SIRIJP CANDIES Sirup candies may be made of any desired flavor by boiling a sirup the same as for molasses candy. Clarify it by adding a little carefully picked gum arabic dissolved in hot water. The impurities which are taken up by the gum rise to the surface and can be removed with the skimmer. Continue to boil and skim until the sirup becomes perfectly clear and is hard and brittle when dropped into cold water. This will require half an hour or more steady boiling over a slow fire. Remove from the fire and as soon as the boiling subsides stir in vanilla, wintergreen, hoarhound, peppermint, rose, or any other fla voring matter as desired. Pour out in buttered tins to cool, and when nearly cold mark into squares or any desired shape with a sharp knife.
The following recipes are recom mended: To 3 pounds of dark-brown sugar add 1§ pints of water and § ounce of gum arabic dissolved in a little hot water.
Or boil together 1 quart of sirup, 1 pound of granulated sugar, 1 tea spoonful of butter, 1 tablespoonful of glycerin.
Or 2 pounds of granulated sugar, § cupful of water, § cupful of vine gar, butter the size of an egg, 1 ta blespoonful of glycerin. Just be fore taking from the fire stir in 1 level teaspoonful of soda and pour 2 teaspoonfuls of vanilla, wintergreen, or any other flavoring matter over the top. Pull until white and glis tening, and cut to any desired shape with sharp scissors.
Maple Sirup Candy.—Boil down any desired quantity of maple sirup until it will harden and crack if dropped into cold water. When it is done, and just before removing from the fire, stir in a teaspoonful of but ter for each cupful of sirup. This gives a hard candy.
Or it may be made soft and waxy by less boiling.
Or melt down 2 pounds of maple sugar in rather less than a pint of warm water. Boil until it hard ens in cold water, and stir in 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of pure cider vine gar. In both cases pour in but tered pans to the depth of about inch to cool.
Twist Candy.—Boil without skim ming over a slow fire 1§ pounds of granulated sugar and § pint of water, for half an hour. Remove
from the fire and as soon as the hands will bear it pull it the same as molasses candy until it is white and glossy. Work it into fancy shapes and cut it to any desired size with a sharp scissors.
Sugar Candy.—Boil together with out stirring 2 cupfuls of white coffee sugar, § cupful of good cider vine gar, and § cupful of water, until it hardens in cold water. Pour over it any desired flavoring matter, cool on a smooth buttered surface and pull until it is white and glossy, but with out twisting. Do not use butter on the hands, but have them clean and dry.
To make nut candy, place the nuts or popcorn in the dish, and pour this fondant over them.
Rock Candy.—A special kettle is required to make fine rock candy. This kettle should be broad and shal low, the width being three or four times the depth. Place in the bottom of the kettle a circular rim of smooth tin about 2 inches high and closely fitting to the inside of the kettle all around. Near the top of this make ten or twelve holes in a circle all around at equal distances from each other, and string across threads from one side to the other on which the candy may crystallize.
Prepare the sirup in a separate vessel, and when it is done pour it into the kettle so that it will reach an inch above the threads. Place the kettle on the stove at a moderate heat and leave it to crystallize, shak ing it from time to time. It will re quire about six days. When the crys tals have formed pour off the remain ing sirup and dash in a little cold water to clean the crystals from the sediment left in the bottom of the kettle. Remove the rim with the rock candy adhering to the threads, and set it in a clean vessel in a hot oven until it is dry and fit for use.
To prepare the sirup clarify re fined granulated sugar, filter and boil until it is ready to crystallize, which will be at 35 degrees on the sirup test.