XI. COLOURING SUGAR.
228.—To prepare Sugar for Colouring.
Take good loaf sugar, get it ground well, put it through a hair sieve; what remains in the hair sieve put into a fine wire sieve and sift it, and the sugar which comes through the wire sieve will be rough sugar proper for colouring.
229.—To colour Sugar.
Divide the sugar into as many parts as you intend to colour, put each into a sheet of paper, then prepare your colours. Take a round-bottomed pan and put it on a warm stove, pour in your lot of sugar, stir it about with a dry whisk until the sugar is warm, add the colour, stir it well with the whisk to make the sugar all of that colour, then stir it about till the sugar is nearly dry, when you may spread it about on the sheet of paper. You may proceed in this manner with all the colours. The first colour used should be yellow, and the next green, which may be coloured in the yellow pan and with the same whisk. You must then wash both, and colour red, and after that orange. When the sugar is cold, sift it to take out any coupled, then bottle it separately. It will be found to be a useful article to ornament rout biscuits, creams, &c.
230.—Blue Colouring.
Take a fig of the best indigo, dip one side in warm water and rub it on a marble slab until you gain the strength you want; or if you wish for a quantity, put a fig into a small cup, drop a tablespoonful of water upon it, and let it stand half an hour; then pour off the water at the top, and you will have a fine smooth colour.
231.—Carmine Colouring.
Take carmine, No. 24 or 40, 1 dr., liquor potassæ 2½ drs., water 2 ozs., glycerine sufficient to make 4 ozs. Rub the carmine to a paste with liquor potassæ and add the water and glycerine. This is a splendid red, and works well with liquor acids.
232.—Green Colouring.
Take some strong saffron colour and a little of the fine melted blue; mix them well together, which will make a green colour. If you want a pale green, use more yellow; if a dark green, use more blue.
233. Another Way.—Take a quantity of spinach, pick the leaves from the stalks, put them very tight down in a small pan, add a small quantity of water, cover them closely up, and set the pan on a warm stove for two hours; then turn the leaves into a coarse canvas, and let two persons twist it round until all the liquor is squeezed out; set it on a clear fire in a small pan, and let it boil one minute. When cold, bottle and cork it tight.
Note.—The vegetable colouring bought at shops which manufacture it specially for confectioners is the safest, cheapest, and best.
234.—Orange Colouring.
Take one tablespoonful of cochineal colour and the same quantity of the saffron liquor; mix them together and you will have an orange colour. If it be too red, add a little more yellow; if it be too yellow, add a little more red.
235.—Red Colouring.
Beat 1 oz. of cochineal fine in a mortar, to which put 1½ pint of soft water and ½ oz. of cream of tartar; simmer them in a pan for half an hour over a slow fire. Take it off, and throw in ½ oz. of roach alum to strike the colour. You may ascertain the strength by dipping in a piece of writing paper. If not sufficiently strong, simmer it again for a short time. When nearly cold, strain it through a strong piece of canvas, and before you bottle it add 2 ozs. of double refined sugar.
236.—Yellow Colouring.
Put the best saffron down tightly in a small jar, pour a little boiling water over it, cover it closely up, and set it in a warm place for half an hour, turning it two or three times in the water; then strain and bottle it for use.