SC - Re: Peach pits (Recipe)

[harper at idt.net]

> 
> >Olwen said:
> >
> > > >
> > > >Brighid, busy making peach pits to bring to EKU...
> > >
> > > Funny, I thought the tree made the pits
> >
> >Yes, but mine are much more tender, not to mention tastier.  :-)
> >
> >Brighid
> 
> OK Brighid, give...
> 
> Olwen, the curious

 Sorry, I thought you knew and were just teasing me.  I've mentioned them 
before on this list.  Peach pits are a confectionary subtlety -- marzipan 
colored with sanders and cinnamon, molded like a peach pit, and with a whole 
blanched almond inside to mimic the seed.  I made up a bunch to bring to an A&S 
display.  Here's the recipe and redaction:

Huessos de Duraznos

Tomar media libra de almendras, y blanquearlas, y majarlas, y tomar vna libra 
de açucar molido, y cernido, amassarlo con el almendra muy bien, hasta que 
quede muy souado, y sino quedare muy duro, echarle otra poca de almendra, y 
tomar vna onça de canela muy fina, y dos adarmes de sandalos colorados, todo 
muy molida y cernido, echarlo en la pasta, estando la massa de buen temple, que 
no este blanda, poluoreandole por cima vn poco de açucar cernido, porque no se 
pegue, y hazer pedaços, y en cada vno poner vna almendra, o media, y 
poluorearlos con açucar, y ponerlos en sus moldes y sacarlos, y ponerlos a 
secar.

Diego Granado, _Libro del Arte de Cozina_, Madrid, 1599


Peach Pits

Take a half pound of almonds, and blanch them, and grind them, and take a pound 
of ground sugar, sifted.  Knead it very well with the almond until it becomes 
very kneaded, and if it does not become very hard, cast in a little more 
almond.  And take an ounce of very fine cinnamon, and two adarmes of red 
sanders, all thoroughly ground and sifted, cast it into the paste.  The dough 
being well-tempered, so that it is not soft, dust it on top with a little 
sifted sugar, so that it does not stick, and make pieces, and in each one put 
an almond, or half.  And dust them with sugar, and put them in your molds and 
remove them, and set them to dry.


Redaction
 
6 ounces blanched almonds
8 ounces extra-fine sugar
1/2 ounce Ceylon cinnamon, ground
1 Tablespoon powdered red sanders
whole almonds, blanched
additional extra-fine sugar for dusting
almond oil (optional)
 

Finely grind almonds in a food processor.  Gradually add sugar, cinnamon, and 
sanders.  Mix until well-blended.  If the almonds were purchased  already 
blanched, and are particularly dry, you may wish to add a small amount of 
almond oil to the mixture.  The marzipan is easiest to handle when chilled.  
Leave most of it in the refrigerator, keeping out only a small amount to work 
with.  Measure out 2 half-teaspoon lumps of marzipan, and place a whole almond 
between them.  Press the lumps together, sealing the edges.  You should have a 
rough oval of marzipan, with no almond visible.  Roll the oval in the sugar to 
coat it.  Place it in one half of the mold.  Put the other half of the mold on 
top and press down firmly.   Separate the two halves.  Scrape away any excess 
marzipan from the edges with a toothpick, and gently remove the peach pit.  Set 
it aside to air-dry in a cool, dry place for 24 hours.

Translation & redaction: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain, Barony of Settmour Swamp
(Robin Carroll-Mann)

Notes:

Adarme is a medieval Spanish unit of weight, equivalent to 1/16 ounce.

Standard marzipan recipe is 1 part sugar to 1 part marzipan, by weight.  This 
recipe calls for 1 part marzipan to 2 parts sugar.  When I try those 
proportions, I get something like damp beach sand, too crumbly to hold 
together.  I have to add more almond (and sometimes a little almond oil) to get 
a more workable material.

You can make extra-fine sugar by running granulated sugar through a blender or 
food processor.

If you use cassia instead of true cinnamon, you might want to reduce the 
quantity.  If you don't have sanders, a small amount of red paste food coloring 
would probably work.  True cinnamon and sanders are available from the 
Pepperer's Guild.

The recipe works a LOT better when you follow the directions.  The first time I 
made this, I sprinkled sugar into the mold.  Rolling the piece in sugar before 
molding it works *much* better.

Peach-pit molds can be made by taking an actual peach pit and pressing each 
half into a food-safe molding material.  My current mold is made of modern 
materials, but I ordered an earthenware mold from a potter at Pennsic.


Brighid

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