Nisholda

Method

1. Rinse 10 g of dried soapwort root under cold water, crush or chop it into short pieces with a heavy knife, and put it in a small saucepan with 200 ml of cold water. Leave to soak overnight, or at least 8 hours, until the root is soft and swollen.
2. Bring the root and its soaking water to the boil, then lower to the barest simmer, half-cover and cook 1 hour, until the liquid is a deep tea colour and has reduced to about 50 ml. Test it: a spoonful shaken in a cup should throw up a stubborn white froth. Strain through a fine sieve or muslin, pressing the root well, and cool the extract completely — it must be cold before it meets the egg white.
3. Put 120 g of sugar and 60 ml of water in a small heavy pan over medium heat. Stir only until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring, brush the sides down with a wet pastry brush and boil to 115C on a sugar thermometer, 10-12 minutes; without a thermometer, a drop lifted between wet finger and thumb should pull a short fine thread.