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Sauce

To Boil Sugar

Boil sugar with water, adding cold water when it first boils, then simmer for 30 minutes before adding fruit.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Boil Sugar

Ingredients

Directions

Dissolve the sugar

  1. In a saucepan, combine 1 pound of sugar and ½ pint of water.

  2. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Boil and finish

  1. When it first boils, add a little cold water.

  2. Once it boils again, remove from heat.

  3. Let it settle for 10 minutes and skim off any foam.

  4. Boil for 30 minutes or a little longer before adding fruit.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Sugar
Provides sweetness and, as the syrup boils down, gives it body and thickness.

The step that matters

Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Undissolved sugar crystals can seed unwanted crystallisation as the syrup boils, leaving it grainy. Dissolving fully before the mixture boils keeps the syrup smooth and clear.

“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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