onion,--work the onion into two
cupsful of sugar and let the mixture stand for two hours. Add two-thirds
of a cupful of cold water, place the mass on the fire, and let it come
just to a boil. Strain the syrup so made into a granite saucepan, and
add one teaspoonful of vinegar and the amount of red pepper that the
point of a knife will hold. Place the mixture on the fire, and when the
mass begins to boil, put a wooden cover over the pan. Continue the
boiling for several minutes; thoroughly "steam down" the side of the
pan. By "steaming down" the side of the pan is meant confining the steam
which rises from cooking so that it will free the sides of the pan from
the accumulation of the mass that is cooking.

Remove the cover, insert a thermometer, and cook the mass to three
hundred and thirty-five degrees. Thereupon stir in one tablespoonful of
butter, remove the mass from the fire, add one teaspoonful of salt, and
baking soda the size of a large pea. Thoroughly mix the mass, and pour
it between candy-bars on a well oiled marble slab. As the confection
sets, mark it off in squares, and be sure to run the knife under the
whole sheet to free it from the marble. Unless the sheet is so freed
from the marble it will be sure to stick so that it can be handled only
with difficulty. When the mass is cooled, it will easily break into the
squares into which it has been marked. For preserving, pack the tablets
in tin boxes.

For those who do not like so much red pepper, the quantity may be
regulated to suit. The amount of onion used may also be increased or
diminished as the taste of the candy-maker dictates.

XIX

ORIENTAL PASTE

This confection is easily made from purely vegetable ingredients, and
has the pleasing consistency and flavor of the Turkish pastes. The
gelatine that is used comes from an aquatic plant--instead of from the
usual source. It can now be obtained in specialty stores and in some of
the grocery stores of the larger cities.

Cut one-half of an ounce of Japanese gelatine into fine pieces, and pour
over it two cupsful of warm water. Ordinary gelatine can not be
substituted. Let it stand for at least two hours. The results will be
much better if the soaking is allowed to take a whole night. Set this
gelatine water on the fire and stir it until it comes to a boil and the
gelatine is wholly dissolved.

Mix one pound of sugar and one-half of a pound of glucose; into them
strain the gelatine. Set the r