Jelly (Calves' Foot)

Instructions

1. Take four calves' feet, slit them in two, take away the fat from between the claws, and wash them well in lukewarm water.
2. Put them in a large stewpan and cover them with water.
3. When the liquor boils, skim it well, and let it boil gently six or seven hours, that it may be reduced to about two quarts.
4. Strain it through a sieve, and skim all the oily substance which is on the surface of the liquor.
5. If you are not in a hurry, it is better to boil the calves' feet the day before you make the jelly. When the liquor is cold the oily part is at the top and the rest is firm, so every particle of the oily substance can be lifted off with pieces of kitchen paper applied to it, without wasting any of the liquor.
6. Put the liquor into a stewpan to melt, with a pound of lump sugar, the peel of two lemons, the juice of six, the whites and shells of six eggs (beaten together), and a bottle of sherry or madeira.
7. Whisk the whole together until it is on the boil, then put it at the side of the stove and let it simmer a quarter of an hour.
8. Strain it through a jelly-bag. What is strained first must be poured into the bag again, until it is as bright and as clear as spring water.
9. Then put the jelly into moulds to get cold and firm.
10. When it is required to be very stiff, half an ounce of isinglass may be added when the wine is put in.
11. It may be flavoured by the juice of various fruits or by spices, and coloured with saffron.
12. N.B. -- Ten sheep's trotters, which may be bought for twopence-halfpenny, will give as much jelly as a calf's foot, which costs a shilling.