Candy-Making Revolutionized: Confectionery from Vegetables

Violets.—In hot weather violets do not take kindly to the "candying" process, and in cold they are expensive and hard to get. There are no such limitations, however, to pop-corn and cocoanut. "Violets" made from them are especially good Christmas candies, because they are decorative and can be made a month or six weeks in advance—long before the last rush.

Pop-corn Violets.—Using the hard spots for centers, jam and break well-blown kernels of pop-corn until they resemble violets, as they will do with more exactness than would be thought. Boil one cupful of sugar and one-third cupful of water until a syrup is formed; the thermometer should register two hundred and nineteen degrees. After the syrup is cool, dip the pop-corn into it, making sure that the liquid forms an even and complete covering. As a thin crust begins to cover the syrup, keep pushing it down into the liquid. If this is done the syrup can all be used before it has time to harden. Immediately after the surplus has drained off, dredge lightly with powdered sugar, into which has been worked violet coloring paste, previously moistened with a few drops of violet extract, or even water. In this case the colored sugar should be a shade or two lighter than is desired for the finished product, as the syrup darkens the color.

Note No. 2 of the frontispiece.

Cocoanut Violets.—Mix the white of an egg, one-half cupful confectioner's sugar—the kind sometimes known as XXXX—and one-half cupful of Irish potato prepared as directed above. This makes more candy than the home confectioner ordinarily has use for, but directions for a smaller amount cannot well be given owing to the practical impossibility of dividing an egg. An easy way out of the difficulty, however, is to use as much of this mixture as is desired for the violets and to save the rest for use in making potato fondant, described hereafter.

Flavor this mixture with violet extract. Add the color with the extract, but remember that a little will go a long way. Use vegetable violet coloring paste until the color is a shade or two darker than is desired for the finished product. Stir in cocoanut until all the mass adheres to the cocoanut. Baker's cocoanut is better than the shredded, but often the shredded must be used, as the other size is becoming more and more difficult to obtain. If the shredded is used, break it so that each piece will not be more than one-half inch long. If the mixture does not then dry readily, stir in more confectioner's sugar.

To fashion the violets, dip the fingers into cold water, take up a quantity of the preparation about the size of a violet, and model into the shape of the flower. A little practice will enable the candy-maker to form objects that look more like violets than do the flowers themselves after they have been put through the candying process. Sift granulated sugar over each flower, shaking off surplus sugar. Dry on waxed paper. This confection would better be used within two or three weeks.

Violet Boutonniere.—From violets, preferably cocoanut, boutonnieres very attractive for favors can be fashioned. Have ready a supply of the violets, candied cress leaves, violet, green or tinsel foil, lace paper mats,—small paper doilies may be substituted,—and number twenty-two wire. It is well to cut wires six inches long for they can later be trimmed or bent to form a stem of from three and one-half to four inches long. With a fine needle puncture the back of a cocoanut violet and insert the end of a piece of wire. To make the union firm, place a drop of thick syrup at the point at which the wire enters the mixture. Seven violets so treated will be sufficient for one boutonniere. In a similar manner, wire one less of the crystallized cress leaves. Put all the wires through the center of the mat. Group the violets about one placed in the center. As nearly all mats come with an even number of designs in the edge, it is much easier to arrange the boutonniere if the row of flowers next the mat contains an even number also. The leaves should be so arranged in a row underneath the flowers. Before an attractive arrangement can be made, some little experimenting may be necessary. Wrap the wires with tissue paper and cover with foil. The making of the boutonnieres is not so difficult as it sounds, though some knack is required for the best results.

See the illustration opposite page 72.

Uncooked Fondant.—Potato fondant is another base—even more useful than potato paste—upon which many confections may be built. There are two kinds—cooked and uncooked. To make the uncooked, boil or steam Irish potatoes, drain, and force them through a fine sieve. In all candy-making with potatoes, these directions are of the utmost importance. Unless the potato is carefully forced through a fine sieve, the candy made from it will have hard and gluey spots after it has dried out. Mix one-half cupful of the potato so prepared with the unbeaten white of one egg. Add gradually confectioner's sugar until the whole mass assumes the consistency of bon-bon cream. Several uses for potato fondant will be described below, but it may be substituted for French fondant in any of the confections of which that is a part.

Cooked Potato Fondant.—With one-half cupful of potato, prepared as for the uncooked fondant, very thoroughly mix two cupsful of sugar and thin with two-thirds of a cupful of milk. Place the mixture on an asbestos mat over the fire and cook until thick—to the sticking point. Pour the mass on a cold, damp marble and "cut in" like plain fondant. Knead small quantities at a time until the whole batch is smooth. Pack in tins lined with wax paper.

The fondant can be used without additional sugar and does not stick to the hands. It is particularly useful as a covering.

Modeled Candy.—Modeled candy is easy to make, good to look at and good to eat. When shaped to imitate fruit or vegetables, it is useful as table decoration, and is always welcome for children's parties. Indeed, there is no sort of candy that is surer of a warm welcome by young or old!

The difficulty has been, however, that modeling with almond paste requires the use of ingredients that are very expensive and very often difficult to obtain. This has made experimenting in modeling rather expensive for the unskilled home candy-maker. Potato fondant, on the other hand, is inexpensive and so easily obtained that the amateur need not count the cost of failures while she experiments. By following the directions carefully very little practice in the modeling will give her a facility that removes her from the class of unskilled modelers. If she prefers to use almond paste, the home candy-maker may do her practicing with potato fondant. Moreover, many young women have studied clay modeling and to them the modeling of candy is indeed simple. While the modeled candy that is sold in candy stores often—though not always—contains harmful substances, potato fondant is absolutely wholesome.

Potato fondant shows particular superiority over the almond paste in the making of small objects and all fine and thin work. The results are as attractive to the palate as to the eye, although candy modeled from potato fondant does not have the peculiar oily richness of the products fashioned from almond paste.

For one batch take as much of the uncooked potato fondant as the work in hand calls for. Into it work all the sugar that it will take. Stop the kneading just as soon as the mixture shows a tendency to crumble. Model it into any form desired. It is best not to make the pieces too large. The modeling may be done with the small clay modeling tool now common in kindergartens and technical schools, or with a clean orange stick.

A thin sheet of glass will be found exceedingly satisfactory upon which to model. As the glass is thin, intricate flowers of many petals, for instance, can be slipped off with little disturbance. Use a thin knife to loosen and lift only slightly, slipping each model off with as little handling as possible. Another advantage is that the glass can easily be washed.

Coloring.—The vegetable coloring pastes which are sold for use in cooking are harmless. A set of the small jars ordinarily sold for ten cents a jar will probably be enough for any candy that the amateur may make in one season. The colors generally in the set are fruit red, leaf green, golden yellow, caramel, violet, damask, rose, mandarin, orange blue, salmon and chestnut.

These pastes may be used in three ways. They may be cooked or worked into a candy mixture or they may be used very much the same as water color pigments and applied with a brush.

In the first method it is well to remember that the shade should be mixed a little heavier than desired and must be very thoroughly mixed if used in fondant or prepared compounds. The rules of color combination prevail here as everywhere. So if grades of tone or different colors are desired almost any wish may be met by combination of color.

To get just the tone desired, after mixing the colors dissolve a small portion in water and then dip into this liquid a lump of sugar. If the tint is not the right one, it is easily changed.

Any shade of green may be obtained by mixing blue and yellow with leaf green. All shades of orange are obtainable from yellow and red. All shades of violet or mauve or even purple for deep violets may be made from red and blue in different proportions.

If the color in your candy is not clear and uniform it is because it has not been thoroughly mixed. To avoid spots it must be evenly incorporated through the entire mass. If this does not seem possible with coloring paste, dissolve in a little warm water and then add it to the fondant or prepared compound.

In applying with the brush use the wash methods much as in water color work and the shading will be much more artistic and the variety much greater. Apply a medium shade uniformly and let thoroughly dry and then shade with light and darker tones. Do not use much water, as the surface of the candy does not absorb the water as does water color paper.

White Daisy.—This makes an unusually pretty modeled piece, as will be seen from the illustration facing page 138, and from No. 13 of the frontispiece.

White potato fondant is used for the petals and candied orange peel for the center, and angelique for the stem and leaves.

Flavor the potato fondant with one of the stronger extracts such as peppermint, cinnamon or cloves. If desired it may be used without flavoring, but the more delicate flavors are not so pleasing. Mix enough sugar with the fondant for it to mold smoothly and easily and hold its shape. Upon a clean piece of glass, or oil cloth, if glass is not easily obtainable, place a piece of angelique of a size suitable for the stem. To form the petals roll pieces of potato fondant between the fingers. Properly arrange these petals around the center. Press a piece of candied orange peel down upon the stem and petals. This peel gives the yellow center of the daisy and acts as an additional means for holding the stem and petals together. Or, yellow fondant may be substituted. Run a thin knife under the flower and lift it over the glass to an oil cloth placed over a board or to a piece of waxed paper and dry for twenty-four hours.

Cook to two hundred and twenty degrees, a syrup made of one cupful of sugar and one-third of a cupful of water; pour this into a dish so that the syrup will be about an inch deep. Add to the daisies such leaves cut from angelique as may be desired and then dip into this liquid and lift upon a wire rack. In the making of this as in all composite models the crystal syrup—one cupful of sugar and one-third cupful of water cooked to two hundred and twenty degrees—is an essential asset for gluing purposes. A small bristle brush is good for applying, but care must be used as in using glue not to use too much of the syrup. The syrup, when dry, will hold the leaves to the stem. If the amateur confectioner is very conscientious, she may improve the looks of the flowers by coloring the outside edges of the centers lightly with sugar—first a little brown and then a touch of yellow placed there with the pointed end of the modeling stick.

Before the flowers have thoroughly set, free them from the wires of the rack. Shortly after the dipping, when as much of the syrup as will has run off the flowers, run the fingers along the under side of the rack springing the wires under each piece. This method not only frees the flowers but it rids them of undue accumulations of the syrup. Otherwise, the wires would dry into the candies, which would be broken upon their removal. Leave on the rack until dry.

Yellow Daisy.—Yellow daisies may be made by coloring the white potato fondant or by making fresh fondant, using the yolk of the egg in place of the white. The fondant made of the yolk will not model quite so readily but coloring is unnecessary.

Form the yellow daisy as the white, but use a small raisin for the center, instead of the piece of orange peel. No colored sugar is necessary. Crystallize as before.

If exceptionally bright and clear colors are desired, the flowers may be dipped twice into a thin crystal instead of once into an ordinary crystal. Use the same proportions of sugar and water—one cupful to one-third cupful cooked to only two hundred and twenty degrees. Into this dip the flowers after they are thoroughly dry, and dry on a rack as before. The next day dip them again into a crystal of the same sort. Dry as before. The result will be glossy flowers, free from crystals, with particularly beautiful yellows and browns.

Calla Lily.—This is particularly suitable for Easter time. For the stem, use a small stick of angelique. Make the center from yellow fondant. While still moist, dip into granulated sugar. See the illustration facing page 138.

If the yellow fondant is not on hand, a little of the ordinary white may be colored yellow and used. It is hardly worth while to make up a batch of the special egg fondant for one set of lilies.

From the white potato fondant, pat out rather thin pieces, wrap them around the stem, form the lily and curl the edges and make the pointed top and the front fold prominent. If leaves are desired, cut a long leaf from the angelique, dip the stem end into thick syrup and fasten to the stem. To make a perfect union, cover the stem below the lily with syrup.

If the lilies are to be used for box trimmings, do not make the stems very long and if leaves are used, bring them up well onto or behind the flower to give added strength so that the stems will be unlikely to break at their juncture with the lily.

Red Apples.—As dinner favors, red apples are unusually effective. For the foundation use pulled figs, stuffed with any good mixture. Nuts and pitted dates may be used for the filling, but the combination is a little too heavy. Marshmallows and pecan meats are preferable. A third possibility is chopped nuts and figs. Whatever filling is used, the method of its insertion is the same. If the figs are dry, steam them thoroughly. Make a slit in the side, fill with the chosen mixture, and pinch together the edges of the opening.

As the covering for the figs, uncooked fondant must be used. Cinnamon is a popular flavoring. Color it with red paste. At this stage in the process it should not be made the shade desired for the finished product, but there should be enough of the red to overcome the dead white of the fondant. In other words, make the first coating much lighter than it otherwise would be. Into the uncooked fondant, sugar must be worked until modeling is easy.

Encase the stuffed fig in fondant. The thickness of the coating will depend upon the size of the fig; the finished product should be about the size of a real apple. Model the surface so that it looks as much like an apple as possible. If it is desired to have the confection all edible, use a piece of angelique for the stem; a twig from a vine or bush really looks better, however. For the blossom end use a clove. If the general directions given above are followed, the result will be a surprising naturalness.

Proceeding as directed on page 64, use the vegetable coloring pastes for the coloring. As the red color paste is likely to have the magenta shade overmuch, the first coating would better be of orange and the second of enough dark red to give the true apple red.

To intensify the color and leave the apple glossy, brush it with crystal syrup cooked to two hundred and twenty degrees. The syrup should be used while yet warm and should be applied smoothly.

By the use of other colors, other sorts of apples can be made.

Before being eaten, these apples, like real apples, should be cut into sections.

See the illustration facing this page, and No. 24 of the frontispiece.

Single Roses.—They may be pink, red, yellow or white. The process in each case is the same except for the coloring and the flavoring. Take as much fondant as is needed for roses of one color and as the base, use uncooked potato fondant. Divide it into three lots and color with paste the shade desired—the first so very faintly that its tint is just off the white, the second a little deeper and the third deeper still. Always remember that immersion in hot syrup deepens the color. Remember, too, that the three lots of different shades are for roses of one color only.

For red roses, use cinnamon flavor and red coloring. For yellow roses, use clove as flavoring and yellow as coloring. Yellow roses are shown as Nos. 3 and 26 of the frontispiece. Be very careful not to use too much color. For white roses, use the plain fondant, but after the rose has dried a touch of green must be added to give depth and character.

For pink roses, use rose water as flavor and pink as coloring.

Whatever the color of the rose, form five petals, curling the edges to imitate those of the natural rose, and using different shades for different petals so that the rose will have natural variety of color. At the center use a small piece of angelique; a touch of darker green coloring to the center of the angelique gives the rose greater verisimilitude. It is well to model them upon a sheet of glass and when completed lift on to a waxed paper to dry.

If the rose is a white one, let it be remembered that it must be shaded with light green.

When the flowers are dry dip them into a crystal, cooked to two hundred and twenty-five degrees. Use brown and yellow sugar to imitate the pollen around the green centers. The pointed end of the wooden tool will be useful in placing these colored sugars. They must be made to stand out clearly. If too much syrup has collected around the center, be sure to push it out with the blunt end of the tool before trying to put the sugar in place.

After the roses have dried, they are ready to look at and eat.

Rose Buds.—From potato fondant, colored as desired, model several small petals. Cut a piece of angelique to represent the stem and properly arrange the petals around one end of it and press them on. The leaves and thorns are to be made from angelique and attached by pressing them to the stem using the crystal, prepared for the dipping, as glue.

The calyx, made from angelique, may be also so attached. When the buds have dried dip them into a crystal cooked to two hundred and twenty-five degrees. Dry on racks. The crystal will make stronger the union of petals, leaves, thorns and stem.

New Potato.—A particularly appropriate form in which to model the potato fondant is that of the new potato. Work the proper sized piece of fondant into as close an imitation as possible of the new potato.

As this new potato has perhaps more of the fondant than many people will wish to eat at one time, several partial substitutions are possible. That statement, by the way, is no reflection upon the fondant, for any piece of candy, no matter how good, of the size of this is likely to be rather too much to be eaten at one time if of one flavor. Marshmallows, pitted dates with nut meats, pulled figs closely rolled, or English walnut meats are some of the things that may well be used as centers. Whatever is used should be rolled in enough of the fondant to make pieces of the desired size and form and then immediately rolled in dry cocoa.

The result will be strikingly convincing—and good to eat.

Pea Pod.—From fondant colored green, a pea pod may be modeled, split, and the peas modeled and placed within. When the forms are dry, dip them in a crystal made by boiling one cupful of sugar and one-third cupful of water to two hundred and twenty degrees. Use care that the syrup does not settle between the peas. Granulated sugar dusted over the pod gives a beautiful soft color and surface.

Snow Balls.—All modeled candies are a delight to children, but snow balls always meet with a particular favor.

Stuffed figs, prepared as directed for red apples on page 70, form the basis for them. To keep the color of the figs from showing through, cover them with the uncooked fondant and roll in the hands until perfect balls are formed. After the balls have dried two or more hours, roll them again in this coating of uncooked fondant to which has been added a small quantity of blue coloring. This is to insure the balls being snow white. Brush these balls with the unbeaten white of an egg and roll in equal parts of crystal and granulated sugar.

Grapes.—The confection described below and pictured opposite page 72 is good to look at, good to eat, and comparatively easy to make. It should be borne in mind, by the way, that the directions for candies often sound more difficult than the actual process.

As the basis for the grapes, take smooth almonds, not blanched. Into the smaller end of each one insert nickeled wire, pushing it well into the nut. Then cover the nuts with potato fondant. Work them with the fingers until they assume the forms of single grapes. Dry in a corn starch bed. When the forms are dry, brush all the corn starch off. The grapes so formed should be colored a medium shade by the use of vegetable coloring pastes to resemble catawba or purple grapes. Because of the opaqueness of the grapes, they cannot be made to imitate closely the color of green grapes, but if the confectioner has an unusual fondness for green grapes, and is not over particular, there is no reason why she should not attempt them.

After coloring, dry the grapes thoroughly on a wire screen, finish them in thin crystal, which has been colored somewhat lighter than the shade the finished grapes are expected to assume. In order to leave the confection with a glossy surface, it is possible to add to the crystal a very small quantity of gum Arabic.

After the crystal is thoroughly dry, the wires should be wound with raffia of the leaf green shade, and, by twisting the wires together, the single grapes formed into bunches of the size desired. If the confectioner wishes large bunches, it is well to wind the wires onto a tree twig, for the sake of the additional firmness. It should be remembered that the large bunches are heavy. The use of the twig is also recommended for the natural appearance it gives to the finished bunch.

Brush the stems with a thin syrup. The loose ends of the raffia may be disposed of and the appearance of the confection made more natural by dampening them with the syrup and winding them around any round object of about the size of a lead pencil. The ends of the raffia, so treated, will resemble tendrils.

In taste, the grapes are much like the usual hard-covered almonds.

Other Possibilities.—If the candy-maker has ambition and imagination, she will regard the foregoing objects as merely suggestive; she will work out for herself other objects of equal interest. The following suggestions as to coloring, she will find valuable no matter how much she may want to create for herself. For pears, use yellow with red; for peaches, yellow with a very little red; for pumpkins, light orange with touches of green; for radishes, light red, with green for the stem; for carrots, orange with a slight touch of green; for plums, the so-called violet with a very little red; for strawberries, red, touched with yellow to simulate the seeds—and so on indefinitely.

IX

Three receipts are given for potato caramels and one for opera caramels. It should be noted that opera caramels and the ordinary potato caramels are as different as fudge and taffy. The first of the receipts for potato caramels is by all odds the best, but it means much hard work. The second is much easier, but the results, while good to eat, are not so pleasing in looks or consistency. The third is a compromise. In none, owing to the very slow cooking, is it possible to use a thermometer to advantage. The old tests, supplemented by a sort of intuition that old candy-makers call "caramel sense" will have to be used to determine when cookings are completed. But with good fortune and a little experimenting, the amateur confectioner's judgment will soon become accurate.

Stir well one pound of sugar, one cupful of milk, one cupful of Irish potato—boiled and sifted as directed before—two tablespoonfuls of butter and one-half teaspoonful of salt. Boil until thick, and thin with one-half cupful of milk, and again cook until thick; again thin with one-half cupful of milk and cook until the mass is of caramel consistency, tested in cold water. Stir as little as possible, but be careful that the mass does not stick to the bottom of the kettle. Pour on a well oiled marble between candy bars. Dry two days, cut in strips and dry again before finally cutting in squares. Place them in a cold place for several hours and then wrap them in parchment paper. They keep well.

This is the kind of potato caramel that is especially good for chocolate coating, although all of the potato caramels can be chocolate coated. Make the caramels as above and allow them to dry in the open air for several hours and then cover with chocolate.

The process is fully as laborious as it sounds, but the results are more than worth the trouble. The repeated cookings give the characteristic caramel taste and color. The following receipt, however, means less work.

Boil together one cupful of granulated sugar, one cupful of coffee A sugar, one-half cupful of Irish potato—treated as before—one tablespoonful of butter, one cupful of milk, caramel coloring. Stir continually until the mass forms a soft ball in cold water. Then pour it onto a well oiled marble between candy bars.

Boil one pound of brown sugar, one cupful of milk, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and one-quarter cupful of Irish potato—prepared as before—until a bit dipped from the mass will form a firm ball in cold water. Stir as little as possible. Pour on an oiled marble between candy bars. The result is more like fudge but is cooked to dryness without being grained by beating.

To two cupsful of sugar, one cupful Irish potato boiled, drained and forced through a fine sieve, add one tablespoonful of butter and thin with one-half cupful of milk. Cook until thick; remove from the fire. Put in one-half cupful of milk again. Cook until thick, remove from the fire and add one-half cupful of milk. Return the pan to the fire again. This is the last time. It is wise to place an asbestos mat under the saucepan. Cook until very thick—until a soft ball can be formed in cold water.

After the mass has been removed from the fire, add one cupful of broken walnut meats, and one cupful of bon-bon cream, broken in small pieces so that it will be distributed quickly through the mass without much stirring and pour the mixture between candy-bars on an oiled marble. When cold cut it into squares; for home use it will not need wrapping.

As with potato caramel No. 1, this confection is most pleasantly susceptible to chocolate coating. Allow it to dry in the open air for several hours and then cover with chocolate as usual.

Broken nut meats can be added to any of the caramel recipes above.

X

Potatoes are probably the most useful vegetable known to the maker of vegetable confectionery. As has been explained in the preceding chapters, they are the basis of potato fondant and potato paste, both of which are basic mixtures.

The usefulness of the potato does not end with decorative candy. In the form both of paste and fondant and prepared in other ways, it is responsible for several pleasing new confections.

Mocha Walnuts.—To the yolk of one egg beaten to a cream, add one-half cupful of Irish potato—boiled, drained, and forced through a sieve as described before—and one teaspoonful of coffee extract. Gradually stir in confectioner's sugar until the mass can be made into soft balls. Flatten these balls, press on walnut meats, and spread to dry. If desired for packing, dip them into a crystal cooked to two hundred and twenty degrees. To insure a good surface and keep the cream from drying out, it may be well to dip the candy again after letting it dry a day.

See No. 8 in the frontispiece.

Pecan Creams.—The process for making them is the same as that described for making mocha walnuts except that lemon or vanilla extract is used instead of coffee,—see No. 14 of the frontispiece—and pecan meats, instead of walnut meats. Indeed, the imaginative candy-cook will be able to invent for herself several other new confections built upon this same principle.

Raisin Creams.—To make them, form potato fondant—directions for which are given on page 61—into balls and place a seeded raisin on each side. Cook a crystal syrup to two hundred and twenty-eight degrees and keep it warm by the use of the steam bath. Into it, dip, one by one, the fondant balls, prepared as above. Dry on racks. If desired, ordinary bon-bon cream, flavored and colored to suit the cook's fancy, may be substituted for the potato fondant. A satisfactory variety is given these raisin creams by pulling the raisin entirely over a pecan meat before attaching to the cream. This confection is rich in flavor and most attractive in shape.

Peppermint Chocolates.—Potato paste—described on page 52—is the basis for them. Make a softer paste by using less sugar, work in peppermint to taste, form it into balls, flatten and dry for a couple of hours. Then dip them in chocolate as usual. After the finished candy has stood for a time long enough for the chocolate covering to have mellowed the center, the result will be a cream of excellent flavor and a texture unusually attractive because of its grain. The difference between this and the ordinary peppermint chocolate is so great that they really are not the same confection.

Celtic Almonds.—This attractive confection is in reality a cream, but a cream so different from the ordinary nut cream that it seems to fall into a separate class. In place of the usual richness, there is here a delicacy of flavor and clearness of outline that is a distinctly enjoyable addition to confectionery.

Blanch almonds, split them, and dry in a soft cloth. Color potato fondant pink and flavor it with rose. Roll fondant so prepared into small balls, and place upon each side of each a split almond. Each piece should then be made to imitate as clearly as possible the shape of the real almond. The ideal result is a confection that is very little larger than the real almond with a thin layer of cream between translucent nut meats. After a little experimentation, persuasive fingers can accomplish this result. When fashioned, dip the candies into a crystal syrup cooked to two hundred and twenty-five degrees and roll in granulated sugar.

Walnuts or pecans can be treated in the same way with white or colored fondant. The result, however, will not be so distinctively dainty and will be little improvement upon the mocha walnuts and pecan creams described above.

Chocolate Bars.—As the basis, take cooked potato fondant which has been well kneaded. Form it into a sheet about one-quarter of an inch thick. Cut therefrom bars an inch and a quarter long by a quarter of an inch wide. Dip them in chocolate and let them dry.

A pleasing variation is made from the same base—cooked potato fondant. Knead into it melted chocolate. A portion of the resulting mass may be formed into balls and the rest rolled into a long piece as slender as a pipe stem. This small cylinder should be cut into two inch lengths and the ends pointed. Another method is to make small balls and give these a very thin coating of white fondant. In any case, dry on a corn starch bed and coat with chocolate.

Vegetable Cream.—Vegetable cream is another base with which much can be done in vegetable candy-making. In itself, it is good to eat and can be made to take many different and useful forms. To make it, mix two cupsful of sugar, one cupful of Irish potato—boiled or steamed, drained and forced through a sieve—one teaspoonful of butter, and one-half teaspoonful of salt. Boil to two hundred and twenty-eight degrees. Have ready one-fourth cupful each of preserved garden "ginger" and spiced beets drained from their syrup; cut very fine, and spread upon a marble slab. Over beet and "ginger" pour the cooked mixture, and "cut in" as for fondant. "Gingers" are described upon page 101 and spiced beets upon page 111.

Below, there are suggested five ways of using the cream. Many others, however, will come to the mind of the experienced candy-cook.

Vegetable cream may be formed into balls and rolled in granulated sugar. The balls so prepared may then be rolled in shredded cocoanut, cut fine, or the balls without the sugar may be covered with the cocoanut.

Another possibility is to dip the balls into chocolate. Nuts may be added, either by rolling the balls in the meats cut into little pieces, or by pressing the meats into the balls and treating with the crystal syrup, or by using a drop or two of the crystal to glue the nut meat to the ball and then coating. Moreover, the balls may be used in their simple form without any covering at all.

No matter what is done with them, of course, they must be dried off before serving.

XI

Sweet potatoes used as the basis for candy-making should be baked. Boiled sweet potato changes color during the succeeding processes and retains an amount of water that is likely to cause trouble. After baking, the potato should be forced through a fine sieve. Make sure that the sifting process is done so thoroughly that all fiber is removed.

Sweet Potato Patties.—For the patties, boil until very thick one pound of granulated sugar, one cupful of sweet potato prepared as above; one-half cupful of desiccated cocoanut, and one-half cupful of water. When the mixture has cooked, add one-half cupful of bon-bon cream, cut into small pieces. Stir thoroughly. As the mass begins to set, drop it quickly on waxed paper in small drops. Act promptly, for the mass sets quickly. The drops will not be smooth.

To improve the looks of these patties, they may be dipped in a crystal syrup, cooked to two hundred and twenty degrees; and then dusted with granulated sugar. If they are not wanted immediately, they may be packed for any length of time not exceeding six weeks provided they have been finished with the crystal and granulated sugar.

Sweet Potato Knots.—Cook until very thick equal quantities of granulated sugar and sweet potato—prepared as before—and add a few drops of oil of cinnamon. If another color is preferred to the natural amber, add coloring paste to suit. Immediately spread the mixture over a tin sheet upon which has been sifted confectioner's sugar. The tin should be of such a size that the mass will be about one-quarter of an inch thick. When it has dried so that it will not stick to the fingers, with a long, thin knife, cut narrow ribbon-like strips about six inches long. Fashion them into bowknots. Be sure that there is not undue thickness at the center. The tools described in the second chapter—particularly page 16—will be useful as will also be the glass sheet. If the candy is moist, dip the hands into XXXX sugar. Dry on oilcloth or waxed paper. When firm, dip into a crystal which has been cooked to two hundred and twenty-five degrees and allowed to stand for five minutes. Dry on a screen.

Their attractiveness can be seen at a glance at the foreground of the illustration opposite page 138, and by looking at No. 18 in the frontispiece.

Sweet Potato Pastilles.—They are made from the same mixture as are the knots. While the mixture is still hot, drop it in small drops upon a cold bare marble, and dust them with granulated sugar. When they have dried for several hours, or, if possible, over night, lift with a thin knife, place two drops together by their bases, dredge again with granulated sugar to cover the edges, and dry.

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Crystallization forms the basis of candy-making with parsnips. By means of a modification of the old fashioned French hand method, it is possible to make a confection that is good in itself, useful as the basis for other confections, and of unusually long keeping qualities. Parsnip candy, though the invention of to-day, has a pleasing old fashioned taste and appearance.

Candied Parsnips.—In method of preparation and keeping qualities, they resemble the candied flag root of our grandmothers. They are useful to trim a box of candy. Peel the parsnips and leave them in cold water for two or three hours. Cut cross-wise into very thin slices, drop the slices into boiling water, and let them boil five minutes. After they have thoroughly drained, put them into a syrup made by boiling together one part of water and three parts of granulated sugar. Make sure that the syrup really is a syrup—that the sugar and water have thoroughly united. Add the parsnips and boil for ten minutes.

Next comes the use of a novel modification of hand crystallization—a process that the amateur candy-maker may well afford to make herself master of, because it is useful for many confections. Obtain a pan with sloping sides into which the drying rack will drop half way. As the pan must be used for candy-making and nothing else and as the greatest strength is not necessary, a suitable dish can probably be obtained from a ten-cent store. Stir carefully with a wooden paddle in order to make sure that all the pieces are separated and that the hot syrup comes into contact with all the surfaces of the confections.

Pour the hot mass over the rack—in position in the pan—and immediately put a board over the pan. Make sure that the vegetable is evenly distributed. The wood absorbs the moisture while a tin cover would make trouble by causing the steam to condense and drop back onto the candy. Leave the pan undisturbed for twenty-four hours. Then lift the rack out, pour the syrup into the kettle and cook to two hundred and twenty degrees. Return the vegetable to the syrup and stir carefully; each piece must be immersed. The small pieces of candy will be heated through in so very short a time that it is necessary only to make sure that each piece has been thoroughly immersed in the hot syrup. Make sure that the rack is clean and free from particles of the syrup. Thereupon, again pour it over the rack arranged in the pan as before. Repeat the process four times, each time cooking the syrup two degrees hotter. The result is a slow crystallization which covers the candy so that it is perfectly preserved and very good to taste and look upon. Although the work must be distributed over six days, only a very few minutes are required except upon the first day.

Parsnip Boutonniere.—The candied parsnip forms the basis of one of the most decorative of all boutonnieres. For each of them have ready, besides a supply of the parsnips, candied as above, artificial fern, sometimes sold under the name "imitation air plant," a lace mat, a number twenty-two wire, and one yard of ribbon one-half inch wide, the preferred color. See the illustration opposite page 72.

Mix one cupful of sugar and one-third cupful of water, and color the same as the ribbon. Cook the syrup thus made to two hundred and twenty-five degrees. Into this hot syrup drop the crystallized parsnips, and allow them to remain a few minutes. After they have become thoroughly and evenly colored, pour them upon a wire screen. After they have dried, attach to about two dozen of them pieces of wire about six inches long. It is well to place a drop of thick syrup at the point at which the wire enters the candy.

Cut the ferns into lengths of from two to four inches. Mix the wired candies through the bunch of ferns, occasionally twisting a strand of fern around the wires so that all wires will be hidden. Slip the lace mat up over the wires and the ends of the ferns, wrap wires with tissue paper and cover with tinsel foil, either silver or gilt, and tie the center of the ribbon around the stem directly under the mat and form a rosette. About five inches from the point tie the ends together in a bow knot.

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