SC - Pine Nut Confection

[THLRenata at aol.com]

I've lucked into rather a lot of pine nuts and I thought I'd try to make Alys
Katharine's Pine nut confection as 12th Night gifts.

Has anyone out there tried it? Any little surprises out I should know about?

For anyone not on the list back in May (when Alys Katharine posted it) here's
the recipe:

"How to Make a Confection from Pine-Nut Kernels".

"Take as many well-cleaned and carefully shelled pine-nut kernels as
you will, dry them or toast them a little.  Or take them whole with
their skins and shells and put them in a basket.  Hang this over the
hearth near the fire and leave it there for three days.  Tus the heat
from the fire will slowly penetrate them and dry them.  Then take them
out and clean them thoroughly.  Next take two and a half pounds of
nuts, being careful to keep them close at hand.  Then take some of the
most beautiful and best Madeira sugar, dissolve sufficient of it in
rose-water and boil it until it attains the consistency of a jelly.  If
it is winter or a time when there is a lot of moisture in the air, boil
it a bit longer, but if it is summer, then let it just simmer.  this is
when it does not boil over or bubble when it boils, which is a sign
that the moisture had been evaporated; but to be brief, when it has
boiled to the consistency of a jelly, as I have said, thake the
preserving pan off th efire and put it somewhere where th eliquid can
dry off and become firm.  Then give it a good stir with a piece of wood
and beat it continuously until it turns white.  When it begins to cool
down a little, add the white of a whole or half an egg and beat it well
again.  Next place it over the coals, in order to allow the moisture
from the egg-white to stiffen, and when you see that it is properly
white and like the first lot you boiled, take the dried, well-cleaned
pine-nut kernels and put them into the sugar.  Stir them with the wood
so that they are thoroughly mixed with the sugar - this should still be
done over the coal fire, so that the mixture does not cool too quickly.

Then take a wide wooden knife, like the ones used by the shoemakers,
and cut the mixture into pieces, each weighing about ana ounce and a
half, but not more than two, which would not be good, and spread them
carefully on to some paper until they have properly cooked, at which
stage put a little gold leaf on to them and your confection is ready.
If, however, it is not possible to obtain pine-nut kernels anywhere,
use peeled almonds instead, dividing them either into two parts or
three and mixing them with the sugar to make this confection.  And if
there are too few pine-nut kernels, you can replace them with pieces of
almonds, for the latter are not dissimilar to the former in taste and
potency.  You can also use fennel which is flowering or in seed, which
is kept in houses and used during the wine harvest.  When your sugar
has almost completely boiled and is hot and white with everything mixed
in it or scattered over it, it looks like manna or or snow and is so
beautiful and lovely."

Thanks!

Renata
Barony of Altavia
Kingdom of Caid
Los Angeles, CA
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