Corn syrup

“ Cook until it is very brittle when dropped in water or until you can distinguish it just commencing to burn. Then take off the fire and pour it over about ten quarts of popped corn, stirring it constantly as you pour the syrup over it, so that it will all be covered, and as soon as this is done, it is best to scoop it out of the pan and spread it out on your slab somewhat, so that it will not pack down any, which it would do if you allowed it to remain in the pan. ”

“ If fruits are too sour, try corn syrup for sweetening; about one-half cup to each quart of prepared fruit. Fresh fruits develop their own natural sweetness if they are baked instead of stewed in a saucepan. Just place them in a casserole dish with this amount of syrup or plain water and bake in a moderate oven for thirty-five minutes. ”

“ Sugared Popped Corn Put butter in saucepan, and when melted add sugar and water. Bring to boiling-point, and let boil sixteen minutes. Pour over corn, and stir until every kernel is well coated with sugar.
Corn Balls Boil sugar, water and corn syrup without stirring until thermometer registers 260° F.; then add remaining ingredients and let boil to 264° F. Have corn in a large pan, and pour on gradually the syrup, using a spoon all of the time to turn corn that it may be evenly coated. Make into balls, and let stand in a cold place until brittle. ”

“ Combine sugar, light corn syrup and water in a 2-quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until temperature reaches 235°F. or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a soft ball. ”

“ Corn sirup is made by boiling corn-starch with an acid and then refining the product. This sirup contains no cane sugar. Its sweet flavor and sirupy consistency are due to the presence of 38.5 per cent glucose and 42 per cent dextrin. Glucose is not as sweet as granulated sugar. Hence, in depending upon corn sirup alone, the tendency is to use more sugar than is advisable so as to satisfy our taste for sweets. At least 1 1/2 times as much corn sirup as granulated sugar is needed to produce the sweetness of the solid sugar. ”

“ All unripe fruit must be rendered perfectly tender by gentle scalding, before it is put into syrup, or it will not imbibe the sugar; and the syrup must be thin when it is first added to it, and be thickened afterwards by frequent boiling, or with sugar added, or the fruit will shrivel instead of becoming plump and clear. A pound of sugar boiled for ten minutes in a pint of water will make a very light syrup, but it will gradually thicken if rapidly boiled in an uncovered pan. ”

“ When the sap is all boiled in, and the product has attained a sufficient degree of concentration,—nearly equal to that of the "maple syrup" of the markets,—the fire is suffered to go down, the pan is drawn off, the syrup dipped out and strained through a flannel cloth, and stored away in pails or tin cans to await the final process of "sugaring off."
This event takes place after a few days of boiling, when the syrup has accumulated in sufficient quantities; and, as it presents the first fruits of the harvest, is usually made the occasion of a sugar-party. ”

“ To make it, you must select ripe and thin-skinned fruit; squeeze the juice, and to every pint, add a pound and a quarter of white sugar; boil it slowly, and skim as long as any scum rises; you may then take it off, let it grow cold, and bottle it. Be sure to secure the corks well. This is nice for a summer drink for delicate persons; it is also very convenient for pudding sauces, as half a cup of this syrup, mixed with melted butter, is admirable, where wine is not used. The flavor is so fine, it requires very little spicing to make it agreeable. ”

“ As the season of ripe fruit advances, I prepare such quantities of syrup as I think I may need, in this way: Three pounds of granulated sugar to one gallon of water and boil twenty minutes; this I put in glass jars, when cool, and set away for future use. Peaches, quinces, pears, apples, plums, pine apples, rhubarb, crab apples, and, in fact, all fruits of this kind, I peel, quarter and place in a dish of cold water (to prevent discoloration) , until I have prepared enough to fill a jar: I then pack them solid as possible in a jar, and then fill the jar with the syrup previously prepared. ”

“ Other syrups can be made easily and may possibly give welcome variety even to those fortunates who can secure the real maple syrup. Maraschino, noyeau, kirsch, and other cordials, orange-flower water, grated orange- and lemon-peel, and the fruit juices left from canned and preserved fruits, can all be used to advantage in flavoring a simple syrup made of sugar and water boiled till it hairs from the spoon. Always add flavoring to syrup just before taking it from the fire, and do not allow it to boil. ”

“ When you wish to use this syrup for preserving, you have only to put the fruit into it, and boil it till tender and clear, but not till it breaks. Large fruit that is done whole, should first be boiled tender in a very thin syrup that it may not shrink. Small fruit, such as raspberries, strawberries, grapes, currants, gooseberries, &c. may, if perfectly ripe, be put raw into strong cold sugar syrup; they will thus retain their form and colour, and their freshness and natural taste. They must be put into small glass jars, and kept well covered with the syrup. ”

“ The principal thing to be acquainted with is the fact that, in proportion as the syrup is longer boiled, the water contained in it will become evaporated, and its consistency thickened. Great care must be taken in the management of the fire, that the syrup does not boil over, and that the boiling is not carried to such an extent as to burn the sugar. A solution of sugar prepared by dissolving 2 parts of double-refined sugar in 1 of water, and boiling this a little, affords a syrup of the right degree of strength, which neither ferments nor crystallizes. ”

“ They come from tiny flecks of bark which fall into the sap or from careless boiling. Before the sap gets to the can in the Grimes sugar house it has been strained seven times. The iron kettle sugar of the old days was sometimes almost black. Care in the handling will give a syrup that is almost as colorless as water and a sugar that is nearly white. Hence color in the final product by no means indicates purity, though it may in no sense indicate adulteration. The best syrup is a clear, viscous, pale straw-colored liquor, and the sugar itself need not be much if any darker. ”

“ Before sugar was in use, honey was employed to preserve many vegetable productions, though this substance has now given way to the juice of the sugar-cane.
1499. The fruits that are the most fit for preservation in syrup are, apricots, peaches, nectarines, apples, greengages, plums of all kinds, and pears. As an example, take some apricots not too ripe, make a small slit at the stem end, and push out the stone; simmer them in water till they are softened and about half done, and afterwards throw them into cold water. When they have cooled, take them out and drain them. ”

“ Indeed, constant care and attention is required to produce a first-rate article: for though sugar may be made in almost any way where the sap can be procured, yet unless the strictest care is observed in the processes, in gathering and boiling the sap, clarifying the syrup, and in converting the syrup to sugar, a dirty inferior article will be made, instead of the beautiful and delicious sweet which the maple, properly treated, is sure to yield. ”

“ To clarify sugar, put into every two pounds a beaten white of an egg. Five whites will do for a dozen pounds. Proportion the sugar and water as directed above, and after it has boiled enough take it from the fire, and let it stand ten minutes, then take the scum very carefully from the top, and pour off the syrup so gently as not to disturb the sediment. Have the kettle washed, return the syrup, and add the fruit. Some persons always strain the syrup through a flannel bag, but if the above directions are observed, it is not necessary. ”

“ In order to prevent shrinkage it is necessary to put fruit at first into this syrup and increase its density slowly enough for diffusion to take place and for the fruit to be permeated with the syrup. This is done by boiling the fruit in syrup or by alternately cooking and allowing the product to stand immersed in the syrup, the density of the syrup being increased by evaporation or by substituting a heavier syrup for the lighter one after each period of standing. If at any time the fruit shrivels or wrinkles the syrup should be made less dense by the addition of water. ”

“ They may now be obtained at a comparatively trifling cost in enamelled iron, but the objection to their use is that the syrup boils over more quickly than in a preserving pan made of copper or brass, and moreover it is more apt to burn and stick to the bottom of the pan. A long wooden spoon or stick is necessary. The end to be attained is to boil the juice of the fruit to such a consistency that it will neither ferment nor mildew. Some persons add a little water, others put only the fruit in with the sugar. ”

“ The pure syrup must be boiled down into sugar over a slow fire. A short time, however, before the syrup is brought to a boiling heat, to complete the clarifying process, the whites of five eggs well beaten, about one [Pg 208] quart of new milk, and a spoonful of saleratus, should be all well mixed with a sufficient amount of syrup, to make 100 lbs. of sugar. The scum which would rise on the top must be skimmed off. Caution is to be observed in not allowing the syrup to boil until the skimming process is completed. ”

“ Take these and peel them, and divide them; then put them in a little Water and their weight of fine Sugar, made into a Syrup, over a gentle Fire: put them in when the Liquor is only warm, and when they are cover'd with the Syrup, stew them gently, if you would preserve them in their Shape; and put them, with the Syrup, into Glasses as soon as they are clear, or else mash them into the Syrup, and let them boil till they become like a Paste; keeping all stirring while they are over the Fire, or else they will burn to the Pan. ”

“ Although sugar passes so easily into the state of fermentation, and is, in fact, the only substance capable of undergoing the vinous stage of that process, yet it will not ferment at all if the quantity be sufficient to constitute a very strong syrup: hence, syrups are used to preserve fruits and other vegetable substances from the changes they would undergo if left to themselves. ”

“ Any of the fruits that have been preserved in syrup may be converted into dry preserves, by first draining them from the syrup, and then drying them in a stove or very moderate oven, adding to them a quantity of powdered loaf sugar, which will gradually penetrate the fruit, while the fluid parts of the syrup gently evaporate. They should be dried in the stove or oven on a sieve, and turned every six or eight hours, fresh powdered sugar being sifted over them every time they are turned. ”

“ The syrup is used chiefly as a substitute for jam or preserved fruits, and the sugar is used in country homes for sweetening, for cooking purposes and for the making of confectionery. The processes of manufacture have been improved by the introduction of specially constructed evaporators, and quantities of maple sugar and syrup are annually exported. ”

“ Let it stand in sugar overnight—drain off syrup in morning, boil, skim clean, then drop in fruit a handful at a time, and cook till clear. Skim out, put in more, lay cooked fruit on platters, and set under glass in sun. Sun all day. Next day boil syrup a little more, drop in fruit, heat through, then put all in clear glass jars, and set for ten days in hot sunshine, covered close. The fruit should be a rich translucent pink, the syrup as rich as honey, and a little lighter pink. These are much handsomer than the gingered peaches but not so good. Ginger tea in syrup makes it always darker. ”

“ Pare and core the fruit, and throw it into cold water while you stew parings and cores in a little water to make the syrup. When they have boiled to pieces strain off the liquid; when cold, put in the sliced fruit and bring to a fast boil. It should be thick and smooth before the sugar and lemon-juice go in. Cook steadily an hour longer, working with a wooden spoon to a rich jelly. When done, put into small jars while warm, but do not cover until cold. ”

“ When a chafing-dish cannot be procured, the best substitute is a brick stove, with a grating, to burn charcoal. The sugar should be the best double refined; but if the pure amber coloured sugar house syrup from the West Indies can be got, it is greatly superior; it never ferments, and the trouble is very much lessened by having ready made syrup, in which it is only necessary to boil the fruit till clear. All delicate fruit should be done gently, and not allowed to remain more than half an hour after it begins to stew, before it is laid on dishes to cool ”

“ When a flavor is weak it may be fortified by adding a small amount of flavoring extract, but under no condition should a syrup flavored entirely with an essence be handed out to the consumer as a fruit syrup, for there is really no great resemblance between the two. Fruit syrups may be dispensed solid by adding the syrup to the soda water and stirring with a spoon. Use nothing but the best ingredients in making syrups. ”

“ They require much more trouble, and are too rich for ordinary use, a pound of sugar to one of fruit being required. If made at all, the fruit must be very fresh, and the syrup perfectly clear. For syrup allow one teacup of cold water to every pound of sugar, and, as it heats, add to every three or four pounds the white of an egg. Skim very carefully, boiling till no more rises, and it is ready for use. Peaches, pears, green gages, cherries, and crab-apples are all preserved alike. ”