SC - Re: Peach pits (Recipe)
harper at idt.net
harper at idt.net
Fri Oct 20 15:22:03 PDT 2000
>
> >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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