[Sca-cooks] Peach pits (Recipe)

[Prydwen]

Here 'tis.
Prydwen the Packrat

At 11:19 AM 8/7/2001 -0700, you wrote:
>Brighid ni Chiarain wrote:
> > I have decided that it is my mission in
> > life to introduce
> > peach pits to the entire Known World.
>
>Peach pits! I've forgotten -- are they just molded marzipan? I
>tried to look in the archives, but it appears I have to know the
>month those postings last appeared :(
>
>Irmele


>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