HFF 3.13: Solstice

The Challenge: Solstice. Try an astronomical- or astrological-themed recipe.

The Recipe: Meteors, from The Italian Confectioner; or, Complete Economy of Desserts [backup: meringues from Beeton's Book of Household Management, London, 1861]

The Date/Year and Region: 1827, London (also in The Art of Confectionery from 1865)

How Did You Make It:  Boiled 1lb of granulated sugar in 3/4 cup water, while beating 3 egg whites to stiff peaks. I consulted with a modern guide to better understand the sugar-boiling stages, aiming for a 'blow', approximately 232F. The sugar boils though different stages, but I never got the diagnostic blow bubble. I ended up taking the sugar off when the thermometer got between 230F and 235F, then stirred in 1Tbsp of orange flower water (the 1865 receipt says to add coloring and flavoring at this point, though the 1827 receipt says nothing of flavors) and the beaten egg whites.

It didn't work.

Instead of a smooth, thick batter (liquid-ish confectionary substance?), the mixture stayed lumpy, with a transparent syrup layer below. Worse, it smelled strongly of egg.

As further mixing didn't improve matters, I went to plan B: make regular meringues. That is, do the same thing but with solid sugar rather than syrup.

I used Beeton's receipt (1/4 cup sugar per egg white, flavor as desired), and made small drops using folded parchment paper as a pastry bag. The meringues are definitely round, like various celestial bodies...

Time to Complete: About 50 minutes of boiling sugar; less than 10 minutes to prepare the meringues, before letting them dry in a cooling oven overnight.

Total Cost: All supplies were on hand.

How Successful Was It?: The meteors were not --like all my other attempts to boil sugar.  The meringues were perfectly fine: the orange flower flavor is delicate and palatable and for the rest they are sweet and crisp. I do prefer these with vanilla as the flavor (and will eat the whole pan in one evening), but the orangeflower makes a nice change and is very Victorian .

How Accurate Is It?: Cheated with the modern electric mixer, as usual. I have, in fact, tried beating egg whites by hand before, and rarely succeed in producing stiff peaks (sore wrists, however...).  I wish I had a wood-burning oven for making these, as it would be easier to get the right temperature.

Meteors: not a success.

Meringues share a vaguely round shape with numerous
celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and planets.