Barberry Drops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Pound the ripe barberries in a mortar and squeeze the juice through a napkin.
Make the drops
Mix the juice with sifted sugar until it is nearly thick enough for a spoon to stand upright.
Heat the mixture in a drop-pan on the fire, stirring constantly without letting it boil.
Add a small quantity of more sugar, warm it, and lay it out as directed for peppermint drops.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Ripe barberries
- Provide the tart juice that gives the drops their flavour and acidity.
- Sugar
- Thickens the juice into a set, sweet confection as it cooks down.
The step that matters
Heating without boiling. Stirring constantly and keeping the mixture just below a boil prevents scorching and crystallisation, so the sugar stays smooth and the drops set clear rather than grainy or burnt.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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