Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1217

Rh degree, then remove the pan from the fire, and grain the syrup by rubbing it with the spatula against the sides of the stewpan. As soon as the mixture begins to grow cloudy add the sliced cocoanut, stir until quite thick, then pour on to an oiled tin. When sufficiently firm mark into squares or oblongs, and when perfectly cold and firm divide into sections. White candy may be made by substituting white sugar for the DemararaDemerara [sic].

Ingredients.—½ lb. of castor sugar, 2 ozs. of desiccated cocoanut, 4 whites of eggs, vanilla essence.

Method.—Pass the sugar through a fine sieve. Put the whites of eggs with a good pinch of salt into a copper bowl or large basin, and whip them to a very stiff froth. Now stir in as lightly as possible the sugar and cocoanut. and add a few drops of vanilla essence. Have ready a baking-tin, buttered and dredged lightly with flour, and upon it pile the mixture in dessertspoonfuls, about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle ½ of them with finely-chopped pistachios, and the remainder with coarse granulated sugar. Bake in a slow oven from 30 to 40 minutes.

Ingredients.—¾ of a lb. of granulated sugar, ½ a lb. of Demerara sugar, ¼ of a lb. of desiccated cocoanut, ¼ of a lb. of glucose, 1½ gills of water, flavouring essence.

Method.—Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the glucose, and boil to the "little crack" degree. Remove the stewpan from the fire, stir in the cocoanut, and boil to the "large crack." Add a few drops of flavouring essence, and pour on to oiled or buttered tins.

The principal colourings used in cookery and confectionery are red, green and yellow, which can be bought ready prepared. Harmless vegetable extracts should always be employed, and they may be easily prepared by following the directions in subjoined recipes.

Red Colouring.—Boil ½ a pint of water and 1 lb. of loaf sugar to a syrup and let it cool. Pound ½ an oz. of carmine until smooth, stir it into the syrup, simmer gently for 10 minutes, and strain. When cold add ½ a teaspoon of sal-ammoniac, bottle the mixture, and cork securely.

Green Colouring.—Wash and thoroughly dry some spinach, pound it until smooth, and squeeze it dry in a cloth. Place the spinach in a copper stewpan, cook over the fire until the liquid that flows from it