Sugar and Spice: Sweets and Treats from Around the World
Whether for holidays or for any time during the year, homemade candies make marvelously tasty treats and even better gifts. Pagrach-Chandra draws from both European and Asian traditions to present recipes offering the home confectioner a wealth of out-of-the-ordinary options that go far beyond everyday cookies and cakes. Her selections include Turkish delight, nutty nougat, buttery semolina halvah, several variations of marzipan, and both French and English madeleines. In addition to chocolate fudge, Pagrach-Chandra offers a recipe for tablet, a rarely seen Scottish cousin of fudge. A number of the more sophisticated candies require such exotica as liquid glucose and edible wafer paper, but in these days of Internet shopping, such items are easy to come by. Instructions are explicit, and measurements cover both European and American systems wherever possible. Some of these recipes may challenge the tyro, but experienced candy makers will find no little inspiration. Color photographs. --Mark Knoblauch