No. 3291 — Candied Young Lettuce Stems with Ginger
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 3291 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Gather the thickest and youngest lettuce stalks, while still brittle and not woody. Scald with boiling water, peel and cut into small pieces.
Cover well with grated ginger, so every piece is coated, and leave on ice for about three days. Rinse thoroughly in clean water.
Cook as an ordinary preserve, adding one sliced root of white ginger per pound sugar to simmer with it. Remove the ginger pieces when done; the author compares the result to imported ginger preserve.
If the syrup later becomes too thin, drain it, boil with additional sugar and return it after cooling. For 1 pound lettuce stalks take 1 pound sugar, ½ glass water, 2 tablespoons ground ginger and a piece of whole ginger.