Boston Cooking-School cook book

To Dip Chocolates. Coating chocolate must be used. Melt over hot, not boiling water: Beat gently until chocolate feels a little cooler than hand or registers 80° F. to 85° F. on candy thermometer. Drop a center into the chocolate with bonbon dipper or two-tined fork, move around until covered, remove to oiled paper, drawing fork.along top of each to make a ridge. SPUN SUGAR 2 cups sugar 1 cup water 1% teaspoon cream of tartar Boil without stirring to 310° F. or until sirup spins a very long thread. Place pan immediately in larger pan of cold water to stop boiling, then set in hot water. Color sirup with vegetable coloring if desired. Place wooden bars (broomstick handles) across chairs 3 feet apart. Spread paper on floor beneath. Dip sugar spinner in sirup and wave swiftly back and forth over bars. Gather up spun sugar from time to time, form into nests, or pile on cold dish. If sirup gets sugary, melt over fire for a moment. Use as garnish for ice cream. Spun sugar softens quickly in warm weather. One half teaspoon paraffin helps to retain gloss and hold up sugar. The best jellies are made from fruit juices which are rich in both acid and pectin (the jellifying substance). Such juices are evaporated by cooking until the proportion of pectin to the juice is sufficient to Jelly-Making Equipment stiffen the whole (see Jelly Test, p. 743). Fruits in the following list have sufficient pectin and acid to jell. Choose underripe fruit, since pectin and acid content decrease as the fruit ripens. Sour apples © Gooseberries Lemons Crab apples Eastern grapes Loganberries Sour blackberries Sour guavas Sour oranges Currants (red) Grapefruit Plums Sour prunes Juices of ripe fruit or fruit naturally deficient in either acid or pectin may be made into jelly by combining with fruit juices high in the required quality, or with extracted pectin, commercial or homemade. Such juices are: Apricots Raspberries Unripe pears Figs Rhubarb Overripe fruit Peaches Strawberries Juice of ripe fruit may also be made into jelly by combining with an equal amount of juice from some underripe fruit. The advantage of this method is that ripe fruit may be used when flavor and color are at their best. Jams and jellies may be made from canned or dried fruit or bottled juices at all times of the year. TO EXTRACT FRUIT JUICES To Make a Jelly Bag. Fold two opposite corners of a piece of cotton-and-wool flannel three fourths of a yard long. Sew up in the form of a cornucopia, rounding at the end. Fell the seam to make more secure. Bind the top with tape and finish with two or three heavy loops by which it may be hung, or use double cheesecloth, tying opposite corners together. Hang from a hook. To Prepare Fruit. Pick over fruit. Wash. If fruit is to be used without added pectin, discard overripe fruit. Crush berries, currants, and grapes in kettle. Cut other fruits in pieces or slices. Pare pineapple but do not pare or core other fruits, since skin and core are rich in pectin. First Extraction. For berries, etc., add 1 cup of water to each 5 pounds of prepared fruit, place kettle containing the fruit over another kettle of hot water and heat at 160° F. or 175° F. until tender (10 to 15 minutes), stirring occasionally. For other fruits, add cold water barely to cover and boil rapidly in a covered kettle until soft. Strain the juice through jelly bag, allowing to drip overnight. _ Pour off clear liquid carefully as sediment settles to the bottom. Second Extraction. Do not squeeze the pulp left in the jelly bag but put it in a saucepan, cover with cold water, stir until thoroughly mixed, bring slowly to the boiling point, boil 10 to 15