Another form of thin cakes baked in smaller irons, not honeycombed, but marked with a pattern, are hiepen or hipp)cn. But their constitution is more that of almond confections. When that is not the case they differ in no wise except in size and outer form from small waffles. CHAPTER XXXIII. SPECIALIZED CAKES AND CONFECTIONERIES. As we proceed from bread through cakes, we come to an increasing specialization of products which are no longer in the hands of bakers, but of confectioners. The art of pro- ducing any refined cakes is not often, rather very rarely. NOUGAT AND OTHER NUT CARES 407 possessed by ordinary cooks, and only here and there the daughters of families conserve the ancestral art of com- pounding such delicacies for the table. When even these accomplishments disappear, a general levelling down takes place, in which the standard of quality has to yield to one of price. Now comes the opportunity for the imitations and counterfeits which excite surprise by their gaudy as well as vulgar appearance, and the contrasting feeling evoked by their taste. In a Continental town we visited the shop of a so-called art baker, and on tasting a ‘ custard tartlet ’ were made speechless by the first bite. The custard was a sweet flour -paste, coloured yellow with saffron; neither egg nor milk had been near the ‘ custard.’ In this case ‘ art ’ was equivalent to cotmterfeit ; the shop was full of such counterfeit products. This experience should be an incentive to all friends of culture to assist in the preserva- tion of the genuine traditions, and combat the deterioration of a high art which includes the experience of untold generations, and is now in danger of losing many of its orna- ments by a relapse into barbarism. We were glad to find that in Alsatia confectioners, or, as they are termed in Ger- many, Gonditoren, preserved ancient traditions with regard to local products particularly, and that the filbert nougat had, like the hazel-nuts of the Vosges, lost nothing of its ancient glory. Nougat is a confection of some kind of nut, nutcake, as the name suggests, such as almonds, gnstachios, and filberts with honey. During late years sugar has taken the place of the honey, and in consequence nougat has lost much of its pristine character. Any so-called nougat made with sugar should be marked sugar noiigat, but all nougat shortly so called ought to be compounded with honey as the only sweet ingredient. TIazel-nuts were by the Greeks called Pontic nuts, or nuts of Ileraclea, the capital of Pontus, the land south of the 4o8 THE SPIRIT OF CGOKERl Black Sea. The Latins received hazel nuts from Prceneste and Avellinnm. From the latter village the French name of avclines originated, also the adjective adopted in Linne’s botany, Avellana. Hazel-nuts have lost nothing in the esteem of mankind, as we can see from the discussion of their merits by the Greek physician Galen. Pistachios are, according to Theophrast, natives of India, and were brought to Eome from Syria by Lucius Yitellius in the reign of Tiberius ; thence they were taken to Spain by Flaccus Tiberius. The discussion for and against pista- chios, which was once lively amongst physicians, as evidenced by the discussions on them contained in the works of Galen and Avicenna, are of no practical value now that the character of their nuts is fully known.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Another form of thin cakes baked in smaller irons, not honeycombed, but marked with a pattern, are hiepen or hippen. But their constitution is more that of almond confections. When that is not the case they differ in no wise except in size and outer form from small waffles. CHAPTER XXXIII. SPECIALIZED CAKES AND CONFECTIONERIES. As we proceed from bread through cakes, we come to an increasing specialization of products which are no longer in the hands of bakers, but of confectioners. The art of producing any refined cakes is not often, rather very rarely. NOUGAT AND OTHER NUT CARES possessed by ordinary cooks, and only here and there the daughters of families conserve the ancestral art of compounding such delicacies for the table. When even these accomplishments disappear, a general levelling down takes place, in which the standard of quality has to yield to one of price. Now comes the opportunity for the imitations and counterfeits which excite surprise by their gaudy as well as vulgar appearance, and the contrasting feeling evoked by their taste. In a Continental town we visited the shop of a so-called art baker, and on tasting a ‘ custard tartlet ’ were made speechless by the first bite. The custard was a sweet flour -paste, coloured yellow with saffron; neither egg nor milk had been near the ‘ custard.’ In this case ‘ art ’ was equivalent to counterfeit ; the shop was full of such counterfeit products. This experience should be an incentive to all friends of culture to assist in the preservation of the genuine traditions, and combat the deterioration of a high art which includes the experience of untold generations, and is now in danger of losing many of its ornaments by a relapse into barbarism. We were glad to find that in Alsatia confectioners, or, as they are termed in Germany, Gonditoren, preserved ancient traditions with regard to local products particularly, and that the filbert nougat had, like the hazel-nuts of the Vosges, lost nothing of its ancient glory. Nougat is a confection of some kind of nut, nutcake, as the name suggests, such as almonds, pistachios, and filberts with honey. During late years sugar has taken the place of the honey, and in consequence nougat has lost much of its pristine character. Any so-called nougat made with sugar should be marked sugar noiigat, but all nougat shortly so called ought to be compounded with honey as the only sweet ingredient. TIazel-nuts were by the Greeks called Pontic nuts, or nuts of Ileraclea, the capital of Pontus, the land south of the 4o8 Black Sea. The Latins received hazel nuts from Prceneste and Avellinnm. From the latter village the French name of avclines originated, also the adjective adopted in Linne’s botany, Avellana. Hazel-nuts have lost nothing in the esteem of mankind, as we can see from the discussion of their merits by the Greek physician Galen. Pistachios are, according to Theophrast, natives of India, and were brought to Eome from Syria by Lucius Yitellius in the reign of Tiberius ; thence they were taken to Spain by Flaccus Tiberius. The discussion for and against pistachios, which was once lively amongst physicians, as evidenced by the discussions on them contained in the works of Galen and Avicenna, are of no practical value now that the character of their nuts is fully known.

The spirit of cookery