When the fondant is barely lukewarm begin to stir it with long steady strokes and continue this until the mixture becomes creamy and thick and begins to break away from the sides of the dish and the spoon. Then gather it all together into a round mass and knead like bread until it becomes pliable. It may then be wrapped in oiled paper or put into a covered bowl or fruit jar and kept until wanted. Fondant is the foundation for all bonbons and may be made up into a great variety of shapes and with many flavors. It may be mixed with chopped candied fruits or nuts or coated with chocolate. _Laboratory management._——The holiday time is the natural season for the candy-making lesson. It is not worth while to spend much time on this topic, at the sacrifice of others. EXERCISES 1. What is meant by a fuel food? 2. Why should fat be taken daily? 3. Compare the cost of different kinds of fat. 4. Why is beef fat less expensive than butter? 5. How is fat mixed with other ingredients in a sauce? 6. What is the chief point to consider in the cookery of fat? 7. What is the difference between cane sugar and honey? 8. Compare the cost of a pound of homemade candy with that of good quality bought at a shop. 9. How is fat changed in digestion? 10. How is sugar changed in digestion? CHAPTER XI MUFFINS, BISCUIT, CAKE, AND PASTRY Wheat flour is the important material in this group, but muffins and biscuit may be varied by the use of corn meal, rye, and Graham flour, and cooked cereals may also be utilized. The ingredients are flour, salt, a liquid, sometimes a fat, eggs, and sugar. The flavorings are spices, essences, fruit juice, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate. The mixture must be smooth, but it is also necessary to make it porous or “light.” This is accomplished by means of leavening agents, “to leaven” meaning “to make light.” =Leavening agents.=——The batter, or dough, is leavened by introducing into it air or a gas that expands when heated in the oven, thus making the whole more porous and larger in bulk. _Air._——This is introduced into the batter by beating, or by beating air into the white of egg and stirring the beaten white into the batter. _Steam._——The water in the batter turns to steam in the oven, and as it expands it assists in the leavening of the mass. See Popovers. _Carbon dioxide gas._——This is introduced in three ways. (1) By using an acid with a carbonate. (2) By yeast fermentation. (3) By machinery. Yeast fermentation is studied in the chapter on bread making (Chapter XII), and the mechanical method is a commercial process exclusively. Only the first method will be treated in this chapter.