SC - Honey covered nuts

[Stefan li Rous]

Helen asked:
>     I think I want to give almonds as favors at my wedding.  Question:  how
> old
> is covering nuts with honey?  What about sugar like the Jordan almonds?

If you look through the nuts-msg file in the FOOD section of my Florilegium,
you will find several recipes for honey or sugar dipped nuts. Unfortunately,
only one message mentions a period recipe and the date of this recipe is not 
mentioned in this particular message. As it is from Master Cariadoc's 
Miscellany though, I think finding the date would be easy enough.

I have pasted this message below.

Stefan
- -------------

> Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 11:52:23 -0800
> From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
> Subject: SC - Sugared Nuts and Cookbooks (was: Tiramisu)
> 
> Someone asked about sugared nuts; from the Andalusian cookbbok by way of
> the Miscellany:
> 
> Sukkariyya, a Sugar Dish from the Dictation of Abu 'Ali al-Bagdadi
> Andalusian p. A-23
> 
> Take a ratl of sugar and put in two ûqiyas of rosewater and boil it in a
> ceramic pot until it is on the point of thickening and sticks between the
> fingers. Then take a third of a ratl of split almonds, fried, not burnt,
> and pound well and throw the sugar on them and stir it on the fire until
> thickened. Then spread it out on a dish and sprinkle it with ground sugar.
> [end of original. ratl = ~lb, 12 ûqiyas = 1 ratl]
> 
> 2 c sugar       5 oz = 7/8 c slivered or sliced almonds
> 5 T rosewater   1-2 T more sugar for sprinkling at the end
> 
> Toast the almonds in a hot (400°) frying pan for 3-5 minutes, stirring
> continuously. Then crush them with mortar and pestle to something between
> ground and chopped. Cook sugar and rosewater mixture on medium high until
> it comes to a boil, reduce to medium and continue cooking to a temperature
> of 275°, about ten minutes.  Combine syrup and nuts in a frying pan, cook
> at medium to medium high, stirring constantly, for another nine minutes,
> turn out on a plate and sprinkle with sugar. An alternative interpretation
> of the original recipe is that you cook the syrup and nuts together only
> long enough to get them well mixed; the binder is then sugar syrup rather
> than carmelized sugar. Both ways work.
> 
> Elizabeth of Dendermonde/Betty Cook

- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:
          http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/rialto/rialto.html ****
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