How we cook in Tennessee ..

Panocha. — Have ready shelled a quantity of pecan nuts. Put one pound of dark brown sugar and half a cup of cream into a saucepan ; stir over the fire until it melts and boils and forms a soft ball when dropped into cold water. Take from the fire ; add half a pint of pecans, stir until the sugar is granulated, and then drop it in little cakes on oiled paper. Marshmallow Panocha. — One cup of brown sugar made into a candy with two tablespoons of butter and a scant cup of cream ; when this reaches the ' ' string ' ' stage, add half a pound of chopped hazel nuts and about one and one-half dozen marshmallows, with one teaspoon of vanilla for the flavoring; stir hard and pour into buttered tins to cool. Pink Fondant. — Work into a piece of vanilla fondant a few drops of pink coloring matter, adding more if the desired shade is not produced when it has been thoroughly worked through. If the shade is too deep add white fondant and work until it is all the same shade. Fondant. — It is a good plan when making candy to prepare all the ingredients before one begins to cook the sugar. Shell the nuts, if they cannot be bought already shelled, and stone the dates. Blanch the almond kernels by pouring boiling water over them. Allow them to stand for about five minutes, when the skins can easily be removed by pressing between the thumb and forefinger. Lay on a napkin to dry well before using. The first step to be learned in making candy is the preparation of the fondant, which is the foundation for all cream candies. The proportion is: For White Fondant. — Two cupfuls of granulated sugar, half cupful of water, a pinch of cream of tartar. For Maple Fondant. — Two cupfuls of brown sugar, one cupful of maple syrup, one cupful of hot water, a pinch of cream of tartar. When making large quantities of candy it will be found better to cook twice this amount at once. Put the sugar and cream of tartar into a kettle which cooks evenly all over the bottom ; pour in the water, and when all the sugar is wet, place over the fire and boil. To test, hold the forefinger in a cupful of water for a few seconds, dip quickly into the boiling syrup, then back into the water. If the syrup can be rubbed off the finger with the thumb and rolled into a soft ball it is ready to take off the fire. This is the best test I have found. Allow the mixture to get cold, then stir until it creams, and turn out on waxed paper. Take the lump of fondant up in the hands and work thoroughly until it contains no lumps and is in good condition for molding into the different shapes. Fondant prepared in this way is just right for making candies which are to be covered with chocolate. For the colored creams the syrup should be cooked a little longer, and not allowed to become perfectly cold before beating. The maple fondant is cooked and tested in the same way as the white, but usually requires longer beating to make it cream. If the candies are to be dipped in chocolate they must be allowed to dry after molding.