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Fudges: Brazil
Chocolate Brazil Nut Fudge Chocolate Fudge I 1 cup Brazil nuts shelled Cut one cup of Brazil nut meats in rather large pieces. Make Chocolate Fudge and just before turning it into the pan, stir in the Brazil nuts. Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge Chocolate Fudge I 12 marshmallows Cut marshmallows in pieces. Make Chocolate Fudge, and just before turning it into the pan, fold in the pieces of marshmallow, or place pieces of marshmallow evenly over the surface of the buttered pan, and pour chocolate fudge over them.
Chocolate Walnut Fudge I Chocolate Fudge 1 cup walnut meats Cut one cup of walnut meats in rather large pieces. Make Chocolate Fudge, and just before turning it into the pan, stir in the walnut meats. Chocolate Walnut Fudge II 2 cups sugar 2 squares chocolate, grated 2/3 cup rich milk 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup walnuts Put sugar and milk in saucepan, stir until sugar is dissolved, and boil without stirring to 238 degrees F., or until candy forms a soft ball when tried in cold water. Add grated chocolate and butter, and pour on marble slab or large platter that has been wiped over with a damp cheesecloth. When cool, add nut meats, and work with a spatula until creamy. Press into a buttered pan, or shape on a marble slab, and when firm cut in squares. Condensed Milk Fudge 2 cups sugar 2 squares unsweetened chocolate 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup condensed milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons butter Put sugar, water, milk, and chocolate in saucepan. Heat gradually to the boiling point, and let boil until mixture will form a soft ball when tried in cold water. Remove from range, add butter, pour upon marble slab, and work as other fudges, adding vanilla when mixture is cool.
Cream Nut Balls 2 1/2 squares chocolate 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 cup sour cream Chopped nut meats Put chocolate in saucepan, and melt over hot water. Add sugar and sour cream alternately to chocolate, put directly on range, bring to boiling point, and boil without stirring to 230 degrees F., or until a very soft ball is formed when candy is tried in cold water.
Pour upon slightly oiled marble slab, large platter, or white agate tray, leave undisturbed until cool, then work with spatula until creamy. Add vanilla and salt, knead with the hands until candy is smooth, shape in small balls or any other desired shape, and roll in chopped nut meats. Plum Pudding Candy 2 squares chocolate 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups sugar 1/3 cup glace cherries 1 cup sour cream 1/3 cup Sultana raisins Few grains cinnamon 1 cup chopped nut meats Put chocolate in saucepan, and melt over hot water, add sugar and mix well, then add sour cream gradually, stirring it in carefully. Put saucepan on range, bring to boiling point and boil without stirring to 230 degrees F., or until it forms a very soft ball when tried in cold water. Pour out on slightly dampened marble slab or large platter, and leave undisturbed until cool. Work with a broad spatula until candy gets stiff. Put in a bowl, set bowl over dish of boiling water until candy softens, add cinnamon, vanilla, cherries cut in pieces, raisins, and chopped nut meats; mix well and pour into an oiled brick mold or deep pan. Let stand several days to ripen, remove from mold, and cut in slices.
Sultana Fudge 2 tablespoons butter 2 squares chocolate 2 cups sugar 2 tablespoons Sultana raisins 1/4 cup molasses 1/2 cup nut meats 1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla Melt butter in saucepan, add sugar, molasses, milk, and chocolate, heat gently, and stir until chocolate is melted; then bring to boiling point, and boil without stirring to 238 degrees F., or until candy forms a soft ball when tried in cold water. Remove from fire, leave undisturbed until cool, then beat and stir with a spoon, or work with a spatula, until candy begins to get sugary. Stir in the raisins, nut meats cut in small pieces, and vanilla, pour into a buttered pan, and mark in squares with a knife. English walnuts, hickory or pecan nut meats may be used.
Caramel Fudge 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup milk or cream 2 cups sugar 1 cup chopped nut meats 1/3 cup boiling water Few grains salt Put one and one third cups sugar in a smooth, hot, iron frying pan and stir with a wooden spoon until sugar melts. Do not allow it to become dark. Add boiling water slowly and simmer until caramelized sugar is entirely melted. Add butter, two thirds cup sugar, and milk; bring to boiling point, and boil to 238 degrees F., or until candy will form a soft ball when tried in cold water. Remove from fire, leave undisturbed until cool, then beat and stir with a spoon, or work with a spatula, until candy begins to get sugary. Stir in the chopped nuts and salt, pour into a buttered pan, and mark in squares. Peanuts, English walnuts, or pecan nuts may be used.
A run of variations on one base fudge, all built on the old candy-kitchen method: boil, cool undisturbed, then work the mass to a cream. A few of the measures and ingredients no longer mean what they did.
- A square of chocolateOne "square" is one ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate. Two squares is 2 oz; the 2 1/2 squares in Cream Nut Balls is 2 1/2 oz, which you can weigh off a bar. Do not substitute semisweet without cutting the sugar.
- Condensed milk is ambiguous here"condensed milk" in this period usually meant the sweetened kind, though unsweetened evaporated milk was also sold under the name. Only 1/4 cup is used alongside the full 2 cups of sugar, and the original does not settle which product is meant.
- The two target temperatures are not interchangeable238°F gives a firm, cuttable fudge; 230°F gives the softer, more fondant-like mass wanted for Cream Nut Balls and Plum Pudding Candy, which are kneaded and shaped rather than cut. Check your thermometer in boiling water first and adjust for your altitude, roughly 1°F down per 500 feet.
- Do not disturb it while it coolsThis is the hinge of every recipe on the page. Stirring or scraping hot syrup starts crystals growing large and the fudge turns grainy. Pour it out, leave it alone until it is barely warm to the hand, and only then work it with the spatula.
- Instead of a marble slabA rimmed sheet pan, a large platter, or a granite or quartz countertop all work. Wipe with a damp cloth or the barest film of neutral oil, as directed; a heavy coat of oil will keep the candy from setting properly.
- Sour creamThe book means cream soured naturally, not a gum-thickened modern product. Full-fat sour cream is the nearest substitute; add it gradually to the melted chocolate and sugar as written, or it may look curdled before it comes to the boil.
- "Rich milk" and marshmallowsRich milk means milk with cream added, so whole milk or half-and-half. Marshmallow sizes of the period are not documented here; reading the twelve as today's standard marshmallows gives roughly 1 1/2 cups of miniatures.
- Caramel Fudge, the iron panAny heavy light-coloured pan is better for dry-caramelising sugar, since you need to see the colour. Add the boiling water at arm's length; it will spit violently.
- Plum Pudding Candy and the ripeningThe recipe leaves a cream-based candy several days at room temperature. If you would rather not, wrap it well and refrigerate, and bring the slices back to room temperature before serving.
- YieldEach of the 2-cup-sugar batches fills an 8-inch square pan thinly and gives about 1 1/4 lb, roughly 30 squares. The 3-cup sour cream batches make closer to 2 lb. Work on a dry day; humid weather leaves fudge sticky.
Fudge is an American confection of the late nineteenth century, and its early spread is generally traced to the women's colleges, where students traded recipes named for Vassar, Smith and Wellesley. By the time this book appeared, the novelty had hardened into technique: a base recipe, a stated thermometer reading, and a page of variations made by folding something into the finished mass. Plum Pudding Candy is the outlier: a confectioner's imitation of a Christmas pudding, molded in a brick mold, left to ripen, and cut in slices showing the cherries and raisins in cross-section.