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Apple Fritters III
Sour apples Powdered sugar Lemon juice Batter II Core, pare, and cut apples in one-third inch slices. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and few drops lemon juice; cover, and let stand one-half hour. Drain, dip pieces in batter, fry in deep fat, and drain. Arrange on a folded napkin in form of a circle, and serve with Sabyon or Hard Sauce. Banana Fritters I 4 bananas Powdered sugar 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons Sherry wine 1/2 rule Batter V Remove skins from bananas. Scrape bananas, cut in halves lengthwise, and cut halves in two pieces crosswise Sprinkle with powdered sugar, lemon juice, and wine; cover, and let stand thirty minutes; drain, dip in batter, fry in deep fat, and drain on brown paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve on a folded napkin.
A straightforward macerate-and-fry fritter that depends on two things the text only gestures at: the cross-referenced batter and the temperature of the fat.
- "Batter II"This is a cross-reference to a numbered batter elsewhere in the book, not an ingredient. Fritter batters of this type are flour, milk, egg and a little salt and baking powder; look up the book's own Batter II rather than guessing at proportions. It should coat the slice and cling without running off.
- Sour applesPeriod shorthand for a firm, tart cooking apple, not one that has gone off. Granny Smith, Bramley or Northern Spy all suit; sweet dessert apples turn insipid once sugared and fried.
- Fat temperatureThe recipe says only "deep fat" and gives no number; period books tested with a cube of bread. In modern terms roughly 365 to 375F works. Below that the batter drinks oil; much above it and the coating browns before the apple softens. Fry a few pieces at a time so the temperature holds.
- The half-hour standThe sugar and lemon draw out juice and season the fruit through. Drain the slices well and blot them, because surface liquid will make the batter slide off in the fat.
- Slice thicknessA third of an inch is deliberate. Thicker slices stay raw and crisp inside the finished coating; much thinner and they collapse into the batter.
- DrainingBrown paper was the standard drain in 1900. Use a rack set over a sheet pan, which keeps the underside from steaming soft.
- The napkinFritters were sent to table on a folded linen napkin on the platter to absorb residual fat. A paper-lined dish does the same job; serve at once, as they lose their crispness within a few minutes.
- Sauces"Sabyon" is sabayon, egg yolks whisked with sugar and wine over hot water. Hard sauce is creamed butter and powdered sugar with flavouring, served cold against the hot fritters.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantity of apples or number of servings; two large apples sliced at a third of an inch will produce enough fritters for about four as a dessert course.