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Pies, Meat, Jelly For

Break up two pounds of the knuckle of veal, and put it into a stewpan with the knucklebone of a ham, or, failing this, half a pound of raw lean ham. Pour over this three pints of cold water, and add a carrot, an onion, half a bay-leaf, three or four sticks of celery, a handful of parsley, a small sprig of thyme, a blade of mace, two cloves, a roll of lemon-rind, a tea-spoonful of salt, a pinch of cayenne, a lump of sugar, and six peppercorns. Cover the stewpan, and bring the contents slowly to a boil. Remove the scum as it rises, draw the pan to the side, and simmer gently, but continuously, for five hours. Strain the liquid through a jelly-bag, and let it stand until it is cold and stiff. Remove the fat, by first scraping it off with a spoon, and afterwards pouring a little hot water over the surface, draining it off immediately, and then wiping off the moisture with a dry napkin. If the jelly has been gently boiled it should not need to be clarified. If, however, it is not quite clear and bright, dissolve it over a gentle fire, and when it is melted, without being hot, mix with it the white of an egg which has been well whisked, with half a tea-cupful of water, and add the crushed shell of the egg, a dessert-spoonful of tarragon vinegar, and a glassful of sherry. Put the pan on the fire, and stir it briskly until it begins to boil; then draw it to the side, put on the cover, and let it simmer, without being touched, for a quarter of an hour. Strain it again through a jelly-bag, and when cold it is ready for use. The bones, necks, and feet of fowls, or the shank-bones of a leg of mutton, if boiled down carefully with an ox-heel or a calf's foot, will make good meat jelly. Probable cost, 2s. 8d. Sufficient for three pints of jelly.