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Cinnamon Drops
Mix half an ounce of powdered cinnamon, or half a tea-spoonful of oil of cinnamon, with a pound of pounded sugar and half a pint of water; boil the syrup to a candy height (see SUGAR, BOILING) or until it snaps when put into cold water; then spread it on a large flat dish, well oiled, and score it, before it hardens, into small squares, or drop it evenly on paper. Time to boil, about a quarter of an hour. Probable cost, 8d.
A two-ingredient hard candy that depends entirely on hitting the right sugar temperature. A thermometer replaces the cold-water test and removes most of the guesswork.
- The hinge: candy height"Snaps when put into cold water" is the hard-crack stage, 300-310F (149-154C). Below about 295F the drops stay tacky and weep; above 320F the sugar begins to caramelise and turns bitter and brown.
- Imperial measuresCassell's half pint is 10 fl oz (about 285 ml), not the US 8 oz. A pound of sugar is 450 g, giving roughly a 1.6:1 sugar-to-water ratio, which is generous on water but simply means a longer boil.
- Pounded sugarSugar was sold in loaves and broken down at home; "pounded" means crushed fine. Ordinary granulated white sugar is the equivalent. Do not use icing sugar, which contains anti-caking starch.
- Oil of cinnamonCinnamon essential oil is far stronger than the ground spice and a half teaspoonful in modern food-grade oil is aggressive. A quarter teaspoon, or less, added off the heat is closer to modern practice; add it after the syrup comes off the boil, since the volatiles flash off at candy temperatures.
- Powdered cinnamonHalf an ounce (14 g, about 6 teaspoons) of ground cinnamon will cloud the syrup and leave a slight grittiness. It works, but the drops will be opaque brown rather than clear.
- TimingA quarter of an hour is about right for this quantity in a wide pan, but go by temperature, not the clock. Stop stirring once the sugar has dissolved; agitation after that encourages the syrup to crystallise into a grainy mass.
- Oiling and scoringUse a neutral oil on a metal tray or a silicone mat. Score with an oiled knife when the sheet is set enough to hold a line but still warm; once fully cold it will shatter unpredictably rather than break on the scores.
- YieldSince nearly all the water boils off, the finished sheet weighs close to the pound of sugar used, less whatever clings to the pan; the number of squares depends on how finely you score it. Store airtight with a desiccant if possible, since hard sugar candy picks up atmospheric moisture and goes sticky within a day or two in a humid kitchen.
The "probable cost, 8d." is characteristic of the dictionary's habit of pricing each dish, a feature aimed at the mistress of a household budgeting for a cook. The cross-reference to SUGAR, BOILING points to the technique the recipe depends on, and the same boiled syrup is the basis of peppermint, lemon or clove drops. The choice between powdered cinnamon and oil of cinnamon may reflect the wider availability of distilled essential oils from chemists during the period, which allowed a clear syrup to be flavoured without clouding it.