The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1908-02-08

snow white biscuits or crackers. To
produce them, they just use the rice
four-whitest OF all flOurs. The pure
white goods are always made very
sweet and solid-sometimes quite hard
in fact, The SWeetening agent is just
the sorghum syrup peculiar to China
For it is only the Chinese who seem
to affect this snow white cereal con-
fectionery. Our own American whitest
crackers would look dingy white in
comparison. first came across these
during travels in the Orient in 1896,
but never cared much for their peCu-
liar riCey intensely sweet taste--almost
reminding one more OF candy than Of
confectionery.
Why the Chinese should rival each
other in the production Of these snow
white biscuits | never learned, but be-
lieve it is only a fad. Possibly one
reason is this: The Chinese are much
given to bestowlng presentation boxes
OF these snow white crackers. The
boxes are snugIy lined inside with the
crude woven but eXquisitely beauti-
fui iight-as-air silk known as woven
snOW'-a fabric inimitable outside of
the Orient. 1t is so called because the
weave resembles the irregular effects
OF wind driven snow as We sometimes
see it on snow swept fields, q purely
tanCiful name-fOr as if there could
be thing as woven snow!"-yet suf-
1iciently expressive.
Now, these silk-"woven snow
lined confectionery boxes must have
q snow white confectionery to match,
IS ordinary crackers would look dingy
or 'untidy'' therein. Such the explain
alton vouChsafed by the captain Of one
of the China steamers as we were one
day passing through the charming in
land Sea Of Japan.
A couple of specimens of this unique
Chinese confectionery silk "coddling" l
brought home with me. Its remark
able feature is that it will-being made
of raw ungummed silk-last more than
q decade, stand a hundred washings
and yet never shrink-not even lit
tie; while it ever retains its Chaste
wind-driven-snoW effect which has
earned for it the singular name of
woven snow"
A peculiar contrast from this land
of oddities is the biscuit of China
which is a jet black cracker. 1t is
made of carbonized cracker dust, de-
prived of all taste of burning" which
would be extremely disagreeable, and
slightly sweetened. In the dark, you
could not tell the difference between it
and an ordinary medium sweet crack
er. 1t is much esteemed by the Chin
csc for their-what corresponds to our
afternoon tea; in fact, a supply-suf-
,fcient for the following day-is often
dropped into the tea caddy the day
previous, to use when it absorbs con-
q siderable of the fragrant odor of the
tea with which it is destined to be
z served. This peculiar absorption prop
erty is due to the aforementioned car
BOMBED cracker dust used as the basis
of manufacture The odor also i'm
parts a tea-like taste to the biscuit.
The Chinaman Is wonderfully
strong" on confectionery, but lacks
the art Of adornment Of the Italian,
or the powdered glass veneerings Of
the Partisan. The Oriental prefers his
choice tropical fruits in the juice; the
Italians go in for initiating them in
sugar and mystery.
Probably the uniquest thing in the
Italian patiseria trade-apart from
their really clever and able fruit imi-
tations-is their skin-chocolate known
as sanguinacio. For all the world this
looks like a glossy new black sausage
or black pudding, but is much softer
1t is used, especially during the cool
months, in the better class Of coll
fectioners stores throughout Italy for
quickly making cups of chocolate for
customers, for consumption on the
spot. A little is squeezed out at time,
sufficient for a cup, ON the same prin-
eiple as the lead-container artists col
ors; the hot water is added, and pres
to! your cup Of chocolate is ready with
out even need of sweetening.
For-to keep it always in paste form
as the cocoa beans are being grounds,
their natural butter fat intact, between
heated rollers, the inspisated juice OF
the sugar cane is added, insuring
perfect mixing. This is the sweetening
agent, though many people still like to
add sugar in the cup. Sometimes, but
not always, q little of the dark high
grade southern Italian wines, extra
strong in alcohol, is added to the mix
ing in the cocoa mill as a slight pre-
sentative.
This peculiar skin-chocolate is a
feature in preservation worthy of note
by Americans. The ordinary pig cas-
ing is used for the bladder.
In Mexico, outside of the larger cities
10,