Confectionery
In speaking of confectionery, it should be remarked that many preparations come under that head; for the various fruits, flowers, herbs, roots, and juices which, when boiled with sugar, were formerly employed in pharmacy as well as for sweetmeats, were called confections, from the Latin word conficere, "to make up;" but the term confectionary embraces a very large class indeed of sweet foods, many kinds of which should not be attempted in the ordinary cuisine. Apart from these-cakes, biscuits and tarts, &c., the class of sweetmeats, called confections may be thus classified:-1. Liquid confects, or fruits, either whole or in pieces, preserved by being immersed in a fluid transparent syrup; as the liquid confects of apricots, green citrons, and many foreign fruits. 2. Dry confects are those which, after having been boiled in the syrup, are taken out and put to dry in an oven, as citron and orange-peel, &c. 3. Marmalade, jams and pastes, a kind of soft compounds made of the pulp of fruits or other vegetable substances, beaten up with sugar or honey; such as oranges, apricots, pears, &c. 4. Jellies are the juices of fruits boiled with sugar to a pretty thick consistency, so as, upon cooling, to form a trembling jelly; as currant, gooseberry, apple jelly, &c. 5. Conserves are a kind of dry confects, made by beating up flowers, fruits, &c., with sugar, not dissolved. 6.
Candies are fruits candied over with sugar after having been boiled in the syrup.
Scotch confectioners are generally considered the cleverest, next to the French, and Wotherspoon & Co., of Paisley, are a celebrated firm. Sweets, such as toffee, candies, fruit-drops, &c., are now so cheap that few people think it worth while to make them for the children; but many of these bought sweets are greatly adulterated, and instead of risking the harm that these cheap sweets might do, it would be well now and then to make a little store of good wholesome home-made ones, such as Everton toffee or barley sugar.
Corn Cake. (Very good for a Breakfast Cake.) - INGREDIENTS for 4 cakes. lb. of corn meal, 1 egg, lb. of golden syrup, 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, milk, salt. AVERAGE COST, 4d.
Mix all the ingredients together, using as much milk as is required to make them into a stiff paste. Bake on buttered tin plates in a quick oven and serve hot, TIME, -20 minutes.
SEASONABLE at any time, COW-HEEL STOCK.