Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-13
Table and Kitchen.
Christmas Goodies That May Be Made
at Home

at Home.
Our liking for sweets is an inherited one
and of such long standing it may really
be considered a natural taste with present
generations. The origin of the sugar plum
dates back to Roman times, for it was a
certain noted confectioner, Julius Dragatus,
belonging to the noble and illustrious fam
lily Of Fabius, who first thought of cover
ing almonds with layers of sugar. There is
a custom still observed in Europe by some
of the nobility of distributing these sweet
meats dragatD on occasions Of great re-
joicing, such as births and marriages.
This Is probably the first candy of which
we have any authentic knowledge. The
French, quick to accept anything light,
dainty and contributing to the lighter vein
of pleasures, soon invented delicious con-
fections of their own, although it was an
Italian confectioner, a protege of the
Medicis, who first conceived them. The
bonbons of the Florentine. John Pastilla,
became all the vogue. These ''pastiles"
have changed very little, If any, since that
time, as there was little Improvement pos
sible. They were even then made of all
kinds of favorings, such as rose, violet,
heliotrope, carnation, coffee and chocolate
The French "parlines,'' or burnt almonds
are purely of French origin. From these
three inventions of bonbons we have de-
rived all the many variations, as all combi-
nations have developed from the Roman
sugar plum, the Italians pastile and the
parline-the French burnt almond.
Even the city dweler, who at all times
may obtain. the very newest fancies in con-
fections, delights in an occasional treat OF
sweetmeats, like homemade Christmas
plum pudding, seem to taste better and are
more. appropriate for family gathering
than the store product. There are few can
Il; ~ h of hon,
should be eaten very fresh. For this rea-
son those VINO cannot conveniently get
their supplies from the large cities, where
they are made fresh every day, often find
they can buy in the smaller towns.
If one does not attempt to go too elabo-
rately into the work very great variety
Of delicious candies can be made at home
with very. little trouble
The choicest Of the home made candies
are those made from boiled sugar. The art
In this direction lies in the attention given
to the changes which take place in sugar
at the different stages or degrees of heat
during the boiling process. One must I'M
derstand the method of determining the
various conditions which are expressed by
the terms ito boil to a crack ito pearl,
or ball" ito thread" ito the blow &c.
One of the most necessary and conven-
lent implements for making home made cam
dies is a marble slab-the confectioners use
marble pouring plates" supplied with
set of differentiated frames; but these
frames can be dispensed with if you do not
wish to go to the expense of having them
made for your occasional anna teur work.
While you can use ordinary porcelain-lined
or agate saucepans for boiling the sugar, 1t
is well to have a ring into which you can
set the bottom of the saucepan, thus keep
ing it steady. as the boiling sugar must
not be disturbed after it is dissolved and
the boiling begins.
Skilled sugar boilers generally use a ther-
pIrnr,
heit to $50 degrees Fahrenheit. And it is
rather difficult for a beginner to judge of
the degree the sugar has attained during
the process without the aid of this instru-
ment.
One test which will be very satisfac-
tory when once you have reached de-
gree of accuracy from experiment Is as
follows: Wet the stem of a clay pipe and
dip it into the sugar when it is boiling
and draw it between the finger and thumb.
If the sugar feels oily it has reached the
smooth degree (215 to. 220 degrees).
When it will form small threads between
the finger and thumb as they are opened
out it has reached the thread degree
(230 to 235 degrees). The next is the
feather degree Gao to 245 degrees). This
quickly follows the others that no test
is necessary after the thread degree is
reached; but If you want to be quite sure,
toss little of the sugar In the air and it will
show a feathery appearance. TO discover
whether the bali degree C2J0 to go de-
grees) has been reached or not dip the
pipe stem into the boiling sugar and then
plunge it into cold water for a minute;
take it out and try; the sugar should work
into a soft ball.
The degree next in Importance in maxi
ing homemade candies is the crack (310
to 80 degrees Test with the pipe stem
same as for the ball" When the stem
is drawn out the sugar should harden i'm
mediately and snap off when bitten by the
teeth. Immediately following this degree
is the caramel" and at this stage the
sugar is on the point of burning.
Many recipes for boiled sugar candies
call for the addition of cream of tartar
or citric acid. Do not use the latter, as
the cream of tartar is the safest and most
reliable.
This is used to cut the grain of sugar,
a term used by confoctioners in reference
to all refined sugars, lump or crystal,
which are boiled to a degree above the
ball., or $50 degrees by the thermome-
ter. When cream of tartar Is added it's
action viii cause the sugar to become
pliable while hot and transparent when
1t becomes cold. Otherwise it would be-
come a solid lump Of hard, candied sugar;
therefore. it is necessary to "cut this
grain with cream of tartar for all sugars
intended for drops, rocks, clear taffies, &c.
Fondant
The French cream or fondant, once made
will give you a great variety of delicious
sWeetmeats. Fondant should be prepared
at least twentyfour hours before you wish
to use 1t, and will keep for weeks in cool,
dry place, covered with damp cloth. No
matter how largo c,,apt;t,- daS;ro5 IL