Old Style
As sugar is the basis or ground-work of the confectioner's art, it is essentially necessary that the practitioner should carefully study and observe the difference in its qualities, the changes which it undergoes or effects when combined with other articles in the process of manufacture, and also the different forms which it assumes by itself at various stages. Without this knowledge, a man will never become a thorough and efficient workman, and it can only be acquired by practice and experience.
The first process which it undergoes in the hands of the confectioner, is that of clarification. It is conducted on the same principle as the refining of sugar, although not carried out in every particular.
Sugar, after it has passed the degree of the feather, is of itself naturally inclined to grain, that is to candy, and will form a powder if agitated or stirred: for as the boiling is continued, so is the water evaporated until there is nothing left to hold it in solution: therefore that body being destroyed by heat, which first changed its original form to those we have already enumerated, as this no longer exists with it, it naturally returns to the same state as it was before the solvent was added, which is that of minute crystals or grains, being held together by the attraction of cohesion, unless, as before stated, they are separated by stirring, &c.
The sugar being evaporated by boiling from the last degree, leaves a thin crust of crystals round the sides of the pan, which shows it has attained the candy height; and this crust must be carefully removed, as it forms, with a damp cloth or sponge, or the whole mass will candy if suffered to remain. To prevent this is the chief desideratum, all further proceedings for which specific rules will be given in their proper places.
Cacao Nuts - The cocoa or cacao nut, of which chocolate is made, is the seed of the fruit of a tree common in South America and the West Indies. The seeds of the nuts, which are nearly of the shape of an almond, are found to the number of from thirty to forty in a pod. The pods are oval, resembling a cucumber in shape. The different sorts are distinguished by name, according to the places which produce them, thus, - the cacao of Cayenne, Caraccas, Berbice, and the islands of St. Magdalen and Domingo. These all differ in the size of their almonds or seed, quality and taste. The most esteemed is the large Caraccas, the almond of which, though somewhat flat, resembles the shape of a large bean. The next are those of St. Magdalen and Berbice. The seeds of these are less flat than those of the Caraccas kind, and the skin is covered with a fine ash-coloured dust. The others are very crude and oily, and only fit to make the butter of cacao. The kernels, when fresh, are bitter, and are deprived of this by being buried in the ground for thirty or forty days. Good nuts should have a thin brittle skin, of a dark black colour; and the kernel, when the skin is taken off, should appear full and shining, of a dusky colour, with a reddish shade. Choose the freshest, not worm-eaten, or mouldy on the inside, which it is subject to be.
Equal parts of the cacao of Caraccas, St. Magdalen, and Berbice, mixed together, make a chocolate of first-rate quality; and these proportions give to it that rich and oily taste which it ought to have. That made from the cacao of Caraccas only is too dry, and that from the islands too fat and crude
dessert recipes
desserts directory
desserts - baking
home cakes cookies ice creams puddings other desserts resources