SC - Re: Marzipan Mold Material
Elise Fleming
alysk at ix.netcom.com
Mon Mar 8 16:37:36 PST 1999
Volodislav wrote:
>I'd be fascinated to see a chanterelle mushroom mold. They're shaped
>(actual chanterelles, anyway) like curved paper fans; it doesn't sound
>like an easy mold to make from metal. Maybe wood?
English recipes list molds of wood, metal, and plaster.
>this is entirely conjecture on my part but.....
>i remember seeing a recipie (possibly in to the king's taste or to the
>queens taste) about sugarpaste icing (sugar plate) molded into hollow
>walnuts with other treats inside, much like a modern british party
>cracker. they suggested teh mold be made from alabaster. and that
>the sugarplate be baked in the oven i'm guessing on low to dry out the
>paste.
Sugar paste _was_ made in various shapes, sometimes (as in the above
example of walnuts) with treats or trinkets hidden in them. But, to my
knowledge, they were _never_ put in a oven to dry out. I tried that
only once, not having planned far enough in advance to let the items
air dry, and I figured that the Tudor kitchen would have a nice warm
oven to sit the items near. Even at 140 degrees (the lowest my oven
will go) the item melted and became unusable. Sugar paste can be baked
in an oven, as in 17th century recipes for certain jumbles. In these
recipes, the sugar paste is wrapped around a "snake" of marzipan, then
bent into knot shapes. The sugar paste, on baking, puffs up and
somewhat loses shape. It is a lovely, delicate flavor.
> they would have probably used the same for marzipan if they were
>doing similar moldings with it. why have to have two sets of molds
>made?
It could be that one would be more detailed than the other or of a
different size.
Some molds of wood were made in two or three parts. Hot sugar syrup
could be poured into these molds (which had to be pre-soaked in water),
whirled around the head or rolled between the palms, and then removed
from the mold, forming a lovely hollow sugar item.
Alys Katharine
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