TO COLOR AND FLAVOR CANDY Colorings f or Candy. — Coloring matter for candies can be purchased in small jars for a few cents each. These are so intense tbat a drop will tint a pound of candy. Hence they will last a long time. Red, yellow, orange, light green, violet, mara schino, constitute a good aisortment. Some knowledge of color is necessary to a tasteful effect. White cream may, of course, be coated with any other color, but colored cream should be coated only with tints or shades of the same color. Otherwise the center will show through and pro duce an unsatisfactory effect. The center should usually be of a lighter tint than the coating. A good rule when coating bonbons is, after hav ing formed the centers, to set the fondant away for twenty-four hours. Then melt it with a little added coloring matter to give a deeper shade and coat the centers in this. Thus maple cream may be coat ed with maple fondant, chocolate cream with chocolate fondant, and the like.
It is customary with confectioners to associate certain coloring with cer tain flavoring. Almond or pistachio cream are usually tinted green. Or ange or lemon flavoring are tinted with those colors. Rose is tinted pink. A good way to obtain sugges tions for producing tasteful and ar tistic effects is to study the display in a good candy shop and imitate what you like best.
To Color Confectionery. — Care must, of course, be ta.ken in coloring confectionery not to use aniline dyes, mineral pigments, lakes, or any other substance of a poisonous nature. The animal and vegetable dyestuffs are usually harmless in small quanti ties, but the following combinations are especially recommended: To Color Red.—Cover 1 ounce of cochineal with pint of boiling wa ter and boil about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 ounce of cream of tartar, ounce of powdered alum, and con tinue boiling about 10 minutes. Test by letting a few drops fall on a piece of clean white paper. If the color is not sufficiently clear and bright, boil a little longer. When
done, stir (minces of granulated sugar and put up in a stoppered glass bottle for use.
To Color Blue.—Dissolve a little indigo stone in warm water and test with a few drops on a piece of white paper. Continue to add more indigo until the color is bright and clear.
To Color Yellow.—Dissolve a little gamboge in warm water, or the heart of a yellow lily with warm water, un til the ,bright tint is produced.
Or steep ounce of saffron in soft water for 24 hours or more until the proper tint is obtained.
Or for small quantities, a good pinch of saffron in a spoonful of wa ter may be boiled until the water is nearly evaporated. Squeeze out the juice through cheese cloth. This col or is an orange yellow, and a few drops will go a long way.
To Color Green.—Cover fresh spin ach leaves with boiling water and let stand two or three minutes, or until the color is as strong as desired. Cork tightly to exclude the air.
Or steep ounce of saffron in soft water for 24 hours and steep sepa rately ounce of indigo carmine for the same length of time. Mix the two for use. This mixture can be preserved for a considerable time by adding clarified sirup and pre serving in a closely stoppered 'glass vessel.
Or for a larger quantity, wash a peck of fresh green spinach very carefully in several waters to remove all grit, and while dripping wet Pound it with a suitable mallet or any piece of hard wood, to a soft pulp. Place this pulp in several thicknesses of cheese cloth and wring out the juice, which may be done by twisting the ends of the cloth by means of short sticks or rods. Place the juice over a gentle fire until it be gins to curdle or thicken. Strain off the water through a piece of cheese cloth, leaving the thick part of the spinach juice on the cloth. This is the vegetable green or spinach green for confectioners. Care must be taken in drying substances colored with this material, as if the heat is too strong it is likely to take on a yellowish cast.