[Sca-cooks] OOP: Praline recipes from La Varenne, part 2

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On 5 Dec 2002, at 11:46, Susan Fox-Davis wrote:

> Robin Carroll-Mann wrote:
>
> > "Broom" is a yellow-flowered shrub, the "planta genista" of the
> > Plantagenets.
>
> Do we need to remind everyone that American Broom is =not= the same plant
> and will make you very sick indeed?

I, for one, didn't know that there was such a thing as American
Broom.  Let's remind everyone to carefully research any unfamiliar
herbs in a period recipe.

> You've probably answered this question before, but I'm unclear about the
> naming of the stages of sugar cooking here.  "Pearl" sounds like it could
> be hard ball,

According to research done by our own Alys Katherine, "pearl" is
220 F.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-SWEETS/Candying-art.text
Modern recipes call that "jelly stage".

> but what is the "feather" stage?

Karen Hess says that it's 232 F, which is thread stage in the
modern system.

> Selene Colfox
> selene at earthlink.net

Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
rcmann4 at earthlink.net