Catholic Recipe: Glaceed Fruits

Also Called: glacéed fruits

In the fourth century when the desert in Egypt sheltered many hermits, most famous was Macarius the Younger. He did not become a hermit until the middle of his life. He had been a sugarplum merchant, and that is why he became the patron of pastry cooks and confectioners. His own product, sugarplums, a term once used only for candied fruits, is today a synonym for sweets of any kind.

In our day sugarplums are more apt to be replaced by glacéed fruits, which are crystallized fruits.

DIRECTIONS

Mix sugar, water, and cream of tartar in a small saucepan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved; then cook to 310° F.--crack stage--without stirring. Remove the syrup from the fire to check boiling and place the saucepan in another pan of hot water. Begin dipping into the syrup at once, using pieces of canned pineapple, canned cherries, figs, grapes, dates, pitted prunes. Nut meats may be glacéed in the same fashion. If the candies are dropped on tin, they will not stick.