330 



treacle, may drain off the surface of the peel into the trough below. 

 The peel has now taken up as much sugar as is necessary. 



" Now comes the final process, the true candying of the cover- 

 ing of the surface of the peel with the layer of sugar crystals which 

 is seen upon candied fruits. To effect this a quantity of crystallised 

 sugar in Leghorn the same quality is used as is employed in the 

 preparation of the syrup is just dissolved in a little water; in this 

 the now dried peel, taken off the wire netting, is immersed. The 

 same copper vessels are used ; and the mixture is again boiled over 

 a slow fire. A short boiling will suffice for this, the last process, 

 for the little water will be quickly driven off, and the sugar upon 

 cooling will form its natural crystal over the surface of the fruit. 

 Poured off from these vessels, it is again dried upon the surface of 

 the wire netting, as before described. The candying is now com- 

 plete ; and the candied peel is ready for the packing room, to which 

 it is carried off in shallow baskets. 



" In the packing-room may be seen hundreds of boxes of oval 

 shape, or, if I may so speak, of rectangular shape with rounded 

 corners, and of different sizes ; for each country prefers its boxes to 

 be of a particular weight, Hamburg taking the largest, of 15 and 30 

 kilos; the United States of America preferring smaller, of 10 and 12 

 kilos ; Britain taking the smallest, of five kilos, and one containing 

 about seven English pounds. The wood of which the tops and 

 bottoms of these boxes are made conies to us in thin planks from 

 Trieste ; and a skilful packing is generally done by women the 

 boxes being lined with white paper. They are then packed in cases 

 of 100 kilos, 10 of the smaller American boxes filling a case. The 

 candied peel is now ready for export." 



The proportion of sugar used in the candying process is 80 

 per cent. i.e., SOlbs. sugar for lOOlbs. fruit. The wholesale prices 

 of the best candied fruit fluctuate considerably, from 6Jd. to 9d. per 

 lb., early in the autumn. 



OTHER FRUITS 



are candied pretty much after the same method, with this 

 exception, that they are not put in brine, the object of which is to 

 extract the bitterness peculiar to citrus fruits. 



They are, however, carefully assorted in respect to size and 

 uniform degrees of ripeness, as different fruit require treatment 

 with syrups of different strength. The fat, fleshy fruits absorb the 

 sugar with greater difficulty than thinner and smaller fruit. 



Apples are not generally candied. 



Pears, pineapples, and quinces are pared, citrons are cut into 

 quarters and soaked in brine, and the " pits " of apricots, cherries, 

 and peaches are carefully removed. 



Thus prepared, the fruit is "blanched" or immersed in boiling 

 water, which quickly penetrates the pulp, dissolving and diluting 

 the juice when the fruit is taken from the water and drained, 



