Calves' Feet Jelly

Ingredients

• two calves’ feet
• five pints of fresh cold water
• two lemons, rind
• three ounces of sugar
• an inch of stick cinnamon
• three cloves
• two eggs, one egg for each pint of jelly
• a wineglassful of sherry
• half a wineglassful of brandy

Method

1. 1

   Divide each calf's foot into four pieces and blanch them in boiling water.

2. 2

   Wash and put them in a stewpan with 5 pints of fresh cold water.

3. 3

   Boil and skim for about 6 hours until reduced to just under a quart.

4. 4

   Strain the stock and let it cool.

5. 5

   Skim off the fat.

6. 6

   Add lemon rind, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and egg whites to the stock.

7. 7

   Whisk until boiling, then let it stand for 20 minutes before straining again.

8. 8

   Add sherry and brandy after straining.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from The girl's own cookery book (1882) by Phillis Browne, page 71. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

two calves’ feet, the price of which is uncertain. no The Girl's Own Cookery Book. They will be cheap when veal is cheap, that is about Easter to the middle of August, when, I daresay, you would be able to get them for 4d. or 6d. each ; while at other times you would have to pay perhaps is. each for them, perhaps more. They are sold scalded and pre- pared by the butcher, but we must not suppose that they are quite ready for use when they leave his hands. They may look very white and delicate, but they must be blanched before being used ; for you must remember that the more impurity you can get rid of in these early stages the easier your after task will be. Let your first business be, therefore, to divide each foot into four pieces, cutting first through the joint, then between the hoofs, and sawing through the bone. Put all these pieces into a stewpan with sufficient cold water to cover them, and let them come to the boil. This is blanching them. Take them out, wash them in fresh cold water, pour away the water they were boiled in, rinse out the pan, and put the pieces in again with five pints of fresh cold water. Put this on to boil, skim it well (the clearness of the jelly depends ver)' much on this being done), and let it simmer gently for about six hours, or until the liquor is reduced to a little less than one quart. When this point is reached, put a hair sieve over a basin, strain the stock into it, put it aside, and let it get quite cold. Next day skim off the fat with an iron spoon which has been dipped into boiling water, and afterwards dab it lightly with a cloth dipped in hot water, in order to get perfect freedom from grease. When the stock has been taken up without either fat or the sediment which has settled at the bottom, it is ready to be flavoured and cleared. To do this we put it in a stewpan. We wipe two lemons quite clean, and pare off the rind very thinly, being careful to take none of the white part with the yellow, for, as everyone knows, the white part is bitter, and would spoil the taste of our jelly. The rind we put with the stock, and also the strained juice of three lemons, three ounces of sugar, an inch of stick cinnamon, and three cloves. We break two eggs (one egg for each pint of jelly of this consistency), and throw the whites, with the crushed shells, which have been wiped clean, into the pan. We then whisk all Ill Hmv to Make yelly. briskly over the fire till the jelly boils up to the lop. We draw the pan back, put on the lid half-way, and without touching the crust which will have formed on the surface, we let the jelly stand for twenty minutes. By that time it may be run through the strainer. A wineglassful of sherry and half a wineglassful of brandy may be added after the jelly has run through. Their value would be lost if they were to be boiled with the other ingredients. Now we will suppose that we wish to make the same kind of jelly with gelatine. And first we must remember that it needs a little judgment to determine how much gelatine will be required for a given quantity of jelly. For one thing, the weather has to be considered, a smaller proportion of stiffening being needed in cold than in hot weather. The size of the moulds, too, has to be taken into consideration, for jelly will set more easily in small moulds than in large ones. The quality of the gelatine, too, is a point to be thought of, although the gelatine of respectable dealers may be relied upon with tolerable security. It is a mistake to make jelly too stiff, because it quite destroys its delicacy. A jelly ought to keep its shape, and yet tremble in the dish when touched with a spoon, and it ought to dissolve instantly when put into the mouth. I once saw some jelly which was so stiff that it could have been tossed across the table from one glass dish to another without fear of being broken. The cook who made it was exceedingly proud of it. She said, “ You don’t break my jellies in a hurry.” I thought to myself, “ No, and you would not eat them in a hurry either,” for I knew the jelly would taste like glue. 1 did not think it was good jelly, though it might be firm. There is still another point to be considered. The more gelatine we use, the more eggs we shall require for clearing. I daresay you remember that when we were talking about clarifying soup, we said that the quantity of raw meat needed depended not upon the quantity of stock, but upon the meat used in making the stock. It is the same here ; the stiffer the jelly the more difficult it will be to clear, and the more eggs will be required for the pur- pose. At the same time our jelly must be stiff enough, or it will break in the dish, and that will constitute it a failure. II2 The Girl’s Own Cookery Book. Altogether, I think we may say, that with average gela- tine, one ounce may be taken for a pint and a half of liquid, exclusive of a wineglassful of sherry, and half a wineglassful of brandy ; while in hot weather, when ice cannot be obtained, an ounce of gelatine should be taken for a pint of liquid. As to the method of preparing jelly with gelatine, we first measure the quantity of water we think it wise to use ; we then soak the gelatine in as much water as will cover it, for about an hour ; dissolve it in a little more Avater, add the remainder with the sugar, lemon, and ilavouring ingredients. Put the saucepan on the fire, and proceed as for calves’ feet jelly

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.