candy-msg – 2/17/08
Period candy. recipes. Comfits. Candied fruit peels. Sugared nuts.
NOTE: See also the files: chocolate-msg, comfits-msg, gingerbread-msg, sugar-msg, honey-msg, Sugarplums-art, Roses-a-Sugar-art, desserts-msg, sugar-paste-msg, sotelties-msg, candied-peels-msg, sugar-sources-msg.
KEYWORDS: sugar candy period candied fruit comfits banquet honey
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From: Mark Schuldenfrei <schuldy at abel.MATH.HARVARD.EDU>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 09:51:59 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SC - Re: That candy stuff
I asked Mistress Johanna about that "taffy stuff", and this is an edited
version of her reply.
Tibor
Pennydes (or something very close to that--it has been a couple of years
since my last big batch).
There are descriptions of pennydes and of assaying the different "heights"
of sugar in Curye on Inglysch. A similar recipe is found in Cariadoc's
al-Baghdadi--but I can't remember the middle eastern name of the sweetmeat.
If you compare the recipe for basic taffy in Joy of Cooking with the
originals, there are many great similarities. The modern recipe calls for
vinegar and that does seem to make the results much more predictable, so I
do add it. If the humidity isn't right, the whole mess turns powdery and
chalk-like, this can also happen when you store it.
I have been on a quest for period nougat recipes for many years. There are
some late period Italian mentions of sweets that might be nougat in banquet
rolls. I haven't found a period recipe.
From: Emily Epstein <epsteine at spot.Colorado.EDU>
Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 14:48:25 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: SC - taffy-like candy
Greetings from Alix Mont de Fer.
A short while back, someone (I forget who) asked about a period taffy-like
candy. While rummaging through my files for something else, I found this
recipe. I don't know if it's what you had in mind, but it's very tasty.
I served this at a feast in Spinning Winds some years ago, where I
discovered the property listed in the notes at the end that make it not
very suitable for feasts.
PAYN RAGOUN (Curye on Inglysch, p.113)
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. honey
1 c. pine nuts
2 t. ground ginger
Bring sugar and honey to a boil, stirring constantly. When it reaches the
point that a drop in cold water holds together, remove from heat. Stir in
ginger and pine nuts, and stir until it starts to harden. Turn out on a
wet surface. When cool enough to handle, form into a log. Slice and serve.
NOTES:
Neither the sugar nor the honey required clarification, nor did my
granulated sugar require grinding, as loaf sugar would have.
Ground ginger works best. Fresh ginger, even in large quantities lacks
that nice ginger bite.
I tested the mixture with a wooden spoon. My fingers still have live nerve
endings & I'd like to keep them.
Because of the honey, the mixture crystallizes differently than plain
sugar syrup, and it won't do what a candy thermometer would indicate.
260 degrees (hard ball on a thermometer) is about right.
If you accidentally overcook the mixture, it can be salvaged. Pull it like
taffy and cut it in small pieces. It's tasty but extremely chewy, kind
of like Bit-O-Honey.
The honey makes this react more to humidity than other candy. It becomes a
sticky mess in hot, moist rooms (like kitchens).
Keep it cool, but not cold. It's hard (or impossible) to cut if worked
cold.
Never, ever wrap this in aluminum foil, unless you like bits of metal in
your food.
If anybody finds a way to make this stuff a little more manageable,
please let me know. Enjoy!
Alix Mont de Fer (m.k.a. Emily Epstein)
Shire of Caer Galen, Outlands
epsteine at spot.colorado.edu
From: Stephen Bloch <sbloch at adl15.adelphi.edu>
Date: Thu, 8 May 1997 21:52:13 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: SC - taffy-like candy
Alix Mont de Fer writes:
> PAYN RAGOUN (Curye on Inglysch, p.113)
>
> 1/3 c. sugar
> 1/3 c. honey
> 1 c. pine nuts
> 2 t. ground ginger
>
> Bring sugar and honey to a boil, stirring constantly. When it reaches the
> point that a drop in cold water holds together, remove from heat. Stir in
> ginger and pine nuts, and stir until it starts to harden. Turn out on a
> wet surface. When cool enough to handle, form into a log. Slice and serve.
We used the following proportions and directions:
2 C sugar
1 C honey
1 T powdered ginger
1 C pine nuts
Heat sugar and honey to firm ball stage (c. 250 degrees). Remove from fire;
stir in pine nuts and ginger and stir until mixture thickens. Pour into
greased 8" x 8" pan and let cool.
The first time we tried to serve it, it was at a potluck meeting in
wintertime, and we found that on the way to the meeting the stuff had
reached approximately carborundum hardness. As it warmed to room
temperature, it gradually softened enough for us to hack off a few
gobbets, which were quite tasty.
mar-Joshua ibn-Eleazar ha-Shalib
Stephen Bloch
sbloch at panther.adelphi.edu
http://www.adelphi.edu/~sbloch/
Math/CS Dept, Adelphi University
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 21:18:06 -0700
From: atripp at sfu.ca (Allyson Tripp Rozell)
Subject: SC - honey taffy
I don't recall who first brought it up, but here is the recipe I have for
honey taffy.
2 cups honey
1 cup sugar
1 cup cream
Cook over medium heat until it reaches a hard ball stage. Pour onto a
buttered platter. When cool, pull until it is a golden color. Cut into
bite-sized pieces.
As I mentioned before, good results can be obtained using only honey.
I don't know anything about honey taffy in period.
Allyson
atripp at sfu.ca
Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 00:38:13 -0400
From: Aine of Wyvernwood <sybella at gte.net>
Subject: SC - killer candy recipe.
although this may or may not be period...of any wants to win
a dessert contest this should do it...sweet, rich, and to
die for.....
the name is deceptive...it is in truth homemade
caramels...with pecans...
OKLAHOMA BROWN CANDY.
2 cups sugar into heavy skillet [that means a cast iron frying pan]
4 cups sugar + 2 cups milk in deep heavy kettle
cook sugar in skillet over low heat, stiring with wooden spoon as it melts
slowly becoming the color of brown sugar. Don;t smoke or turn dark brown
[tastes nasty if you do].
When sugar in skillet starts melting, set kettle with sugar
and milk mizture over low heat and simmer as you continue melting sugar.
When melted, pour in fine stream into kettle, stirring all the time to blend.
[if it does not blend perfectly, but becomes a lump, it is okay it will melt].
Cook and stir until the mixture reaches firm ball stage, 244-248 degrees.
Remove from heat and add 1 stick of butter [butter NOT
margarine] and stir, then add 1.2 teaspoon of soda and stir
vigourously [it will bubble up, that is
okay] Set aside and add 2 or 3 teaspoons of vanilla and
beat until the candy becomes thick and dull.
Fold in 4 cups [I use 5 to 8 cupps] of broken nuts [I use
pecans] and pour into a buttered pans....a large cookie tin
with sides is perfect and will nearly fill the
whole tin.
ps... I use 1/2 cup canned [evaporated] milk and 1/.2 cup regular whole milk.
this candy is rich, creamy and to die for.....it is very
easy to make, even tho it sounds complicated and makes up in
less than an hour, the problem is in waiting for the candy
to cool to eat....let it get sorta hard then cut into squares.
warning it is rich, and very sweet, after it is carmelized
sugar...it should be
sorta soft...like real caramels...the ones from the store...
my mom makes it for me without the nuts...as I dislike nuts of any sort...
but it is still marvelous with the nuts...I think pecans are
best, have tried all the others and most people tell me that
they prefer pecans, besides it is soooooo
southern [is there any other way to be, southern that is...grins]
Aine
Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 07:39:09 -0500 (CDT)
From: alysk at ix.netcom.com (Elise Fleming )
Subject: SC - Re: Pulled Sugar
Greetings! Murkial asked about pulled sugar. I believe it might be
marginally in period for Italy. I've seen a reference (Yeah, right!
Where it it now???) for it. However, since I have some stuff that goes
to the mid-1600s it might be that late. My "educated" guess is that it
would not be appropriate for England and probably not France. The
Italians seemed to be ahead of "us all" when it came to elaborate sugar
works, but then, they were the middle men for sugar and had at least
one refinery in Italy, if memory serves.
Alys Katharine
Date: Sat, 27 Sep 1997 22:20:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: Uduido at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Re: Pulled Sugar
<< Greetings! Murkial asked about pulled sugar. I believe it might be
marginally in period for Italy. >>
There are also numerous recipes for taffy like confections in the Baghdad
Cookery Book.
Lord Ras
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 17:11:09 -0400
From: renfrow at skylands.net (Cindy Renfrow)
Subject: Re: SC - candied ginger
> Is candied ginger a period food?
>
> If so does any one has a period (or not) recipe, documented (or not)?
>
> Lord Robert de QuelQuePart
Hello! Yes, I think it is. I have a recipe in Take 1000 Eggs for "pickled
ginger" :
Harleian MS. 4016
97 Peris in compost.... And then pare clene rasinges of ginger, & temper
hem ij. or iij. daies, in wyne, And after, ley hem in clarefied hony colde,
all a day or a night; And [th]en take the rasons oute of the hony,...
Cindy/Sincgiefu
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 12:22:32 -0600 (CST)
From: alysk at ix.netcom.com (Elise Fleming )
Subject: SC - Candied Ginger
Greetings! Was it on this list or the Madrone list where someone asked
about candied ginger? I found a few things. There is probably more
out there but this is what came to hand quickly.
Candied ginger "should" be within period. It is listed as one of the
"thinges necessary for a banquet" (the dessert course) by Thomas
Dawson, 1596, in _The Good Huswifes Jewell_. I am "assuming" that this
is in candied form since the other items all have candied variations.
There is a slightly OOP recipe in _The Ladies Cabinet_, 1655. It is
#43, "To candy Ginger."
"Take very fair and large Ginger, and pare it, and then lay it in water
a day and a night; then take your double refined sugar, and boile it to
the height of sugar again: then when your sugar beginneth to be cold,
take your ginger, and stir it well about till your sugar is hard to the
pan; then take it out race by race, and lay it by the fire four hours,
then tak a pot and warm it, and put the Ginger in it, then tie it very
clsoe, and every second morning stir it about roundly, and it will be
rock-candied in a very short space."
In this recipe the root (race) is not sliced into thin pieces to be
candied.
Alys Katharine
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 17:08:59 +1100 (EST)
From: Charles McCN <charlesn at sunrise.srl.rmit.edu.au>
Subject: SC -Anise (was cndied ginger)
Anise seed and sugar are good - a texture not unlike small garlic buds
roasted, and a taste a little like licorice, a little like pepper, and a
little like sugar - I can't think of a better description at the moment,
but I use it as a snack all the time - kind of mouth-freshener.
Indian restaurants around do a similar thing, but they put more stuff in
with it.
Charles
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 23:09:48 EST
From: kathe1 at juno.com (Kathleen M Everitt)
Subject: SC - Re: candied ginger)
> Hummmmmm, there should be some recipes in late period books, but I was
>basicly thinking of cooking them in a bit of syrup until it was at
>hard-crack, draining them and coating them with sugar. Or, more simply,
>wetting the seeds with beaten egg white and rolling in sugar. The real
>problem is figuring out how to get all the seeds separate afterwards. You
>would have to do it before they completely dried or they'd never come apart.
>And there's the difficulty in keeping the coating on them while separtating
>them............................
> Any ideas out there? What do the period recipes suggest?
>
>Ldy Diana
I don't know specifically about comfits, but the recipe for candied peel
says spread them out to dry. Also, rolling them in sugar keeps them from
sticking, not make them stick together. I always roll my peel in sugar if
I'm in a hurry or it's really humid. I would imagine it would work the
same way for candied seeds. Roll them in sugar, spread them on cookie
sheets and let them dry, turning with a spatula occasionally to keep
them from sticking to the pan. Try putting them in the oven after you
turn it off from baking something. You don't want to bake them, but the
residual heat will help them dry out.
Julleran
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 11:01:56 -0500 (EST)
From: Robin Carrollmann <harper at idt.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: Worm Recipe (plus a "new" book)
On Tue, 23 Dec 1997, Elise Fleming wrote:
> A comment on the recipe for a confection from pine-nut kernels: There
> is a painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Renaissance which
> has, I am convinced, a picture of this confection. I had been on the
> prowl for art work with confections and spotted this in an alcove. I
> sketched the candy which is somewhat cube-shaped with white ovals in
> it. Only after I read this recipe did the picture and the recipe come
> together. Now I need to find pine nuts and try it out.
>
> Alys Katharine
No doubt you know (but I'll mention it for anyone who doesn't) that
sugared pine-nuts are mentioned in Platina. I'm at work, and don't
have my copy handy, but ISTR that he says to shape them into little rolls.
They are served at the beginning of a meal (to stimulate the appetite, I
think).
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain of Tethba
harper at idt.net
mka Robin Carroll-Mann, who made sugared walnuts for Xmas gifts this
year
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 08:39:06 -0600 (CST)
From: alysk at ix.netcom.com (Elise Fleming)
Subject: SC - Pine-nut Confection
Greetings. Here is the recipe from the Nostradamus book.
Alys Katharine - Recipe follows
"How to Make a Confection from Pine-Nut Kernels".
"Take as many well-cleaned and carefully shelled pine-nut kernels as
you will, dry them or toast them a little. Or take them whole with
their skins and shells and put them in a basket. Hang this over the
hearth near the fire and leave it there for three days. Tus the heat
from the fire will slowly penetrate them and dry them. Then take them
out and clean them thoroughly. Next take two and a half pounds of
nuts, being careful to keep them close at hand. Then take some of the
most beautiful and best Madeira sugar, dissolve sufficient of it in
rose-water and boil it until it attains the consistency of a jelly. If
it is winter or a time when there is a lot of moisture in the air, boil
it a bit longer, but if it is summer, then let it just simmer. this is
when it does not boil over or bubble when it boils, which is a sign
that the moisture had been evaporated; but to be brief, when it has
boiled to the consistency of a jelly, as I have said, thake the
preserving pan off th efire and put it somewhere where th eliquid can
dry off and become firm. Then give it a good stir with a piece of wood
and beat it continuously until it turns white. When it begins to cool
down a little, add the white of a whole or half an egg and beat it well
again. Next place it over the coals, in order to allow the moisture
from the egg-white to stiffen, and when you see that it is properly
white and like the first lot you boiled, take the dried, well-cleaned
pine-nut kernels and put them into the sugar. Stir them with the wood
so that they are thoroughly mixed with the sugar - this should still be
done over the coal fire, so that the mixture does not cool too quickly.
Then take a wide wooden knife, like the ones used by the shoemakers,
and cut the mixture into pieces, each weighing about ana ounce and a
half, but not more than two, which would not be good, and spread them
carefully on to some paper until they have properly cooked, at which
stage put a little gold leaf on to them and your confection is ready.
If, however, it is not possible to obtain pine-nut kernels anywhere,
use peeled almonds instead, dividing them either into two parts or
three and mixing them with the sugar to make this confection. And if
there are too few pine-nut kernels, you can replace them with pieces of
almonds, for the latter are not dissimilar to the former in taste and
potency. You can also use fennel which is flowering or in seed, which
is kept in houses and used during the wine harvest. When your sugar
has almost completely boiled and is hot and white with everything mixed
in it or scattered over it, it looks like manna or or snow and is so