# The Complete Confectioner (1800)/Fruit Ices, Cream Ices

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Take fair currants in bunches, and have ready the white of an egg, well beaten to froth, dip them in,lay them abroad, sift double refined sugar pretty thick over them, and let them dry in a stove or oven.
Take a high degree of clarified sugar in a pan, then take three lemons or oranges, pare very neat the outer rind without any of the white which is under it, and drop it in the sugar, where it must remain about one hour to let it take well the taste of it: when that is done, take the same three oranges or lemons, which you have pared, cut them through the middle, and squeeze their juice in your sugar; then pass the whole through a sieve into another pan, and put this composition ​mixture from this last pan into the icing pot, which is called sabotiere. You may add, if you please, the juice of three or four lemons to your orange ice; it will fatten the sugar, and make your ice more mellow.
When your composition is put in the sabotiere, take some natural ice and put it in a mortar, when it is reduced to a powder, strew over it two or three handfuls of salt; then take your pails, put some pounded ice in the bottom, and place your sabotiere in those pails, which you fill up after with ice to bury the sabotiere in. You must take care in the beginning to open your sabotiere in order not to let the sides freeze first, and on the contrary detach, with a pewter spoon, all the flakes which stick to the sides, in order to make it congeal equally all over in the pot; then work them well, for they are much more mellow by being well worked; and their delicacy depends entirely upon it. Do not wait till they are thoroughly iced to begin to work them, because they would become too hard, and it is not possible to dissolve what is congealed in lumps or pieces: when you see they are well congealed let them rest, taking care for this time there should be some which stick to the sides of the icing-pots: this will prevent them from melting, and make them keep longer in a right degree of icing.
If your composition does not congeal so quickly as you wish, through the melting of ​your pounded ice, you may change that ice in the same manner as you put it before; for as there is always a hole at the bottom of those pails, you may let the water of your melted ice run off, by taking out the stopper without disturbing the sabotiere; then fill your pails up again as you did before, continuing rolling your sabotiere till you see the composition is congealed to the point you wish.
When your composition is perfectly congealed, take a spoon and the moulds you want to make use of; fill these well with your ices as expeditious as you can; you must have besides ready by you a pail with pounded natural ice, and a great deal of salt; there put your moulds in proportion as you fill them, and cover them directly with pounded ice and salt, continuing so doing to every mould you fill up till you have fill them all; when that is done, cover them quite and set them a full hour in that ice; when you want to take off what is in your moulds, take a pan of water, and first wash well those moulds one after another to rub off all the salt which sticks round them, then open your moulds and put their contents in a dish and send them up. You may give to every one of your ices the very colour of the fruit they represent, thus: have your colour ready by you, and with a very fine pencil point them quickly, in which case they must likewise be served directly, or at least you must put them in the cave; your cave must have been set in a pail and prepared half an hour ​before you take your fruits from their moulds; in that cave you are then to set them after they are coloured, till the time comes of serving them; your fruit is certainly much finer and takes more the downy look of the natural one.
Take very ripe apricots, cut them very small in a sieve, which place over a pan, squeeze them well with a spoon through that sieve, and after it is done, add some clarified sugar to it; take afterwards about twenty almonds from the stones of those apricots, pound them very fine in a mortar, moistening them with a little clear water; when they are well pounded mix them with your apricots; if you see your mixture is too thick, squeeze in the juice of three or four lemons and a little water, till you see it is neither too clear nor too thick, then put it in the sabotiere, and proceed as before directed.
Take very ripe peaches, skin them neatly, cut them in small bits, and continue the same as directed for the apricots.
Take currants picked from their stalks and squeeze them through a sieve, then take clarified sugar, boil it to a very high degree, add it to your currant juice, squeeze four lemons besides in it if you chuse, it will render them but the more mellow, strain them through a sieve a second time, and put them in the sabotiere to make them ​congeal, as directed for the lemons, and proceed as with them.
Take raspberries, which squeeze through a sieve, and proceed as before directed for the currant ices. Strawberries may be iced in the same manner.
Take pears, cut them in halves in a pan of water, which set on the fire and boil as it were for stewing or compotes: when you see they are well done, take out the cores and the skin off, cut them very small in a pan, add some of the first degree of clarified sugar to them and a little water, give the whole together another boiling, till it is well reduced into a pulp; then take them off from the fire and put them in a sieve, through which squeeze them well; when that is done, if your pulp is too thick add the juice of four lemons, some water, and a little more sugar, if they should not be sweet enough; then pass them a second time through the sieve, and put them in the sabotiere to make them congeal.
Take a piece of loaf sugar, and have a fresh and sound cedra, which rasp or grate over a paper on that piece of sugar, scraping with a knife what sticks upon the sugar, scraping with a knife what sticks upon the sugar of the skin of the cedra; when you have thus taken off all the superficy or outer rind of your cedra, by rasping or grating it on the sugar, take a little clarified sugar, take a little clarified sugar boiled very fine, which add to the raspings or ​gratings of the cedra, with what quantity of juice of lemons you think requisite for the quantity of ices you are willing to make, and a little water; pass the whole through a sieve and put it in the sabotiere to congeal as directed before.
Note.—You may likewise make cedra ices with preserved cedra, which, in that case, you are to pound in a mortar, and boil it in a very light sugar, then proceed afterwards just as directed for the other cedra.
Take one ounce of elder flower, which put in a sabotiere, pour upon it about half a pint of boiling water, cover your sabotiere with its lid, thus let it draw about half an hour, make then a composition precisely as it were to make a plain lemon ice; to that composition add your infusion of elder flower, pass the whole through a sieve, and put it in the sabotiere to congeal as has been explained.
Note.—You may make this sort of ice with white currants when it is the season, proceeding as it were to make a plain currant ice, and adding to it afterwards your infusion of elder flower, &c.
Take any quantity of ananas, take the superficy off their skin, cut them small, and pound them in a mortar; when they are well pounded squeeze them in a cloth to get all the juice, pound them several times, because, in pounding them, you draw nothing more than their juice, ​and you cannot make them soft and liquid enough to make them all pass through the cloth, which obliges you to put them several times to the mortar; when that is done, squeeze in it the juice of four lemons, or more if you chuse, put your clarified sugar to it, boiled very little: if your composition is too thick, you may add a little water to it, then pass the whole through a sieve to make them congeal, as directed before.
Take barberries, which put in a pan without water, set it over a very gentle fire, stirring them continually; when they are warm take them off and pass them through a sieve in a pan, add clarified sugar to that liquor, and if it proves too thick, you may put some water to it, but not lemon juice by any means, for the barberries are acid enough of themselves, without increasing that acid with the addition of the lemon; therefore put your composition as above in your sabotiere to congeal according to the former directions.
Take ripe grapes picked from their stalks, pass them through a sieve, mix your sugar with the juice of four lemons squeeze in it: pass the whole together a second time through a sieve, and put it afterwards in the sabotiere to congeal.
Pound a handful of violets, and pour about a pint of hot water upon them; let them infuse ​about an hour; put half a pound of sugar; when it is properly dissolved, sift them through a napkin. The jessamine is done after the same manner; to make the liquid taste more of the different flowers, pour it several times from one pan into another before sifting; the same with the orange flowers; those different infusions are also mixed with cream instead of water.
There are none of the ices which we have directed how to make with fresh gathered fruit, but may be made also with that same sort of fruit after it has been preserved; in which case you are to proceed thus: take your preserve, of whatever sort it is, put it in a bason, mash it well and dissolve it as much as possible with a spoon, take some lemon juice and a little water to bring it to a pulp; pass it through a sieve: should they not be sweet enough, add as much clarified sugar as is required, and when you have passed them through your sieve, put them in your sabotiere, and make them congeal by working as for the other.
Take any quantity of cream in a pan, put in another four yolks of eggs for every pint of cream you are to employ; pound your pistachio nuts very fine in a mortar, and put them in the pan where you dropped your yolks of eggs; mix the whole together, add some pounded loaf sugar to it, keep stirring it continually, then add your cream by little and little, stirring and turning it till the whole is mixed properly ​together; then set your pan over the fire, and keep stirring it with a wooden spoon till you see your composition is near boiling, when take it off immediately; for from the moment you set your composition over the fire till that it offers to boil, it has a sufficient time to incorporate well and thicken sufficiently, without need of boiling; and should you let it boil, you would risk the turning your cream into whey, on account of the yolks of eggs, which would do too much. Take great care likewise your cream is fresh and sweet, for, otherwise, as soon as it is warm it will turn into curds and whey; therefore take care to stir it continually, from the time you set it on the fire till you take it off; after which pour it into a sieve and pass it into a pan, then put it in the sabotiere to make it congeal after the usual manner.
Take any quantity of chocolate, melt it over the fire in a small pan; when melted, pour it into that where you are to make your cream; break your yolks of eggs into it, and proceed as directed for the pistachio nuts.
Take about a pint of coffee made with water, and rather strong, when settled draw it clear, and add half a pound of sugar; set it on the fire and let it boil till your sugar is at a very high degree; take it off from the fire and let it cool, after which make your cream, as before directed, with the yolks of eggs, and put your coffee in, then proceed as usual.
Take any quantity of ananas, do as directed for the ices of ananas; when it is so far ready, only add your cream to it, pass the whole through a sieve, and put it in the sabotiere to congeal as usual.
Prepare your cream as before explained, then take a quarter of a pound of coffee in grain, which roast as it were to make coffee with water; when roasted, put it in a fine cloth, which tie as a bag, and throw it quite hot in your cream; then set it on the fire, keeping stirring till it is near boiling; take it off, pass it in a sieve, &c. and proceed as before.
Take any quantity of strawberries, squeeze them through a sieve; then mix your cream and sugar, boil it, and repass the whole through the sieve again, and proceed as usual.
Take any quantity of apricots, squeeze them through a sieve, join what quantity of cream and sugar you want to make, and proceed as for the strawberries, Raspberries may be iced in the same manner.
Take currants ready picked from their stalks, squeeze them through a sieve, add your cream and sugar, and proceed as directed for the strawberries. Peaches and cherries may also done ​in this way; first paring the peaches, and taking out the stones of the cherries.
The ices which we have just given directions for, must first be made as it were for making them with the fruit alone; when they are so far prepared, join your cream cold to them such as you buy it, for should you put it warm, as generally most of these fruits are acid, you would run the risk of making your cream turn directly into curds and why; therefore, put your cream cold to your fruit; and if you want to have your ices very mellow, you must make use of the double cream, which is thicker. You may also make all those sorts of ices with the preserved fruit of each kind, as observed in the directions for the ices made with preserved fruits, by putting your preserves in a bason, an mashing them well with a spoon, with the juice of four lemons, and the cream instead of water; for it is usual always to add some water to your fruit besides the lemon juice, in order to render them more fluid; now instead of that little water put your cream to any quantity you please without bounds.
Take any quantity of cream, prepare it as before, boiling it alone with yolks of eggs and the sugar, pass it through a sieve and put it in the sabotiere; when your cream begins to congeal, have crumbs of brown bread, which must be grated and sifted as fine powder, put it in the sabotiere, and continue to work your cream for congealing. You may also make this sort of ​cream with plain cream alone, without yolks of eggs, or boiling, adding only a proper quantity of powdered loaf sugar, and set it to congeal, and when it begins to ice, then put your sifted crumbs of brown bread; but take care to have it very finely sifted, for it renders it infinitely more agreeable to the mouth. For icing you may refer to the receipt for icing all sorts of liquid compositions.
Take any quantity of cream, join to it yolks of eggs in proper proportion, as observed for the pistachio nuts, put a little half pounded coriander, cinnamon, orange or lemon peel; add some pounded loaf sugar, and set it on the fire as before, till it is nearly upon boiling; then pass it through the sieve and set it to ice.
Make tea very strong in a tea-pot, have your cream ready mixt with the proper quantity of sugar and yolks of eggs, pass your cream through a sieve, pass likewise your tea over it, mix the whole well with a spoon, after which put it in the sabotiere, and make it congeal according to the usual method.