Foods, their selection and preparation

For chocolate creams, plain or special fon¬ dant mixtures are coated by dipping in choco¬ late, either sweet or bitter. The chocolate should be melted (heated to 86° F.) and held as nearly as possible at this temperature. In hand dipping, the heat of the hand helps to keep the temperature of the chocolate right. Coating with Chocolate • In hand dipping, the heat of the hand keeps the chocolate at the right temperature r.s.n.A. ■- y>«|ri"rtrr i - r - fc-i If the chocolate is allowed to get too hot the oil separates and the chocolate coating streaks. Fondant with added fruit and nuts may be formed in loaves or sheets for slicing or cut¬ ting into squares. These pieces may be coated with chocolate. Softened fondant is used to coat other fondant mixtures, grapes, or other small fruits. When fondant is softened for dipping, care must be taken to heat it just enough so that the candy or fruit can be coated smoothly. Both too high a temperature and unnecessary stirring should be avoided. Mints are prepared by flavoring softened fondant with peppermint or wintergreen and dropping small amounts from a teaspoon onto oiled paper. The fondant should be soft enough to form a wafer, but not too thin. Fudge is the cream candy most frequently made at home. Basically it is a fondant to which table fat is added for richness. While the flavor is usually chocolate, various other flavors are used. The simplest way to make fudge is to proceed as for fondant and care¬ fully add the fat and the chocolate after the sirup is set aside to cool. The heat of the sirup is enough to melt them, and the sirup cools more rapidly. Most recipes for fudge suggest the use of milk or cream as the liquid instead of water. The use of milk increases the food value of the fudge but the milk sometimes curdles. This can be avoided by the use of evaporated milk. The basic ingredients for fudge are these: 2 cups sugar, 1 cup of liquid (water, milk, or evaporated milk); 2 ounces chocolate; 2 tablespoons butter or margarine; and ^ teaspoon salt. 1 teaspoon vanilla is added at the end of cooking. All the ingredients ex¬ cept the fat, the vanilla, and possibly the chocolate are combined and cooked slowly with constant stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. If the chocolate has been added, Dipping Cherries • Small fruits dipped in fon¬ dant make attractive bonbons it will melt and mix thoroughly with the sirup. Both chocolate and milk tend to stick and burn on the bottom of the pan; so the mixture must be cooked slowly with an oc¬ casional scraping across the bottom of the pan to make sure it is not sticking. This dan¬ ger is avoided if the chocolate is added at the completion of the cooking. Cook to a boiling point of 237° F. (soft ball). After removal from the heat add fat, vanilla, and the chocolate if it has not been added earlier. Cool in the sauce pan to just above body temperature and beat until creamy. Then turn quickly into a square, greased pan, approximately 9x9 inches. Cut into squares immediately.