ties of
flavor and of texture are more evident than in more substantial food.

The weather is of more moment in candy-making than in plain cooking. Do
not try to make candy on a muggy day; the results probably will be
unsatisfactory. But if forced to disregard this warning, attempt but
little, act quickly, and remember that damp weather is the only excuse
for the substitution of intuition for rule. Just why humidity and low
barometric pressure play havoc with the work of the confectioner need
not be discussed here.

In making confectionery, cleanliness to the point of chemical purity is
highly desirable. Many successful cooks believe that candy should be
made in a pan that has never been used for anything else. That belief,
perhaps, may be extreme, but the fact remains that one cannot be too
careful in regard to the cleanliness of her utensils. And this necessity
for cleanliness holds for any receptacle in which any ingredient is
placed. Note particularly that heating lard will leave a taint which
will spoil the delicacy of flavor of candy made in the same dish.

Very often it is desirable that liquids remain hot after the actual
cooking has been done. The ordinary stove gives too much heat for the
purpose, and the confectioner's "working slab"--a device moderately
heated by steam--is expensive. A cheap and effective substitute,
however, is a humble soapstone. Use marbled cloth instead of waxed paper
to dry candy upon. Then there will be no danger that little particles of
the paper adhere to the candy. Candied fruit and similar confections,
however, should be drained on nickeled wire netting as explained in
another chapter. Place the netting over a dish, and pour upon it the
whole mass of fruit and syrup. By pouring all of it at once, the coating
of syrup will be uniform: It will dry evenly, as the air will reach all
sides alike. After most of the moisture has evaporated, the fruit will
be ready to be rolled in sugar.

Sprinkle a shallow dish with coarse sugar. Roll each piece of fruit in a
separate place in the dish, taking care that the sugar is absolutely
dry when the fruit is placed in it. If the sugar is damp, it will mat so
that the confection is "mussy" to the eye and unpleasant to the palate.
Moreover, the scales of damp sugar will jar off, leaving a break in the
complete covering which is necessary for the preservation of the fruit.
One rotting piece will contaminate another, until the whole boxful is
unfit