March & April for the Confectioner

These are the two first Months of the Year that afford Matter for new Comfits, that is say, Violets, which are the first Flowers of a fragrant smell that the Earth brings forth, after it has been deliver'd from the Tyranny of the sharp Winter.

With these Flowers, Conserves and Pastes are made, as also Syrup of Violets, the gross Substance of which may be kept in Marmelade, to make dry Pastes, at other times: For want of these, when it is requisite to prepare any Thing, that has the taste and smell of a Violet, Indigo and Powder of Orrice are generally us'd, particularly for Pastils and Mosses, which are Sugar-works that may be made in any Season.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 11.

Ladyfingers - Biscuits Cuiller

Since the turn of the 18th Century, spoon biscuits, savoy biskets or Italian savoiardi, known to us as Ladyfingers, have been used with fruits, for dipping in drinks, and to "garnish certain pies."

These pies were known as "charlottes" by 1796. The typical Charlotte pan can be seen in Diderot's Cyclopaedie, 1767.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 66.

“Hercules and Hemings: African American Chefs in the President’s Kitchen”

Several 18thC kitchens:

Hidden Kitchens, a piece that explores the food of the founding fathers through the stories of Hercules and James Hemmings, enslaved chefs of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and other African Americans who have cooked in the White House.

“Hercules and Hemings: African American Chefs in the President’s Kitchen” airs on NPR’s Morning Edition on Tuesday, February 19th. The piece will also be available online after the initial airing at www.hiddenkitchens.org

Cookies - Biscuits Ordinaire & Cuiller

Cookies – Biscuits ordinaries.
According to the size & the quantity of cookies which you will want to make, you will increase & decrease the amount here marked. Take eight eggs which you put in a balance, & as much weight of sugar of the other side; weigh also flour by the weight of four eggs, & put the flour and sugar on separate plates. Break eight eggs; put the whites aside in a pot, & the yellows in another pot with sugar & a little lime peel chopped [zested] very-fine. Beat the yellows with sugar during half an hour [until they are almost white and form a ribbon]; then whip the whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them into the yolk mixture; then carefully fold in the flour little by little. Prepare paper [baking cups] or tinplate moulds, which are very carefully and completed coated with butter; fill molds with paste no more than half full: sprinkle fine [confectioner’s] sugar over tops, & cook in a soft furnace [slow oven 300ºF] for half an hour. Withdraw moulds from oven when they are of a beautiful golden color, and remove from moulds when half-cooled.

Cookies with the spoon – Biscuits cuillier.
They are mixed in the same way as the preceding recipe, with this difference: the weight of four eggs is sufficient. You do not put them in the moulds; when your paste is made, you take a spoonful for each cookie, & longitudinally lay them down on white paper sheets. After having sprinkled powdered sugar on top, cook in a furnace a little softer [250ºF] than the preceding recipe; & when they are cooked, remove them immediately from the paper with a knife.

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La cuisinière bourgeoise: suivie de l'office, Menon. 1815.

Biscuits ordinaries.
Suivant la grosseur & la quantité de biscuits que vous voudrez faire, vous augmenterez & diminuerez la dose ici marquee. Prenez huit œufs que vous mettez dans une balance, & autant pesant de sucre de l’autre côté’ pesez aussi de la farine en en mettant la pesanteur de quatre œufs, & la mettez ensuite une assiette. Cassez les huit œufs; mettez les blancs à part dans une terrine, & les jaunes dans une autre terrine avec la sucre & un peu d’écorce de citron verd hachée très-fine. Battez bien les jaunes avec le sucre pendant une demi-heure; ensuite vous fouettez les blancs jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient bien montés. Mêlez-les avec le sucre’ ensuite vous y mêlerez peu à peu & légerement la faine en remuant toujours votre composition de biscuits. Vous avez des moules de fer-blanc ou de papier, qui sont tout prêts & bien beuréz en dedans avec du beure affine; mettez-y votre pâte; ne les emplissez qu’un peu plus de moitié: jettez du sucre fin par-dessus, & les faites cuire dans un four d’une chaleur douce pendant une demi-heure. Quand ils seront d’une belle couleur dorée, vous les retirerez des moules quand ils seront à demi-froids.

Biscuits à la cuiller.
Ils se sont de la meme façon que les précédens, à cette difference que la pesanteur de quatre œufs est suffiante. Vous ne les mettez point dans les moules; lorsque votre pâte est faite, vous en prenez une cuillerée pour chaque biscuit, & les couchez en long sur des feuilles de papier blance. Après avoir jettédu sucre fin dessus, vous les faites cuire dans un four un peu plus doux que les précédens; & quand ils sont cuits, vous les enlevez tout de suite de dessus le papier avec un couteau.

Echaudés and the Maillard Reaction

In my post on Echaudés - boiled pastry, I found that the recipe's instruction specifically say to use an unlined copper caldron or jam [confiture] pan to boil the pastries in. One of the interesting results of using a copper pan and heat would insure a reaction with the sugar in the dough to produce the Maillard reation, which will lead to browning once the dough is subjected to dry heat in an oven.

So when you next eat a pretzel or bagel or French echaudés, savor the flavor and the color of the outside of the pastry and be thankful for chemistry--otherwise, that bagel or pretzel or echaudés would remain as colorless as it was when removed from the boiling water of the previous step of preparation.

Echaudés - Boiled Pastry

One of La Varenne's editions of The French Cook was translated into English in 1653, and over one hundered years later, the 10th edition of La Nouvelle Maison Rustique uses the same recipes, almost word for word to describe not only the ingredients, but the method of the previous century--it only adds another sweet variation and a second boiling, this time in oil or lard. Truly, nothing is new under the sun. And those of us in America are familiar with this boiled pastry technique, as well. Celebrate the past each time you eat your bagel and cream cheese.

Depending upon your region of France, your echaudés will have one of several appearances: Lyon, jeannots, craquelins and those with anise.

Le Cuisinier François, de La Varenne. Unzieme Edition, Chez Jacquez Canier, 1680, p. 308-311.

The method of making échaudéz [boiled or scalded pastry], or craquelins with butter.

Place a pint of flour on your table, make a small well in the middle, & put approximately a half glass of warm water mixed with beer yeast, & stir it together until a fine paste results which will become the leavening agent to incorporate into your échaudé pastry, which is why it will be necessary to allow this paste to rise [proof] in a warm place, so that it doubles in bulk, & if it is in Summer it can be inflated sufficiently in fifteen minutes.

While you are waiting for the leavening to proof, you will put on a table a quart of fine [pastry] flour, make a well in the middle and work in a pound of sweet butter, which is cold but not too hard, & mix in an ounce or a bit more of well-pounded salt, mix it altogether, adding what it will be necessary of cold water to mix this pastry [to the right consistency], & when your leaven has risen sufficiently, incorporate it into your butter pastry and work it well.

And when it is mixed sufficiently, you will roll it out and cut it into small triangles with a serrated roller [jagger or pastry wheel] which will then be stretched by hand to form echaudez.

It will be necessary to have a cauldron [copper confiture pan] full of boiling water where you will drop in your echaudez, & leave them until they resurface; & then you will take a skimmer with which you will turn your echaudez until they are done to the touch, & then you will remove them from the water, & will put them to cool and dry on a wire netting; then you will bake them in the oven: it takes about 15 minutes to bake small echaudez. But it is necessary that the furnace is hard, i.e. as hot as in cooking large pastries.

If echaudez do not take sufficient color while cooking, it will be necessary to do a little clear fire on the end, near the sides of the furnace, so that the higher will color them.

Notice well: if you do not put butter in your echaudez, & make them only with salt & water, you will have a common variety that most people know [pretzels or craquelins].

Echaudez with eggs in the pastry, it is made with a quart of flour & fifteen eggs, & you will use only one half pound of butter. Echaudez with eggs, must be carefully handled and is more delicate than that of the other echaudez. It still should be noted that one must bake in a slower oven echaudez with the eggs, than those which are only of salt & water, or with butter.

La nouvelle maison rustique par le Sieur Louis Liger. Paris : Saugrain, 1755, Tome II, IV. Part. LIV. IV. Chap. III. La Pâtisserie. p. 861.

Echaudez glazed [with icing sugar]. Take echaudez made with eggs after they leave the water, let them drain & harden, then cut them in half between the two crusts, put to soak in milk with sugar, cover them & put them on hot ash during four or five hours to hold them warmly: it is not necessary that they boil, for fear they may disintegrate; then draw them from the milk & put them to drain [on a wire netting], then fry in new lard [I would use olive oil]: when fried & well coloured, draw them out with a skimmer, powder them with confectioner’s sugar, first on one side & then the other, & serve them warmly.

Fruits Preserved Entire

To preserve fruits entirely, one must replace the moisture in the fruit with a solution of sugar syrup or honey. This is accomplished by carefully peeling away the outer skins or rinds [citrus rinds have other preservation techniques, as well] and cooking slowly in several boilings of sugar syrup or honey, and allowing to stand over night in the solution in a non-reactive vessel in a cool place. At the beginning of each day the syrup is drained from the fruit and reboiled and the fruits are again added to the boiling liquid and allowed to cool in the syrup overnight. This is repeated until the fruits have absorbed most of the sugar. The shape and color of the fruit can be ameliorated to some degree by only boiling the syrup and pouring it over the fruit, allowing it to cool without actually boiling in the syrup--this preserves the texture of the fruit and is exemplified by what is known as glacéd fruit; indeed, almost any fruit can be preserved in this manner.

Vin d’Orange

5 quarts of wine [can use, white, rosé, or a dry red]
5 Seville oranges [add one lemon, if not Seville]
Zests of your oranges [and lemon]
1 pound sugar
1 quart of brandy or Marc
Vanilla bean, optional

Slice oranges [plus optional lemon] after zesting [do not remove pith] and layer with sugar into a large glass jar with a lid. Gently pour in wine. You may add one vanilla bean, if desired. Dry zests for an hour in a slow oven and add to wine along with a quart of brandy or Marc. Cover and place in a dark cool place and macerate for 40 days or so. Every other day, gently shake or roll jar to help dissolve sugar. After 40 days, remove pulp and peels* and pour through a paper filter into clean bottles and cork and seal. Place again in a dark place. Wine will be ready to drink after 60 days. The longer you can resist opening, the better it will be.

*After my wine has macerated, I cook down removed orange solids with a little more sugar to taste, and make a jam that I use to deglaze the pan when cooking game and poultry.

Candied Oranges - anneaux, tailladins, orangettes

Winter is the time for citrus fruit, especially oranges. The golden fruit and juice are so sweet and remind me of summer tastes. At this time of year I am reminded how long it is 'til Spring, and I try to savor every possible remembrance. After I eat the fruit I candy the peel and dry some to use in herbal mixtures and to make vin d'orange.

Cut the top and bottom off the orange and set aside [use to dry and grate for seasoning]. Cut through the side of peel in three places, but not into the orange itself. Carefully lift off peel in three sections and turn pith side up. Use a spoon to scrape away as much pith as possible. Cut peels into strips about 3/8" wide. Place strips in pan and cover with water and bring to boil. Blanche for 5 minutes [this removes any impurities and mellows any bitter taste that may remain from the pith]. Drain and cover again with water and freshly crushed sugar. Place back on the fire and simmer until almost all sugar syrup has been absorbed by the peel. If you have any syrup left, use it to flavor a cup of coffee or tea. Remove to a rack and drain; when dry, roll in crushed sugar. At this point the ends can be dipped in some melted chocolate. Serve orangettes with strong coffee after dinner or with tea when you are feeling down. One taste and you'll think Spring.
*****
Oranges & Citrons.
Levez la peau des oranges le plus delicatement que vous pourrez, mettez la pelure dans de d’eau, faites boüillir de l’eau, fendez les oranges par le bout, & les mettez cuire, faites-les boüillir demie heure, & les tirez & mettez dans l’eau fraische, vuidez le jus, les zestes & le grains de dedans avec une petite cueillere d’acier, faites cuire du sucre à perle, égoutez les oranges, faites les boüillir à grand feu jusqu’à ce que le sucre soit cuit à la plume, ostez les de dessus le feu, les laissez un peu reposer, tirez les oranges sur de la paille, & les laissez secher avant que le les lever: Pour un quarteron d’oranges il faut environ six livres de sucre.

Oranges & Lemons.
Cut off ends of oranges, carefully raise the [peel], (save juice & pulp for salad or marmalade or citrusade. [this is most easily accomplished by cutting off ends of orange, removing peel in quarter section, then supreming the flesh from the sections]), remove seeds with a small steel spoon, & blanche peels in fresh boiling water, drain them & put in fresh water and sugar to cover, cook to the perle stage [220° F], drain oranges, cool syrup, reboil in sugar cooked until the feather [235°F], remove quickly from the fire, allow to rest a little in the hot syrup [they may absorb most of it], remove and drain oranges on straw mat, & let them dry a little, then roll in sugar to coat, allow to thoroughly dry: For 20-25 oranges [quarteron] one needs approximately six pounds sugar. [Save the sugar syrup, which may have crystallized, to use, dissolved in other preparations or as a flavoring in water for a refreshing drink].

Oranges en tailladins.
Pelez les oranges de mesme les autres, mettez-les à mesure dans de l’eau fraische, coupes-les en quatre, vuidez bien le dedans, & les nettoyez avec un couteau, coupez les par bandes comme des lardoons, mettez les à mesure dedans l’eau fraische, faites boüillir de l’eau & les égoutex, & les mettez dedans, faites-les cuire, & les remettez dans l’eau fraische, confisez-les comme les autres, & les tirez sur la paille avec des fourchetes en forme de petits rochers.

Peel oranges the same as the others, cut them into quarters, remove the inside [flesh], & clean them [the white pith] with a knife, cut them into bands like lardoons [strips], boil in fresh water and sugar to barely cover, drain them, let cool, reheat sugar syrup and cook them again in the boiling syrup, & preserve them like the others, & roll in white sugar & dry them on the straw mats until hard like rocks.

Oranges par anneaux.
Pelez les oranges comme les entieres, & les coupez par roüelles de l’épaisseur d’un demy doigt, mettez-les dans de l’eau fraische, faites boüillie de l’eau. égoutez-les, vuide-le dedans des anneaux, faites les cuire à l’eau, estans cuites tirez-les & les mettez dans l’eau fraische, & les confisez comme les oranges entieres, & les separez en les tirant sur la paille.

Oranges by rings.
Peel oranges, & cut them by rounds of the thickness of a little finger, put them in fresh boiling water, drain them, hollow the inside of the rings, saving flesh for salad or marmelade, cook [peels] once more with water [and sugar], when cooked withdraw them & put them [again] in fresh water [and more sugar], & preserve them like whole oranges, & separate them, roll in sugar and dry them on a straw [mat] or rack.
***
Le Cuisinier François, François Pierre La Varenne. Chex Jacques Canier, Paris, 1680, p. 400-401.

January & February for the Confectioner

During these two months Sevil-Oranges, those of the Port[uguese], and others, are usually preserv'd Whole, in Quarters, or in Sticks: Pastes, Conserves and Marmelades, are also made of them; and their Peels are candy'd either in Zests, or in Faggots [sticks].

Lemmons, Cedres (citrus medica or citrons) and yellow Citrons (melons), are preserv'd after the same manner; and if the Provisions that were made of other sorts of preserved Fruits are now consum'd, that Defect may be reciprocally supply'd by these; the pleasant Variety of which will be very grateful, and give a great deal of satisfaction.

The court & country cook, faithfully translated out of French into English by J. K. A. J. Churchill, London, 1702, p. 10 New Instructions for Confectioners.

Oeuf Cocotte au Foie Gras - Baked Eggs and Foie Gras on Toast

I think unctuousness must now be my favorite word. On a cold day of rain after snow, curling up with a cocotte fresh from the oven from which I can dip warm eggs, cream and foie gras to spread on toast has to be a pleasant way to appease my hunger.

Recipe: place a slice of foie gras in bottom of cocotte, carefully break 1 or 2 eggs over the foie gras and top with 2 tablespoons of cream and sprinkle with truffle salt. Place cocotte in another oven dish and surround with warm water. Bake for 15 minutes at 350ºF. Serve with toast or brioche. Enjoy.

Recommended: Mire Poix USA fois gras and truffle salt

Poudin cuit au four - Baked Mincemeat Pudding - SHF#38

Zorra hosts this month's Sugar High Friday, "The Proof is in the Pudding."

Fat around the kidneys [suet] is specifically proscribed from use, as is fat from ox, sheep and goats [Lev 3:3-5], so I use butter in the preparation of my puddings.

Baked Mincemeat Pudding
2 cups mincemeat [I used homemade, brandied mincemeat]
4 eggs
1/2 cup [1 stick] butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Optional: chopped nuts, about 1/2 cup [I did not use]

Cream butter and sugar; beat in one egg at a time. Sift dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Fold in mincemeat and nuts, if using. Butter and sugar a baking dish [charlotte mold works well] and pour batter in. Cover with a piece of greased paper to fit top of dish. Set dish into another larger dish and surround with boiling water [bain marie], place in moderate oven [350ºF] and bake for at least one hour.

Continue to check for doneness by inserting a broom straw in the middle--if it comes out clean, the pudding is done. Remove from water bath and allow to cool before running a knife around the edge and slipping from the pan onto a serving platter.

Can douse with more brandy and flambé or serve with dessert sauce [Sabayon: 1 egg yolk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup Marsala. Whip over a boiling water bath (Bain Marie) until thick. Serve over pudding slices.] Pudding texture and taste improves with age.

See also my post on boiled pudding, steamed fig pudding and 18thC French Puddings.

Poudin bouilli - Boiled Pudding SHF#38

Zorra hosts this month's Sugar High Friday, "The Proof is in the Pudding."

Fat around the kidneys [suet] is specifically proscribed from use, as is fat from ox, sheep and goats [Lev 3:3-5], so I use butter in the preparation of my puddings.

Poudin bouilli. Boiled Pudding
1 cup chopped, candied citrus peel [I used grapefruit, lemon and orange]
1 cup currants [Zantes not Ribes]
2 cups raisins [regular or golden]
2 Tablespoons brandy [I used vin noix]
1 cup butter [2 sticks]
2 cups sugar [either brown or white or mixture]
5 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon galingale
½ teaspoon ginger
3-5 cups day-old bread crumbs, crusts removed

Blanche for 30 seconds in boiling water your dried currants and remove to a bowl and cover with brandy.

Cream butter and sugar and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Sift dry ingredients together, except crumbs, and stir into creamed mixture. Fold in peels, raisins, currants and 3 ½ cups of crumbs. Let mixture sit for one half hour. If mixture appears to be too moist, fold in more bread crumbs until mixture looks right to your eye.

In the meanwhile, boil your pudding cloth [1 yard cotton muslin] for half an hour to remove soap residue and to sterilize cloth. Wring out cloth and flour heavily in the center, pour your batter onto cloth and tie your pudding up. Suspend inside kettle of boiling water and tie to handles of kettle to keep pudding from settling on the bottom. Keep the kettle filled with boiling water and boil pudding for about 2 hours or until done. Hang pudding in cloth for about 15 minutes, then cut string invert onto serving platter and carefully peel back pudding cloth. Allow to cool before serving. The outside of the pudding will darken with time.

If you wish to keep if for several days, cover with cheesecloth and drizzle with brandy to keep moist and fresh.

See also my posts on baked mincemeat pudding, steamed fig pudding and 18thC French puddings.

Artichauts - Artichokes

How to Eat Artichokes According to La Varenne, artichoke bottoms should be eaten by taking off all the leaves as far as the choke, and then boiling the bottoms in acidulated [lemon juice or vinegar added] water. Then serve them with butter and salt and a sauce made of very fresh butter, vinegar, nutmeg and the yolk of an egg. I believe this is such a waste. I do cook the entire artichoke in acidulated water, anywhere from 35-45 minutes, or until tender all the way through. I make the sauce he suggests but then I remove each leaf, dipping it in the unctuous sauce and cleaning the "meat" of each off with my teeth--I can't bear to waste the tidbits of flesh found on each leaf. Artichokes were such a popular item of food that fabulous faïence [majolica] dishes were created for their service.

The French Cook, François Pierre La Varenne, Englished in 1653, p. 95, recipe #62.

Poudin - Pudding Boiled & Baked

This month's Sugar High Friday focuses on Pudding in all its forms.

PUDDING: type of pastry made of grease, raisins, eggs & sugar.

Boiled Pudding. Do it more or less like the preceding. Butter and flour a towel, put the pudding in, & tie it. Cook it for three hours, with boiling water. Drain & draw it from the towel; sprinkle it with melted butter and with much caster sugar, & serve for dessert.

Baked Pudding. Take four pounds of beef suet, the peels of two candied lemons and chop well with the suet, a pound of currants, and as much Spanish raisins from which you’ve removed the stem ends. Add fifteen raw egg yolks, half a pound of bread crumbs soaked in hot milk, but drained well, half a pound of caster sugar; mix the whole, & put it in a well buttered pan; bake with the furnace for two hours, or with a tart plate with coals above and below. Draw it up and reverse onto a dish; sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve for dessert.

* * * * *

POUDIN: espece de patisserie faite de graisse, raisins sec, œufs & sucre.

Poudin bouilli. Faites-le comme le precedent plus ou moins fort. Beurrez ou farinez une serviette, mettez dessus le poudin, & le nouez. Faites le cuire pendant trois heures, à l’eau bouillante. Egouttez & le tirez de la serviette; dresses & l’arrosez de beurre fondu avec beaucoup de sucre en poudre, & servez de meme, pour entremets.

Poudin cuit au four. Prenez quatre livres de graisse de bœuf, l’écorce de deux citrons confits que vous hacherez bien avec la graisse, une livre de raisin de Corinthe, autant de raisin d’Espagne. Otez en les pépins, quinze juanes d’œufs cruds, une demi-livre de mie de pain trempée dans du lait chaud, mais bien égouttée, une demi-livre de sucre en poudre; mêlez le tout, & le mettez dans une casserole bien beurrée; faites cuire au four, pendant deux heures, ou avec un couvercle de tourtiere, entre deux feux. Dressez-le, en le renversant sur un plat; poudre de sucre fin, & servez pour entremets.

Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 225-226.