Glasshearth

An evening kitchen, a copper pot of sugar creeping up the thermometer, and a board of fruit. One straight line threads a skewer; one well-timed lift sets it in clear sugar glass.

On the board what you work with

• Strawberries and cherries
• Grapes and blueberries
• Apple and pear wedges
• Mandarin segments and kumquats
• Pineapple rings, kiwi, dragon fruit
• Pits and knives in the way

Method how a slip is cooked

1. Read the slip. Each patron asks for fruit in a set order: strawberry, grape, strawberry. Some want two or three skewers.
2. Draw one line. The skewer takes every piece it crosses, from the handle to the tip. A pit or a paring knife stops it; a bruised cherry spoils it.
3. Mind the cut. Wedges thread only lengthwise, citrus segments only through the middle, pineapple rings only through the hole.
4. Dip and lift. Hold to coat, let go to lift. In the glass band the sugar sets clear and crisp; a little hotter and it turns amber.
5. Jar it. Kept slips go onto the Jar Shelf, and the crystals scraped from the pot rim buy a slower copper pot, longer skewers and new jars.