The "Queen" cookery books: Ices

them apart, when a small, fine thread will form between them, snapping off however, as you open them, and leaving two tiny drops on finger and thumb. The next stage is reached when the thread will draw out a little longer ; the third, when on again dipping in the finger and thumb, the thread does not break when the finger and thumb open naturally ; whilst the fourth stage is attained when you can spread finger and thumb to the uttermost without the thread breaking. Remember, the sugar must be boiled a few minutes longer between each stage; and whatever you do, do not forget to dip your fingers into the cold water first, or you may have a very nasty burn. The fifth stage is reached when on re-boiling the syrup and dipping the skimmer into it you can, after shaking it over the pan and blowing through the holes, see little bubbles on the other side of the skimmer; whilst when, on blowing through the skimmer, the sugar flies oft in feathery sparks, it has reached the feather stage. No. YII. is known when, on dipping your finger and thumb into cold water again, and then into the sugar, the latter allows itself to be rolled up into a little ball which toughens and becomes elastic when cold. When it forms a larger and harder ball, it has come to the eighth stage. When, on again wetting your fingers and picking up some of the sugar, it breaks with a little crack, and on being bitten sticks to the teeth, it has come to the crack, which becomes in a minute or two more the great crack, when the sugar will be crisp and brittle, and will break between the teeth with a clean crack like glass ; or if flung into cold water it will fall with a distinct tinkle into the basin. Lastly, it will be caramel when it begins to turn colour ; first a faint yellow, when it should be lifted from the fire and a little lemon juice be added, or a little water. On re-boiling this will darken, first to a rich golden brown, and then to the black, or burnt stage. If much sugar is boiled it is well to have a saccharometer, or syrup gauge, to test the sugar, as this gives the precise stage without any other test, but for ordinary purposes the above directions suffice. Sugar Syrup. — It is well worth the trouble to keep store syrup at hand, as it is a great addition to almost every kind of ice, and water ices especially are never so nice as when made with sugar syrup instead of plain sugar and water. If you use the syrup gauge alluded to above, you will find a syrup that registers 34 deg. the best for making fondant for icing cakes, &c. ; 32 deg. should be used for fruits frappes, and such things ; whilst a syrup that only registers from 18 deg. to 20 deg. is the best for water ices. If, however, you have no spirit gauge you will find the following rough calculation very effective : Put into a pan two pounds of best loaf sugar, with a pint of cold water, and stir it over the fire till the sugar has dissolved. Watch it from the moment this happens, and the sugar begins to boil, and, as soon as it bubbles all over, and becomes the consistency of cream, it is about 18 deg. to 20 deg. ; when it has boiled five minutes exactly from the start it has reached 26 deg. ; at the end of ten minutes, 28 deg.; at the end of fifteen minutes.