To the art of candy-making, the use of carrots has brought a harmless new color. Formerly the peculiar yellowish orange of the carrot candy was a shade that the confectioner, amateur or otherwise, could not hope to attain without the use of artificial substances.

The statement that carrots are valuable in candy-making for their color must not be thought to mean that the confections made from them are not very good to eat. Quite the contrary; carrot candies have a very pleasing flavor.

Carrot Rings.—To make them, peel medium sized carrots and let them stand several hours in cold water. Cut cross-wise into slices about one-quarter of an inch thick and with a small round cutter or sharp knife remove the center pith. Drop the rings into boiling water and cook until tender. After they have thoroughly drained, drop them into a syrup made by boiling one part of water and three parts of sugar to two hundred and twenty degrees. Boil until the rings become translucent—probably about ten minutes. Dry on a wire rack, taking care that the rings do not touch. The next day, heat the syrup to two hundred and twenty-five degrees and again dip the rings and dry as before. If desired, when they are dry, fill the centers with bon-bon cream or marzipan. When this center has become firm, dip the candy into a syrup cooked to two hundred and twenty-eight degrees. Even if the centers are not filled, it is well to make this third dipping; the thermometer should, however, register two hundred and thirty degrees instead of merely two hundred and twenty-eight.

Crystallized Carrot.—For this confection, proceed exactly as directed in the previous chapter for crystallized parsnip, substituting, of course, the carrots for the parsnips.

Carrot Roll.—From ordinary cream fondant or from cooked potato fondant, make a thin strip about an inch wide. Place upon it small pieces of the crystallized carrot, prepared as directed above, and roll so that there is formed a long tube filled with the candied vegetable. Cut this tube into pieces as long as desired—half an inch is about right—and after drying until quite firm dip into a crystal cooked to two hundred and twenty-five degrees. If the pieces are not firm when they go into the crystal bath they are likely to soften and lose their roundness.

"Gingers."—Preserved ginger is a delightful confection, but it is expensive, and cannot be obtained in every town. There is a substitute that when properly prepared has an added charm, because it is the product of the candy-maker's own art. Note the box at the extreme right of the illustration facing page 98.

Garden "Ginger."—Take white carrots, preferably of fine texture, boil them five or ten minutes, scrape off the outside layer, cut the carrots in quarters, lengthwise, and remove the cores. Then remove the point and cut the remainder into slices about the size of the pieces of preserved ginger. Boil the pieces in fresh water until they are tender, but change the water frequently to destroy all vegetable taste and odor. Yellow carrots can be used, but in that case the resulting confection will differ from preserved ginger in color, although not in taste.

To every pound of cooked carrots add two pounds of granulated sugar, one quart of water, two ounces of green ginger root shaved fine, and the juice and grated rind of one lemon. Boil the mixture for fifteen minutes, and repeat the boiling the next day, and surely once or twice more; at any rate, until the syrup is very thick. If the boiling was continuous for five hours, the moisture would be eliminated, but the texture of the "ginger" would probably be ruined. The short cookings give the carrots the opportunity to absorb the cooling syrup slowly. If less water were used,—in order to reduce the time of cooking,—the carrot would harden too rapidly to take up enough syrup.

If the "ginger" is not wanted for immediate use, it can be stored in the syrup. The confection may be finished at once and packed dry, but the better method of preservation is in the liquid. The open season for carrots is very short and for the "ginger" is the whole year long!

To finish, heat the syrup thoroughly and then drain. After the liquid has stopped dripping, roll each piece of the "ginger" in granulated sugar, place the pieces on a wire tray, making sure that no two pieces touch, and put the tray in an oven very slightly heated. When the confection is dry it is done.

Variations.—Three variations are possible. If a sharper taste is desired, add a few grains of Cayenne pepper the last time the syrup is boiled. If a moister product is preferred, omit the lemon-juice and rind. If green ginger cannot be obtained, substitute one ounce of ground ginger. Ground ginger, however, must be boiled in a fine cloth bag; otherwise particles of it will adhere to the pieces of carrot.

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