A manual of home-making

While there are many diffei-ent kinds of sngar» thrive of in* teretst to the housekeeper are of two cUisses: iti the one g^roufi the familiar granulated cane or beet sugar, maple atif^r^ am brown sugar; in the other is ghicose» commonly known in th form of a clear, sticky sirup, f 'orn sirup consists of a niixtun^ glucose with dext fines and other substances. IVfoIassi^ oon tains large amounts of cane sugar. These two cliisses of sugf^ differ greatly in characteristics. Sugars belonging to the Sfst class are very sweet and crystallize in large crystals, with which all are familiar; glucose is less sweet, and either cr>*stalii2es less easily in much finer crystals or remains as a hea\^ sirup creamy consistency. In certain kinds of candy, this cream texture is one of the requisites. The fact that in the process cooking it is [jossible to change a part of the crystalline &n^^ into glucose with its finer texture is one of the chief f;u^tors making candy* The whole problem of preventing the forniati of the undesirable granules, or ciystals, is simply to conv some of the crystalline sugar to glucose and to avoid contlitiotid tlmt may cause candy to grain. •KoL'ping ChristmiLs. Cornell Hi*ailiiiK-Cmii8e far the Fann Ifomr UuU. 97. i 576 ^ SUGAR COOKERY How to mak^ camiy fitic-g rained. Whiln tho simple boiling of su^ar l)rings almut to some extent this desired change of nysialliiie sugar to ghn'ose, the addition of a hUle acid, such as cream-tjMartar, greatly hastens tJie proc- ess. It is possible to get the same result by substituting glucose for a part of the sugar in the fii'st place. Overcooking, that is, cooking J>eyond the correct temperature, causes graininp:, for ghicose contains more water than does crystalline sugar, and overcooking drives off the water and forces the glucose to go buck to sugar. A crystal of sugar falling into the solution may cause the whole mass to crystallize. Hence care must be taken not to allow crystals to be carried up to the sitle of the pan and fall back into the mixture. Washing down these crystals carefully with a swab prevents trouble from this source. Stirring the mixture while it is cooking may cause crystalliza- tion, especially in the case of fondant, which contains only sugar and water* When milk is used, it is necessary to stir the mix- ture o(*casionally to prevent itii sticking to the pan. There is not the danger, however, of graining in this case, for milk and erofim both tend to prevent crystallization. Stirring the mixture while it is hot or cooling it too suddenly may cause crystallization. Temperature. Another prol>lem is one that concerns the length of time for cooking sugar mixtures. It is well known that when sugar la heated with water a sirup is formed. If the lieating process is continued, water is driven off as steam, and the sirup becomes thicker, or more concentrated. As the concentration increases, the temperature rises. The stage of concentration to which the solution ie to be boiled depends on tlie kind of prcxiuct that is to be made. The terms thread, soft ball, hard liall, crack, hard crack, and caramel are used to distinguish the different stages. While the orduiary method used by amateurs for testing candy consists in dropping a little of tlie solution into cold water, more uniform and accurate results may be obtained by the use of a thermometer. A glass L 578