar for its purity is to dissolve a little in a glass of clear water. If the sugar be quite pure the water will only be slightly thickened, but not in the least clouded, neither will there be any sediment. In keeping sugar care should be taken to protect it from dampness and vermin -- especially ants.

To boil Sugar to the different degrees.

182. To the degree called "Pearled." -- Cover your preserving pan bottom two or three inches deep, boil it briskly over a clear fire for a short time, then dip in your finger and put it to your thumb, if on separating them a small string of sugar adheres to each it is boiled to the degree called pearled.

183. To the degree called "Blown." -- After you have ascertained that the sugar is boiled to the degree called pearled put in the skimmer and let it boil a few minutes, then shake it out of the sugar and give it a blow. If sugar fly from the skimmer in small bladders it is boiled to the degree called blown.

184. To the degree called "Feathered." -- Continue to boil the sugar from blown for a short time longer; take out the skimmer and give it a jerk over the pan, then over your head, and if sugar fly out like feathers it is boiled to the degree called feathered.

185. To the "Ball" Degree. -- To know when the "ball" has been acquired, first dip your finger into a basin of cold water, then apply your finger to the syrup, taking up a little on the tip and dipping it into the water again; if upon rolling the sugar with the fingers and thumb you can make it into a small ball, that is what is termed the "small ball ;" when you can make a larger and harder ball, which you could not bite without its sticking unpleasantly to the teeth, you may be satisfied that is the "large ball."

186. To the degree called "Crackled." -- Boil the sugar from the degree called feathered a little longer; dip a stick or a piece of pipe (or your finger, if you are used to boiling) into water, then into the sugar and again into the water. If it crack with the touch it is boiled to the degree called crackled.

187. To the degree called "Caramelled." -- Boil the sugar still further, dip a stick or your finger into water, then into the sugar, and again into the water. If it snap like glass it is of the highest degree, called caramelled, and must be taken off the fire immediately, for fear of burning. This sugar is proper to caramel any sort of fruit.

188. -- To boil Sugar by the Thermometer.

All the foregoing tests are according to the old style of boiling; but a boiling-glass can now be had which enables us to boil to a better degree of accuracy. Thus, to boil to the pearl is to boil to 220 degrees; the small thread 228 degrees; the large thread 236 degrees; the blow 240 degrees; the feather 242 degrees; the small ball 244 degrees; the large ball 250 degrees; the small crack 261 degrees; the hard crack 281 degrees; the caramel 360 degrees.

189. -- Barley Sugar.

Put some sugar in a pan with water and place it on the fire to boil; when it is at the feather add a little lemon juice and continue boiling to the caramel; when done add a few drops of essence of lemon. Pour it on a marble slab previously oiled, cut into strips. When nearly cold take the strips in your fingers and twist them, and when quite cold put them into tin boxes and keep them closed down. The reason that barley sugar is so named is that it was originally made with a decoction of barley.

190. -- Barley Sugar Drops.

These are made in the same manner as the preceding. You pour the sugar while hot into impressions made in dried icing sugar.

191. -- Acid Drops,

Boil 3 lbs. of loaf sugar, 1 pint of water, and a teaspoonful of cream of tartar to the caramel; add a few drops of essence of lemon, and pour it on an oiled marble slab or stone; sprinkle on it a tablespoonful of powdered tartaric acid and work it in. Oil a tin sheet and put the sugar on it in a warm place, then cut off a small piece and roll it into a round pipe, cut this into small pieces the size of drops with a pair of scissors and roll them round under the hand; mix with fine powdered sugar, sift the drops from it and put them in boxes, to be used as required.

192. -- Pineapple Drops.

Cut the half of a pineapple into slices, drop them into a mortar and pound them; put the pulp into a cloth and extract the juice; take as much sugar as will be required and boil it to the crack. When the sugar is at the feather commence to add the pine-apple juice; pour it on slowly, so that by the time the syrup is at the crack it shall all be mixed in with the sugar. Finish as for barley sugar drops.

193. -- Poppy Drops.

Extract the essence of the poppies (the wild flowers are the best) in hot water, boil some sugar in a pan -- the same way as for barley sugar drops -- and add the decoction of poppies just before the syrup is at the crack. No essence of lemon should be used, and they need not be sugared when put into boxes.

194. -- Ginger Drops.

Make these after the same manner as barley sugar drops, in boiling the sugar, and flavour with a few drops of the essence of ginger just before the syrup is at the crack.

195. -- Cayenne Drops.

These are made the same way as barley sugar drops and the poppy and ginger drops. Flavour a minute before the boiling sugar is at the crack. To give the cayenne flavour add a few drops of the essence of capsicum.

196. -- Ginger Candy.

Boil some clarified sugar to the ball, and flavour with essence of ginger, then rub some of the sugar against the sides of the pan with a spatula until the sugar turns white; pour it into tins which have been oiled and put into the stove. The sugar should be coloured with some vegetable yellow whilst boiling.

197. -- Lemon Candy.

This is made in the same manner as ginger candy. Colour yellow with a little saffron, add a few drops of essence of lemon. This is made by boiling sugar to the feather and ball, and grained by rubbing against the pan.

198. -- Peppermint Candy.

The mode of making this candy is the same as that for making ginger candy, only add essence of peppermint.

199. -- Rose Candy.

Made the same way as ginger candy. Rose candy should be coloured with cochineal or carmine.

200. -- Burnt Almonds.

1 lb. of almonds, 2 lbs. of sugar. Take 2 lbs. of clarified sugar and boil it to the "ball" put 1 lb. of Jordan or Valencia almonds, blanched and dried, into the pan with the sugar; stir them from the fire, and let them absorb as much sugar as possible. If you want them well saturated with sugar repeat this until the sweetening is completed. Flavour with orange- flower water.

201. -- Cast Sugar Drops.

Select the best refilled sugar with a good grain, pound it and pass through a coarse hair sieve; sift again in a lawn sieve, to take out the finest part, as the sugar, when it is too fine, makes the drops heavy and compact and destroys their brilliancy and shining appearance. Now put the sugar into a pan and moisten it with any aromatic spirit you intend to use, using a little water to make it of such a consistence as to allow of its dropping off the spoon without sticking to it. Rose water is the best; it should be poured in slowly, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Colour the sugar with prepared cochineal or any other colour, ground fine and moistened with a little water; the tint should be light and delicate. Then take a small pan, made with a lip on the right side, so that when it is held in the left hand the drops may be detached from the right. Put in the paste and place the pan in the stove on a ring that just fits it. Take a small spatula and stir the sugar until it dissolves and makes a slight noise, but do not let it boil, but remove it from the fire when it is near the boiling point, then stir it well with the small spatula until of such a consistence that when dropped it will not spread too much, but retain a round form. Should it, however, be too thin add a little of the coarse powdered sugar, which should be reserved for the purpose, and make it of the thickness required. Take a smooth tin or copper plate and let the paste drop on it from the lip of the pan at regular intervals. You hold the pan in the left hand and with a piece of straight wire in the right hand you separate the drop of sugar from the lip of the pan, letting it fall on the tin. In the course of an hour and a half or two hours the drops may be removed with a thin knife. If no copper plates are at hand a piece of stout cartridge paper will do. Damp the back of the paper with a sponge when you wish to remove the drops.

202. -- Rose Drops.

These are made as in the preceding case. Flavour with essence of rose and colour with cochineal.

203. -- Orange-flower Drops.

Flavour with orange-flower water or a little of the essence of neroli.

204. -- Chocolate Drops.

2 ozs. of chocolate, 2 lbs. of sugar. The chocolate must be scraped to a powder and then made into a paste with cold water, finishing as for cast sugar drops.

205. -- Coffee Drops.

2 ozs. of coffee, 2 lbs. of sugar. Make a decoction of coffee in the regular manner and add it to your sugar to make the paste or syrup. Finish in the same way as for cast sugar drops.

206. -- Barberry Drops.

6 ozs. of barberries, 1 1/2 lb. of sugar. Press the juice out of the barberries and mix it into the pounded sugar. Should there not be sufficient juice add a little clear water. Make no more paste than you can actually use, as the second time it is heated it becomes greasy and difficult to drop.

207. -- Peppermint Drops.

Moisten the sugar, which should be white and of the finest quality, with peppermint water, or flavour it with the essence of peppermint and moisten it with a little clear water. See that your utensils are very clean.

208. -- Pineapple Drops.

Take the pineapple and rub the rind on a piece of rough sugar. The sugar thus impregnated you scrape off for use directly. Pound the pine-apple, and pass the pulp or juice through a fine hair sieve. Add the sugar just scraped off and as much more as you think it requires to make it sweet. Make it into a paste with clear water. Every precaution must be used, as it soon greases. No more should be made than you actually want for immediate use.

209. -- Vanilla Drops.

2 pods of vanilla, 1 lb. of pounded sugar. Use the pods of vanilla in preference to the essence; the latter is apt to grease the paste. Cut the vanilla up very fine, put it in a mortar, and pound it well along with a portion of your sugar. When sufficiently smooth, sift it through a fine sieve. Finish as for the rest.

210. -- Ginger Drops.

Take as much ginger as you wish to use, pound, and sift it through a fine lawn sieve; add it to as much sugar as you desire to flavour, and mix it with clear water. Some use the ginger sold at the shops already powdered; some, again, the essence of ginger, colouring the paste with saffron.

211. -- Lemon Drops.

Rub off the yellow rind of some lemons on a piece of rough sugar; scrape it off, and mix it into your paste. Add sufficient to your sugar to give it a good flavour, and colour it a light yellow with saffron. Moisten with clear water, and mix as the rest.

212. -- Orange Drops.

These are made the same as lemon drops.

213. -- Pear Drops.

Made the same as above, and flavoured with the essence of jargonel pear.

214. -- Lavender, Violet, Musk, and Millefleur Drops.

These are all made the same way as the above, being flavoured with the essences that give them their names.

215. -- Pink Burnt Almonds,

Put 1 pint of clarified sugar in a round-bottomed pan on a clear fire, boil it to the degree called blown, mix in as much prepared cochineal as will make it a good colour, boil it again to the degree called blown, throw in the brown burnt almonds free from small; take the pan off the fire and stir the almonds well about in the sugar with the spatter until it is all upon them, which is very easily done if you are careful. You may repeat this two or three times, which will make the almonds very handsome.

216. -- Philadelphia Caramels.

Take 10 lbs. of sugar, 2 quarts of rich cream, 1 1/2 lb. of glucose, 1 lb. of fresh butter, 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar, 1 lb. of cocoa paste, and 1/4 of a lb. of white wax of paraffin. Boil these to the "crack," pour upon a greased marble slab, between iron bars, and let it remain until cold, then cut it into small cubes and fold in wax-paper.

217. -- Boston Chips.

These are made of sugar boiled to the hard crack, flavoured and tinted to suit your fancy; it is then poured upon a greased marble slab. As soon as it becomes sufficiently cold the edges are turned in and the batch is folded in a mass, placed upon the candy hook and pulled; it is then run through a machine the iron rollers of which are set very closely together, so that the candy comes through as thin as a wafer; it is then cut into strips to suit, or it may be wound around an oiled round stick and then slipped off, making a curl. Two or more colours may be joined together before it is run through the machine, thus making a parti-coloured ribbon.

218. -- Engagement Favours.

Break up 1 lb. of loaf sugar into small particles, let it dissolve in a pan with 1/2 pint of water and 2 spoonfuls of lemon-juice; skim and boil to the ball, add pieces of lemon peel tied together with a string, boil until a sample is brittle; take out the lemon peel, pour out the sugar on an oiled slab, taking care to distribute it so that the whole mass cools at the same time. It is pulled, manipulated, and cut in the ordinary way. A small part of the sugar coloured red and boiled separately may be used to variegate the sweets, and should be worked in just before cutting.

219. -- Almond Hardbake.

Oil a square or round tin with low edges, split some almonds in halves and place them in rows over the bottom with the split side downward until the surface is covered. Boil some raw sugar to the crack, pour it over them so as to cover the whole with a thin sheet of sugar.

Coconut cut in thin slices, currants, and other similar candies are made in the same way, except that the sugar is ground before it is poured over.

220. -- To make Gum Paste.

Put any quantity of picked gum dragon into an upright earthen jar, cover it over with cold water and let it stand two or three days. Have ready some of the very finest icing sugar, take the gum into a coarse piece of canvas and let another person assist in twisting it round until the whole has passed through. Beat it well up in the mortar to make it tough and white, then add sugar by degrees, still beating it with the pestle. When it is stiff take it out and keep it in an earthen jar for use. When it is worked into ornaments it will require a little starch-powder to smooth and make it proper for use. If you want to colour any part of it, use vegetable colouring.

221. -- To spin a Silver Web.

Take 1 pint of clarified sugar and 1 teaspoonful of lemon juice, boil it in a small pan to the degree called caramelled; the moment the sugar is ready take it off and put the bottom of the pan in cold water. As soon as the water is warmed take the pan out. This precaution will keep the sugar from discolouring. As this sugar is to represent silver you must be particularly careful not to boil it too high. Have ready a crocanth mould neatly oiled with sweet oil, then take a teaspoon and dip the shank of it into the sugar on one side of the pan, take up a little sugar and throw the spoon backwards and forwards in the mould, leaving as fine a thread as possible. Continue to do so until the mould is quite full. You must observe that there be no blotches and that the threads be as fine as hair; you may then take it out and cover it over a custard or any other sweet, and may, if you please, raise it by spinning light threads of sugar on the top.

222. -- To spin a Gold Web.

Proceed with a gold web exactly the same as with the silver web, only boil the sugar a moment longer.

223. -- A Spun Sugar Pyramid.

Provide four or five round moulds, the one larger than the other, oil them neatly, then boil your sugar as for silver web, only let it remain on the fire one minute longer, then take up sugar with the shank of the spoon and spin it as near the side of the mould as possible, but let no blotches appear; do this to the four moulds. As soon as cold take them out and fix one above another with hot sugar, then spin long lengths of sugar round until they form a complete pyramid. You may spin long threads of sugar to represent a feather, and place them on the top, or you may place a sprig of myrtle on the top and spin long lengths of sugar round it. The way to do it is to take the shank of your spoon, dip it into the cool sugar at the side of the pan, take hold of a bit of the sugar with your finger and thumb and pull it out to any length and fineness you please.

224. -- To spin a Gold Sugar Crocanth.

Boil your sugar a minute longer than for the silver web, using the same precaution as before. Have ready your mould neatly oiled, then take a little sugar on the shank of your spoon, spin it quite close to the side of your mould (be careful you make no blotches), spin all round, and strengthen the sugar as much as you can. There must be no holes or blotches, but an even regular sugar, all parts as near alike as possible. When the sugar is perfectly cold turn it out carefully, and set it over a custard or any other sweet. You may use it plain or ornament it with gum paste, as you think proper.

225. -- To spin a Gold Cup,

Provide a copper mould like a cup. It must be made in three parts, and must be perfectly smooth within; oil each neatly, and spin sugar in each, agreeable to the directions for the crocanth. If two persons can spin at the same time it will be much better. When the three moulds are perfectly covered with sugar, and cold, take each out and put them together in a proper manner with hot sugar. You may ornament the cup with gum paste, which will make it very beautiful.

Note. -- In boiling sugar to spin, great care must be taken to have a clear fire, and only to boil a small quantity at a time in a small brass pan. If you have two or three sugars to spin you must use two or three pans. One person may be attending to the boiling while another is spinning. A teaspoonful of lemon juice must be put to a pint of clarified sugar. If the sugar is likely to boil over the top of the pan drop one drop of sweet oil from your finger into the sugar, which will stop it immediately.

226. -- A Spun Sugar Beehive.

Mould twenty or thirty bees in gum paste, as near the colour and shape as possible, make a hole with a pin on each side of the mouth and let them dry; make some of the wings extend as if flying. Provide a large round crocanth mould as near the shape of a bee-hive as possible, then boil the sugar as formerly instructed. Spin the sugar hot close to the inside of the mould. It must be regularly spun and very strong, the threads very fine, and no blotches. When it is so, let it stand until quite cold, then turn it out of the mould on to a large dish and ornament as under.

227. -- To Ornament a Beehive.

Before you begin to boil the sugar take as many borders out of your gum paste moulds as will go round the bottom; also take out leaves for the top; run a husk round the sides to represent the matting of the hive, lay your borders and leaves on a marble slab, with a cloth over them to keep them moist.

You may also twist a length of gum paste like a wreath and make it into a large ring; this must be dried; then fix on the ornaments with a little hot sugar and set the ring upright on the top. You may then spin long lengths of sugar very fine on to a tin plate. Take the bees and fix them with hot sugar on the top and sides of the hive; break the lengths of sugar in short pieces and fix them in the holes made in the bees. You may also form three entrances into the hive with the gum paste husk.

XI. COLOURING SUGAR.

228. -- To prepare Sugar for Colouring.

Take good loaf sugar, get it ground well, put it through a hair sieve; what remains in the hair sieve put into a fine wire sieve and sift it, and the sugar which comes through the wire sieve will be rough sugar proper for colouring.

229. -- To colour Sugar.

Divide the sugar into as many parts as you intend to colour, put each into a sheet of paper, then prepare your colours. Take a round-bottomed pan and put it on a warm stove, pour in your lot of sugar, stir it about with a dry whisk until the sugar is warm, add the colour, stir it well with the whisk to make the sugar all of that colour, then stir it about till the sugar is nearly dry, when you may spread it about on the sheet of paper. You may proceed in this manner with all the colours. The first colour used should be yellow, and the next green, which may be coloured in the yellow pan and with the same whisk. You must then wash both, and colour red, and after that orange. When the sugar is cold, sift it to take out any coupled, then bottle it separately. It will be found to be a useful article to ornament rout biscuits, creams, &c.

230. -- Blue Colouring.

Take a fig of the best indigo, dip one side in warm water and rub it on a marble slab until you gain the strength you want; or if you wish for a quantity, put a fig into a small cup, drop a tablespoonful of water upon it, and let it stand half an hour; then pour off the water at the top, and you will have a fine smooth colour.

231. -- Carmine Colouring.

Take carmine, No. 24 or 40, 1 dr., liquor potassae 2 1/2 drs., water 2 ozs., glycerine sufficient to make 4 ozs. Rub the carmine to a paste with liquor potassae and add the water and glycerine. This is a splendid red, and works well with liquor acids.

232. -- Green Colouring.

Take some strong saffron colour and a little of the fine melted blue; mix them well together, which will make a green colour. If you want a pale green, use more yellow; if a dark green, use more blue.

233. Another Way. -- Take a quantity of spinach, pick the leaves from the stalks, put them very tight down in a small pan, add a small quantity of water, cover them closely up, and set the pan on a warm stove for two hours; then turn the leaves into a coarse canvas, and let two persons twist it round until all the liquor is squeezed out; set it on a clear fire in a small pan, and let it boil one minute. When cold, bottle and cork it tight.

Note. -- The vegetable colouring bought at shops which manufacture it specially for confectioners is the safest, cheapest, and best.

234. -- Orange Colouring.

Take one tablespoonful of cochineal colour and the same quantity of the saffron liquor; mix them together and you will have an orange colour. If it be too red, add a little more yellow; if it be too yellow, add a little more red.

235. -- Red Colouring.

Beat 1 oz. of cochineal fine in a mortar, to which put 1 1/2 pint of soft water and 1/2 oz. of cream of tartar; simmer them in a pan for half an hour over a slow fire. Take it off, and throw in 1/2 oz. of roach alum to strike the colour. You may ascertain the strength by dipping in a piece of writing paper. If not sufficiently strong, simmer it again for a short time. When nearly cold, strain it through a strong piece of canvas, and before you bottle it add 2 ozs. of double refined sugar

236. -- Yellow Colouring.

Put the best saffron down tightly in a small jar, pour a little boiling water over it, cover it closely up, and set it in a warm place for half an hour, turning it two or three times in the water; then strain and bottle it for use.

XII. LOZENGES.

Lozenges are made of loaf sugar finely ground, gum arabic dissolved in water, also gum dragon. They are mixed together into a paste, cut round or oval with cutters, and dried. To make the best sort of lozenges, 1 lb. of gum arabic should be dissolved in 1 pint of water; but the proportion of gum and water in general use is 2 1/2 lbs. of gum arabic in 1 quart and 1/2 pint of water, and 1 oz. of gum dragon in 1/2 pint of water.

237. -- Peppermint Lozenges.

Take some finely powdered loaf sugar, put it on a marble slab, make a bay in the centre, pour in some dissolved gum, and mix into a paste, flavour with the essence of peppermint, roll the paste on the marble slab until it is about an eighth of an inch thick. Use starch-powder to dust it with; this keeps it from sticking. Dust the surface with a little starch-powder and sugar, and rub it over with the palm of your hand. Cut out the lozenges and place them on wooden trays, and place them in the stove to dry. All lozenges are finished in the same way.

238. -- Rose Lozenges.

Make the paste the same way as the preceding, and use essence of roses to flavour with; colour the paste with cochineal.

239. -- Ginger Lozenges.

1 oz. of powdered ginger, 1 lb. of powdered sugar. Mix to a paste with dissolved gum; colour with yellow.

240. -- Transparent Mint Lozenges.

These are made with the coarser grains of powdered loaf sugar. Pass the sugar through a hair sieve, then sift it through a fine sieve to take away the powder. Flavour with peppermint. Finish as the others.

241. -- Cinnamon Lozenges.

Mix as the others; flavour with cinnamon in powder, adding a few drops of essential oil. Colour with coffee colour.

242. -- Clove Lozenges.

1 oz. of cloves powdered and 2 1/2 lbs. of sugar. Mix, and finish as for the others.

243. -- Nutmeg Lozenges.

1/4 oz. of oil of nutmeg, 2 lbs. of sugar. Mix as instructions for the others.

244. -- Lavender Lozenges.

Mix as for others; flavour with English oil of lavender, and colour with a little cochineal and blue mixed.

245. -- Vanilla Lozenges.

Use essence of vanilla or the stick pounded with sugar and sifted through a fine hair sieve.

246. -- Brilliants.

Take either of the pastes for lozenges and cut into small fancy devices or ornaments.

XIII. ICE CREAMS.

The genuine recipe for making ice creams will be found below. The first operation is the thorough scalding of the cream, sugar, and eggs: this gives it greater body and richness.

247. -- Vanilla Ice Cream.

Put into a perfectly bright and clean copper basin 2 lbs. of sugar, 4 eggs, 1 large fine bean of vanilla split and cut into small pieces, stir all well together with a large wire whisk, then add 4 quarts of rich cream, place it upon the fire and stir well and constantly until it is about to boil; then immediately remove it from the fire and strain it through a hair sieve into an earthen tureen or crock; let it stand till cool, pour it into your freezing.can already imbedded in broken ice and rocksalt, cover and turn the crank slowly and steadily until it can be turned no longer, open the can and remove the dasher, scrape the hardened cream from the sides with a long-handled spatula, and beat and work the cream until smooth. Close the can, draw off the water, and repack with fresh ice and salt and let it rest for an hour or two to harden and ripen.

Ice cream is often made from fresh unscalded cream beaten vigorously during the entire freezing process, this causes it to swell and increase in bulk from a fourth to a third, but what is gained in quantity is lost in quality, as it becomes very light and snowy in texture, having no body: it is simply a frozen froth.

Ice cream should be firm, smooth, and satiny, yet melting on the tongue like the best quality of gilt-edged butter.

In flavouring ice creams with fruit juices or the pulp thereof, the latter must never be cooked or scalded with the cream under any circumstances; they must be added, mixed, and beaten into the cream after it is frozen.

The process given above for vanilla ice cream is the same for all cream ices.

248. -- Bisque or Biscuit Glace.

Make a rich and highly flavoured vanilla ice cream and add for each quart 1/4 of a lb. of almond macaroons dried crisp and reduced to a powder in a stone mortar. After the cream is frozen, add and work into it the macaroon powder, and finish as above directed for vanilla ice cream.

249. -- Crushed Strawberry Ice Cream.

As for bisque, make a rich vanilla ice cream, and when it is well frozen add to it 1 pint of strawberries to each quart of cream. The berries must be full ripe and be crushed to a pulp with some fine sugar before adding and working them into the cream. Finish as for vanilla.

250. -- Hokey Pokey.

This article is not an ice cream proper, but a species of frozen custard made of milk, eggs, sugar, gelatine, and flavouring. Take 2 ozs. of gelatine, dissolve in 1/2 pint of milk or water, then to 4 quarts of milk and 8 eggs slightly beaten add 1 1/2 lb. of sugar and the thin yellow rind of 2 lemons, and a pinch of salt; put the ingredients into a clean, bright basin, place on a moderate fire, and stir constantly till it begins to thicken, then remove quickly, and pour it into an earthen pan and continue to stir it till nearly cold, then add and stir in the dissolved gelatine; pour all into your freezer and freeze as for other ices. When frozen it may be put in small boxes about three inches long by two inches wide, or it may be wrapped in wax paper and kept ready for sale in an ice cave. The office of the gelatine is to solidify the compound and assist its "keeping" qualifies.

251. -- Coconut Ice.

Take grated white meat of 3 fine cocoanuts and the milk they have contained, to which add 3 quarts of filtered water; place on the fire and boil for ten minutes, then pour it into an earthen or stoneware crock, cover, and let it infuse till nearly cold, then strain and press off the liquid with a fine sieve; to this liquid add 1 1/4 lb. of pulverised sugar and the whites of 3 eggs; mix all thoroughly well together and pour it into the freezer already imbedded in ice and salt. Freeze and finish as other ices.

XIV. PRESERVING FRUITS.

The preserving of fruits has always been considered a principal branch of confectionery, and one which requires no small degree of attention and diligence. As you are instructed in the boiling of sugars in its several degrees, named in each recipe, should it be boiled lower the fruit will lose its colour, turn windy, and spoil; if it is boiled higher it will rock and cannot be got out of the jars. Another important point is to preserve such fruit only as is quite fresh picked, the flavour, which is a very essential consideration, being lost if the fruit be stale. Cleanliness in this branch, as in every other, must not be neglected. Preserving pans, &c., must resemble a looking-glass as much as possible. Fruits well preserved will keep in almost any place. It is better, however, to keep them neither in too dry nor in too damp a place. The jars must be well protected from air by covering each with writing-paper dipped in brandy, covered and tied over with wet bladder.

Note. -- A wood skimmer must be made of ash or elm about 4 inches long, 3 inches broad, and 1 inch thick. There is a handle fixed on one side, which take hold of and lay the wood gently on the fruit where the scum is, then take it off and scrape off the scum, and so on until all is taken off.

252. -- Large Strawberries.

Procure the largest Carolina or Hanoverian strawberries, pack two layers with care in a flat-bottomed preserving pan, then pour over them 1 pint of currant juice, cover them with smooth clarified sugar, and over it a sheet of paper, set them on a warm part of the stove until the syrup is new-milk warm, then take them off; next morning take them out one at a time with an egg-spoon and lay them on a fine splinter sieve set over a pan to drain; add to the syrup a little clarified sugar and boil it to the degree called "pearled," put in the fruit with care and simmer them round; as soon as the syrup is off the degree called pearled, take them from the stove, skim, and put them with great care into a flat pudding pot, cover them up for two days, then lay them on a splinter sieve to drain, and add to the syrup 1 or 2 pints of clarified sugar as occasion may require, with the proportion of red currant juice, boil it to the degree called pearled, and put in your fruit with great care and simmer them very gently round the sides of the pan; as soon as the syrup is off the degree called pearled skim them and put them into jars, filling them within half an inch of the top. When cold cover them with writing-paper dipped in brandy and bladder them over.

253. -- Strawberry Jam.

Take any quantity of scarlet strawberries, pass them through a fine splinter sieve, add to them 1 or 2 pints of red currant juice, according to the quantity of strawberries, put the same weight of sifted loaf sugar as fruit, boil them over a bright fire, keep stirring all the time with a spatter, and with it make a figure of eight in the pan to prevent the jam taking hold of the bottom; when it has boiled ten minutes take it off and take a little jam out with a scraper, which drop upon a plate; if it retains the mark of the scraper it is of a proper consistency and ready to put into jars, but should it run thin on the plate it must be boiled again until of the substance above named. It is necessary here to observe that all sorts of red fruit should be kept as short a time as possible on the fire, and for that reason let your fires be perfectly bright before you use them.

254. -- Raspberry Jelly.

Take 4 quarts of clear raspberry juice, add to it 8 pounds of sifted lump sugar, set it on a clear fire in your preserving pan, stir it with the spatter to keep it from burning; let it rise, then take it from the fire, skim it, set it on the fire again, and let it rise three or four times, skimming it each time. If, on taking out the skimmer, small flakes hang from it, it is of a proper consistency and may be put into jars. When cold cover it with writing-paper dipped in brandy, and bladder them over.

255. -- Black Currant Jelly.

Pick black currants from the stalks as well and in as short a 'time as you can, then put them into strong earthen jars or stew pots, cover them well over and set them in a slow oven for one night; next morning put them into the jelly-bag, and as soon as drained, which will be in three or four hours, measure the juice. To each pint of juice take 1 lb. 4 ozs. of sifted loaf sugar, boil and skim it as before. You may if you think proper clarify the sugar, but this is a much easier way.

256. -- -Red Currant dam.

Pick red currants until you have 7 lbs., then force the whole of them through a splinter sieve, to which add 7 lbs. of sifted lump sugar; boil this very well over a brisk fire for twenty minutes, stirring it all the time with the spatter. This is very useful for tartlets, cheaper than rasps, and a much better colour. Put it into jars, cover them with paper dipped in brandy and bladder them over.

257. -- Apple Jelly.

Take codlin apples, cut them very thin across, fill your preserving pan nearly full, cover them with soft water and then with a sheet of paper, set them on a slow fire, let them simmer slowly for a considerable time to extract the jelly from the apple. They must not on any account be stirred about in the pan. When the virtue appears to be quite extracted from them pour them into a jelly-bag. Cut more apples as before, about half the quantity, put them into the pan, and pour over them the extract from the first apples, simmer them very slowly as before. When the essence is all extracted put them into a jelly-bag. This jelly is used in the putting up of all preserved fruits.

258. -- Gooseberry Jam.

Take 7 lbs. of clean, picked, dry gooseberries, put them into your preserving pan with 1 pint of water and 7 lbs. of sifted loaf sugar. Boil over a clear fire from twenty minutes to half an hour; when they are boiled to the consistency required take them off, put them into jars and secure them from the air as the others.

259. -- Orange Marmalade.

Take 12 Seville and 12 China oranges, pare the outer skin off as thin as you can, lay it in soft water and freshen it every two hours to take out the bitterness, then pull off the white skin from the pared oranges and throw it away; cut them across, squeeze the juice from them, and set them on the fire in the preserving pan with plenty of soft water, boil them until so soft as to pulp through a hair sieve. Then boil the outer skin equally soft. If it will not go through, beat it well in a mortar and then put it through; add to it the other pulp and the juice. Weigh it, and to each pound allow 1 lb. 2 ozs. of sifted loaf sugar. Boil this well together, stirring it all the time, until it will retain the mark of the scraper, when it will be ready to put into jars, which must be secured from air as before.

XV. CHOCOLATE.

260. -- General Directions for Making Chocolate.

Provide yourself with an iron pestle and mortar, also a stone slab of a very fine grain about two feet square, and a rolling-pin of hard stone or iron. The stone must have an opening beneath in which to place a pot of burning charcoal to heat it. Warm the mortar and pestle by placing them on a stove, or charcoal may be used, until they are so hot that you can scarcely bear your hand against them. Wipe the mortar out clean, and put any convenient quantity of prepared nuts in it, which pound until they are reduced to an oily paste into which the pestle will sink with its own weight. Add fine powdered sugar to the chocolate paste. After it has been well pounded, the sugar must be in proportion of 3 lbs. to 4 lbs. of prepared cocoa. Continue to pound it until completely mixed; then put it in a pan and place it in the stove to keep warm. Take a portion of it and roll or grind it well on the stone slab with the roller, both being previously heated like the mortar until it is reduced to a smooth impalpable paste, which will melt in the mouth like butter when this is accomplished. Put it in another pan and keep it warm until the whole is similarly disposed of; then place it again on the stove, which must not be quite so warm as previously. Work it over again, and divide it into pieces of two, four, eight, or sixteen ounces each, which you put in tin mould. Give it a shake, and the chocolate will become flat. When cold, it will easily turn out.

261. -- Chocolate Harlequin Pistachios.

In making harlequin pistachios, you warm some of the sweet chocolate by pounding it in a hot mortar. After it has been prepared in this manner, take some of it and wrap it round a blanched pistachio nut; roll it in the hand to give it the form of an olive, and throw it into nonpareils of mixed colours, so that it may be variously coloured, a la harlequin. Proceed with the remaining pistachio nuts after the same fashion, dropping them into the nonpareils so that the comfits will adhere to the pistachios. Fold them in coloured or fancy papers, with mottoes. The ends are generally fringed.

262. -- Chocolate Drops with Nonpareils.

Prepare some warm chocolate as in the preceding recipe. When the chocolate has been well pounded and is a smooth impalpable paste, make it into balls the size of a small marble by rolling in the hand. Place them on square sheets of paper about one inch apart; having filled the sheet, take it by the corners and lift it up and down, letting it touch the table each time: this will flatten them. Completely cover their surfaces with white nonpareils, gently shaking off the surplus ones. After the drops are cold, they can be very easily removed from the paper. The drops should be about the size of a sixpence.

263. -- Chocolate in Moulds.

It is usual now amongst confectioners to use the English unsweetened chocolate, as it saves much time and trouble, and is equally good. To form it into shapes you must have two kinds of moulds, made either of thick tin or copper tinned inside; the one sort is impressed with a device or figure, and with a narrow edge; the other is flat or nearly so, and the same size as the previous mould, with a shallow device in the centre. You put a piece of prepared chocolate into the first mould, and then cover it with the flat one; upon pressing it down the chocolate receives the form of both devices. After it is cold it can be easily taken out. It should have a shining appearance.