Evening star., 1927-12-02
Holiday CONNECTIONS
Accuracy Is Much More Important in This
Branch of Household Effort Than in
Any Others-Use of Popcorn.

directions, much more important than
1t is when doing other kinds of cook
ing, The weather also has to be con-
sidered when making candy. Do not
attempt to make candy on a damp
day. as the results will probably be
unsatisfactory. If obliged to disre-
gard this warning, make only little,
act quickly, and remember that damp
weather is the only. excuse for the
substitution of intuition for rule.
Fondant, which forms the basis for
many kinds of candy, is generally
made by mixing one part of water
with four parts of sugar. When 1t
first begins to boil, cover the recepta-
Gle and allow the cover to remain on
until steam is seen ascending all
around the cover, then remove the
cover and boil until the mixture
strings, or until it will form hair
like thread when poured from a spoon.
The steam which is confined by this
method washes down the side of the
saucepan and there is then no neces-
sity for wiping off the sides with
damp cloth to remove the little parti-
cles which would otherwise granu-
late. fall back into the mixture and
spoil its texture. This removes one
of the chief difficulties in the making
of fondant.
When the fondant is cooked, quickly
pour all of it onto a platter large
enough for the mixture to be in depth
not more than an inch. Do not
scrape; pour just once and very
quickly. On account of the sudden
cooling of the fondant, a second pour
ing would cause granular streaks to
run through the fondant, thus de-
stroying the fine texture. Instead of
60 ~.x
4-inch wallpaper knife, a tool which
you can buy for about 10 cents. Cut
ting in" means scraping up the whole
mass, folding it over, then cutting
through with the knife. This motion
should be repeated, from one side of
the pan and then from the other, un-
til the fondant becomes a ball which
can be kneaded by the hand. AS a
rule, fondant should be made at least
three days before being used to make
CONNECTIONS and placed in an air-tight
glass receptacle. Storage for couple
of weeks would be still better. The
mellowing which results from this
storage, together with the care in
following the directions given above,
will make your fondant success.
Uses of Fondant.
Here are some ways in which fon-
0ant may be used
Form the fondant into small balls
with the palms of the hands and
press halves of walnut, pecan or other
nut kernels into them, or roll the
balls into finely chopped nuts or shred
ded coconut, or work these into the
fondant before forming into balls. Ir.
regularly shaped balls Of fondant may
be rolled in cinnamon to make CHINA.
mon potatoes. Gouge out eyes to
make them more realistic. Candied
fruits such as cherries, pineapple,
cranberries, grapefruit peel and citfon
may be used in the center of fondant
balls or pressed into the surface.
With or without added nut meats,
fondant may be used to stuff dates or
prunes.
Fondant may be melted and used
to cover various kinds Of fruits, such |
as white grapes or Strawberries. Firm |
fruits with unbroken skins should be |
used for this purpose, and little of |
the stem should be left on them. They |
should be dipped very quickly into |
the melted fondant. Fondant may /
also be melted, favored with oil of |
peppermint, oil of wintergreen, oil of |
roses, vanilla or almond extract, and |
then dropped from a teaspoon onto |
waxed paper to make waters about |
the size of quarter. After they have |
become hardened they may be dipped |
in chocolate. Almost any of the fon. |
dant candies may be coated with choc- |
olate in the following way: Melt the |
commercial chocolate prepared for
this purpose in double boiler. Be
careful not to let the water in the
lower part boil, as this makes the
chocolate coating streaked when it
hardens. With a two.tined fork lower
IA NJ 20, InY IL
into the melted chocolate. Lift them
quickly and scrape off with a knife
the surplus chocolate that drips from
them. Place on waxed paper to dry.
Vegetable Creams.
Two novel vegetable creams, each
with a vegetable foundation, are ex-
cellent candies in themselves and
form the basis for many attractive
and palatable variations. To make
the base for one Of them, steam or
boil white potatoes and force them
through fine sieve. To one cupful
OF the prepared potato add two cup.
fuls OF sugar, one teaspoonful of but.
ter and one-half teaspoonful of salt.
Boil the mixture to 228 degrees. Cut
one.hah a cupful Of preserved ginger
into fine pieces. Spread them upon a
marble slab and over them pour the
cooked mass. "Cut in" the same as
described for making fondant. This
cream Is delicious as it stands, and it
can also be used in many ways as
the basis for novel candies. It can be
formed into balls and rolled in granu.
lated sugar and then in shredded CO.
conut, or the balls made from the
cream can be rolled in finely cut nut
meats or whole nut meats can be
pressed upon them. Another candy
can be made with whole filbert rolled
in the cream.
Balls or straws Of the cream can be
coated in chocolate. or dipped in choco.
late, and then rolled in chopped nut
meats or cocoanut. Bits of preserved
cherries or raisins or nuts can be
fastened upon vegetable cream with a
touch OF crystal sirup, or the cream
can be dipped In crystal sirup. Since
the navor of the ginger blends well in
many combinations. and the cream Is
easily handled. the candy maker can
feilow her own taste with the ma
ter1al. and form bonbons to suit her
taste.
Another base, which can also be
treated in a variety of ways similar
to those suggested above, is made Of
tomato. Cook to $50 degrees one cup.
ful OF sugar and one.half a cupful of
strained tomato. To two cupfuls Of
sugar add one-half a cupful Of water
and two teaspoonfuls of butter. Stir.
and add the tomato sirup. Let the
mixture boil up once and then strain
1t. Return it to the fire in a large
saucepan and allow 1t to boil to 243
degrees. Cut into small pieces one
half a cupful of preserved ginger and
spread 1t upon wet marble slab.
Pour the hot mixture over 1t and cut
in the same as when making fondant.
Form the mixture to suit the taste and
add nuts or fruit as desired.
Delicious Fudges.