To Colour Almonds or Sugar-Grains, or Sugar-Candy, for Cakes, or Pastry

Modern cookery for private families · Acton, Eliza · 1845
Source
Modern cookery for private families
Status
success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (6)
For colouring
Base ingredients
Instructions (8)
  1. Blanch, dry, and chop almonds rather coarsely.
  2. Pour a little prepared cochineal into the hands and roll the almonds between them until they are equally coloured.
  3. Spread the coloured almonds on a sheet of paper and place them in a very gentle degree of heat to dry.
  4. Use spinach-juice to colour them green.
  5. Use a strong infusion of saffron to give them a yellow tint.
  6. For sugar-grains: break the sugar into lumps, then with the end of a paste-roller, into grains about the size of a pea. Be careful that the sugar is dry and hard, otherwise it will absorb too much cochineal.
  7. Colour the sugar-grains in the same way as the almonds.
  8. For sugar-candy: break white sugar-candy into large grains or crystals and colour in the same manner.
Original Text
TO COLOUR ALMONDS OR SUGAR-GRAINS, OR SUGAR-CANDY, FOR CAKES, OR PASTRY. Blanch, dry, and chop them rather coarsely; pour a little prepared cochineal into the hands, and roll the almonds between them until they are equally coloured; then spread them on a sheet of paper, and place them in a very gentle degree of heat to dry. Use spinach-juice (see page 455), to colour them green, and a strong infusion of saffron to give them a yellow tint. They have a pretty effect when strewed over the icing of tarts or cakes, especially the rose-coloured ones, which should be rather pale. The sugar is prepared in the same way, after being first broken into lumps, and then, with the end of a paste-roller, into grains about the size of a pea; but unless it be dry and hard, and carefully done, it will absorb too much of the cochineal: when but slightly coloured it is very ornamental dropped 543on the borders of creamed tourtes, or on other varieties of fine pastry. White sugar-candy broken into large grains or crystals and coloured in the same manner has a yet better effect.
Notes
—