[Sca-cooks] Anneys in Counfyte: The Recipe Was Right

[Elise Fleming]

Adamantius wrote:

 >One of the beauties of the 15th century "rough and ragged" confit is
 >the omission of water and the basic absence of certain considerations
 >like sugar height. It's hard crack by default as soon as it is melted
 >-- assuming you don't let it brown, at which point it is becoming
 >caramel.

The recipe refers several times to "decoction" or "decoccioun".  This 
general means a boiling and the dictionaries say that it's a boiling in 
water, or in a fluid.  Wouldn't this imply that there was water added? 
The amount of water wouldn't matter because one was to boil the sugar 
(and water) until it streamed between the thumb and forefinger.  Have 
you tried just melting sugar and checking to see if it streams between 
thumb and forefinger?  Or, by the time you could check this, might the 
sugar have passed to a different stage?

On re-reading the recipe, I'm not sure if what they wanted was a "rough 
and ragged" comfit.  It says (put into today's spelling) "and if you see 
that your anise becomes rough and ragged, give your sugar a lower 
'decoction', for high 'decoction' of the sugar makes it rough and 
ragged."  To me that would say that if the anise became rough, you 
should lower the sugar temperature, implying that a rough and ragged 
comfit wasn't desirable.

I've not tried this specific recipe but have used the later period ones 
which contain all the pertinent instructions but do mention the use of 
water with the sugar.

Alys K.
-- 
Elise Fleming
alysk at ix.netcom.com
http://home.netcom.com/~alysk/