Book remarks

Okay, I just scanned through the table of contents for Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats (1832).  While there are many cake (including cheesecake), pie, pudding, and jelly recipes, there are no specific candy-making recipes.

Definitions, definitions

Wow.  Finding out what something is called can be almost as hard as figuring out how to make something.  Here are some terms I have been researching in order to determine whether or not they fall within the Victorian (1830-1900) period.  As some chocolate sites have stated, there is no governing body to make sure the names are used correctly.  Therefore, some misuse has muddied the definitions for certain candy terms.  Here, then, is some of what I have discovered.

Bon-bons are technically a filling "the size of a dollop" that is coated with hard chocolate.
Praline is a bon-bon filled with a nut mixture.
Truffle is a bon-bon filled with a ganache mixture, although the outer coating could be something other than hard chocolate, such as cocoa powder.  This, by the way, is known as a Swiss truffle.
A European truffle is made with syrup, cocoa powder, milk powder, fats, and other ingredients to form an emulsion.
An American truffle is a mixture of chocolates with butterfat and, in some cases, hardened coconut oil.

The bon-bon was created in Italy around 1865.  The praline was created in Belgium around 1912.  The truffle was created in France in 1895.  So, what does all of this mean?

Small chocolate-coated candies existed as early as 1865.  To this point in my research, however, I have not come across any specific Victorian techniques or recipes for dipping chocolate candies.

Books, books, and more books.

I have just spent about the last 2 hours going through links on the internet to download about 40 Victorian-era cookbooks available as on-line facsimiles or pdf files.  The downloads include Art of Confectionery (1866), Candy Making at Home (1884), Complete Confectioner (1844), a different Complete Confectioner (1849), Pastrycook & Confectioner's Guide (1889), and Treaties on the Art of Boiling Sugar (1865).  And to think, I was just trying to do a little research on chocolate truffles.

Merry Christmas to Me.

I just paid my spring 2012 tuition, and it came to about $1000 less than I thought it would, so I decided to treat myself.  I went ahead and ordered some enameled cast iron kettles.  I paid $40 for a 3-quart Wolfgang Puck kettle and another $51 for a 4-1/2-quart FancyCook (which I have never heard of).  We shall see how they last.  Now, I just want to find a 1-1/2-quart saucepan, and I think I will have all the candy-making pans I need.

Acid Drops

I have come across a period recipe for "Acid Drops".  These require tartaric acid, which the local grocery store does not carry.  Between looking for chocolate and other ingredients, I should start a business that specializes in premium and weird candy ingredients.  Anywho, my internet search says tartaric acid is available as a home brewing supply.  Now another decision: Do I just buy from the internet and hope the post office doesn't screw up or do I look around town for a home brewer.

Useless book

I bought The Victorian Kitchen Book of Candies and Confections in order to do research, as it claimed to "reveal the recipes and techniques perfected by the Victorian cook."  Well, almost nothing in this book has anything to do with the Victorian cook.  Nearly all the recipes are modern redactions, and very little is said of actual Victorian technique.  This turned out to be a nearly useless book when it comes to researching Victorian candy making.  Good think I paid less than $1 for it.

Decisions, decisions

I am looking for a slightly smaller granite pan in which to make candy.  I have a 6 quart, but I want something for making smaller batches.  Macy's has an enameled 2-3/4 quart for $44.03, but there is a 4-1/4 quart on eBay for $51.52.  I know the difference is only $7.50, but which pan is going to be better for my purposes.  The eBay pan has 4-1/2" sides; Macy's does not list the dimensions of its pan, and I can't find it elsewhere on the internet.  What to do?  What to do?

According to Macy's, they have it at a mall store about 10 miles from here.  Now, do I take the time to go look at it?  Decisions, decisions.

Well, I came to a decision.  I have a total of $140 to spend on this stuff.  I would rather buy ingredients and work on technique until I can afford the kettles.  Besides, I can keep looking at thrift stores, flea markets, and antique shops for the right stuff.