The Housekeeper’s Valuable Present

JAGwinn

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Bloomington, IL Corvette Gold
No date was found for this book.
THE
HOUSEKEEPER’s
VALUABLE PRESENT:

OR,
Lady’s Closet Companion.
BEING A
NEW AND COMPLETE
ART OF PREPARING
CONFECTS,
ACCORDING TO
MODERN PRACTICE.
Comprized under the following Parts; viz.
I.Different Methods and Degrees of boiling and clarifying Sugar.II.Methods of preserving various Fruits in Syrups, &c.III.Methods of making Marmalades, Jams, Pastes, &c.IV.Methods of making Syrups, Custards, Jellies, Blanch-mange, Conserves, Syllabubs, &c.V.Methods of preserving various Fruits in Brandy.VI.Methods of making a Variety of Biscuits, rich Cakes, &c. &c.VII.Methods of mixing, freezing, and working Ice Creams.VIII.Methods of preparing Cordials and made Wines.

With a Variety of other useful and elegant Articles.

By ROBERT ABBOT,
Late apprentice to Messrs. Negri & Gunter,
Confectioners, in Berkeley Square.

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR;
And sold by C. COOKE, No. 17, Pater-noster Row;
and all other Booksellers in Town and Country.
[Price 2s. sewed, or 2s. 6d. neatly bound.]​

Almond Paste.
To a pound of almonds calcined, allow two pounds of sugar sifted fine; pound the almonds with a little orange flower and rose water; put the paste into 43a preserving pan, dry it on the fire till it becomes stiff; put in the sugar and stir it till you perceive it will not stick to your finger; then put it on a marble, and roll it up in a lump for use.

Marshmallow Paste.
Take a pound and a half of gum arabic, a pound of fine sugar, and six ounces of marshmallow root; pound the gum and sugar very fine, and put them into your preserving pan with half a pint of orange flower water and rose water mixed: then boil your marshmallow-root in a quart of water, drain the liquor, and put that to it: set it on a slow fire, and stir it till it becomes in some degree stiff, then put in the whites of twelve eggs, and stirring it till it becomes quite stiff, turn it out on a marble stone, and, when cold, cut it into square pieces, and put them in boxes.

44Strasbourgh Paste, or Lozenges.
Boil a pound of clarified sugar, and two ounces of honey to a carmel height; then pour it on a marble stone, and before it becomes cold mark it in squares, and when cold break it in pieces, and keep it in boxes secure from damp.

Black Currant Paste.
Boil your black currants to a pulp. To a pound of pulp, allow half a pound of apple pulp: dry that on a slow fire, then put in a pound of sugar boiled to a crack, mix it well, then run it on pewter plates, put it in the stove, and when dry, cut it in small square pieces, and dry them.

the book is here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58663
 
These ' Ladies Companion ' books were all over the place, and they meant someone classed ' Lady ' as opposed to those they employed. Colors my appreciation a little. Whole chapters on ' the help ', makes you squirm.
 
After some research found a date for this book about 1790. It was written by Robert Abbot, a famous confectioner of the era. Mr. Abbott first apprenticed at Negri & Gunter's, later Gunter's Tea Shop. This shop was the fashionable place to go in Berkeley Square, London. Mr Abbot later worked for many nobles.
 
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