Foods, their selection and preparation

and adding a saturated sugar solution. After hardening, the cakes are cut into pieces of the desired size. In choosing sugar for cooking processes, the size of the crystals is unimportant if the sugar is to be dissolved in a hot liquid. Any white sucrose will form the same solution ir¬ respective of the size of the crystals, pro¬ vided equal proportions by weight are used. The smaller the crystals the more readily they dissolve, and on this account small crystals are desirable for use in cold liquids, such as iced tea. Small crystals are preferred with fresh fruit. Lump sugar frequently is served with hot drinks, in which it dissolves quickly. Loaf Sugar. English recipes sometimes call for "loaf sugar.” This name is a survival of the time when the crystallizing sugar was run into conical molds perforated at the bot¬ tom to allow the escape of the molasses. The crystals were washed, and the mass, cooled in the mold, retained its shape. It frequently was sold in this form, which was preferred be¬ cause the loaf form did not permit adultera¬ tion at a time when loose crystals of sugar frequently were sanded. It has no advantages over any pure sugar now that consumers are protected by pure food laws and fair-tradepractice regulations. Cerelose. Cerelose is a dry, crystalline product prepared from corn sirup. In its preparation the digestion of the starch is so handled that a high proportion of dextrose is obtained, which facilitates crystallization. Some maltose and dextrins also are present. Cerelose is less sweet than "granulated sugar.” It is rarely available on the consumer market but has extensive uses in industrial food preparation and processing. Sirups. Sirups are important sources of sugars. They are used as spreads on bread, in beverages, in candymaking, and in cook¬ ing. The fluid form of sirups increases the cost of distribution so that in general they [30] are a more expensive source of sugar than the more concentrated and easily packaged crys¬ tallized forms. Some sirups have special flavors and other characteristics which add to their desirability and convenience for special uses. Sirups contain from 34 to 70 per cent total sugar, in most cases a mixture of sugars. Maple sirup may contain 65 per cent sucrose. Honey is a mixture of dextrose and levulose, with only a small amount of sucrose. The composition of the more important sirups is shown in Table VIII. The sources of the various sirups are discussed below. Cane sugar sirup is the clarified, concen¬ trated juice of sugar cane. It contains from 65 to 70 per cent sugar. This concentration is sufficiently high to preserve the sirup but not high enough to cause crystallization. Since the evaporation is carried out in open pans, there is some caramelization. This gives a red-brown color to the sirup. Where the trade demands a light-colored product, the sirups are bleached by sulfur fumes. This improves the color of the sirup but remaining traces of sulfur dioxide may mask its distinc¬ tive flavor. Molasses is a by-product from the manu¬ facture of sugar, in contrast to cane sirup which is an end-product in itself. New Orleans molasses, rarely seen now, was ob¬