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Stuffed Prunes
25 large prunes 2 tablespoons citron 1 tablespoon candied ginger 1/4 cup nuts 1/2 cup dates 1 teaspoon lemon juice granulated sugar Wash the prunes and steam for 10 minutes, then remove the pits. Put the citron, ginger, nuts and pitted dates through the food chopper. Add lemon juice and mix well. Stuff the prunes with this mixture then roll in sugar.
A no-bake sweetmeat built from a food chopper and a bowl. The only real technique is steaming the prunes just enough to open them without collapsing them.
- PrunesUse large pitted dried plums if you can get them, which skips the pitting step; otherwise choose the biggest whole prunes available. Prunes sold today are often softer and moister than the dried fruit this recipe assumes, so 5-6 minutes of steaming may be plenty.
- Steam, don't soakThe hinge of the recipe. Steaming softens the fruit just enough to open it, remove the pit and hold the filling; soaking in water waterlogs the fruit and the sugar coating will turn to syrup.
- CitronCandied citron peel, the thick-rinded citrus once standard in fruitcake baskets at Christmas. It is scarce in supermarkets now; candied orange or lemon peel works in the same proportion.
- Candied gingerWhat the book calls candied ginger is the crystallised sort, sold in sugar-dusted pieces. Chop enough pieces to make up the tablespoon.
- NutsUnspecified, as was normal. Walnuts or pecans suit the fruit; toast them briefly first for better flavour, and cool before chopping.
- Food chopperA hand-cranked grinder clamped to the table. A food processor pulsed a few times does the same job, but stop while the mixture is still coarse and sticky rather than a paste.
- Rolling in sugarGranulated sugar is the period finish; the fruit must be cool and just tacky, not wet, or the coating dissolves. Superfine sugar clings more evenly if you prefer it.
- Yield and keepingTwenty-five pieces, enough for a small candy plate. They keep a week in a covered tin between layers of waxed paper; the sugar coat will soften after a day or two.
Stuffed dried fruit of this kind was a staple of the homemade confection plate, set out alongside nuts, ribbon candy and fondants in the decades when store-bought chocolates were still a luxury. Prunes, dates, citron and crystallised ginger all arrived dried or preserved and kept well in the cupboard, which is why they turn up together in holiday sweetmeats. The food chopper called for here was a common American kitchen tool through the first half of the twentieth century, clamped to a table edge and used for everything from hash to fruit filling.