The Modern Housewife or, MenagEre / Comprising Nearly One Thousand Receipts, for the Economic and Judicious Preparation of Every Meal of the Day, with those of The Nursery and Sick Room, and Minute Directions for Family Management in All its Branches.

JELLIES.

NOTHING, I am confident, will give you more pleasure than trying the receipts which I am now about giving you; they are for jellies, that is, those made from gelatinous substances of animal production. They are the most wholesome productions of cookery, and are slightly nourishing and fortifying without being exciting. You will find the receipts as simple as possible; and you will perceive that, when you have made the foundation stock to perfection, they may be varied in twenty or more different ways, by changing the flavor, fruits, or colors.

739. Jelly Stock, made from calf’s feet, requires to be made the day previous to being used. Take two calf’s feet, cut them up, and boil in three quarts of water; as soon as it boils remove it to the corner of the fire, and simmer for five hours, keeping it skimmed, pass through a hair sieve into a basin, and let it remain until quite hard, then remove the oil and fat, and wipe the top dry. Place in a stewpan one gill of water, one of sherry, half a pound of lump sugar, the juice of four lemons, the rinds of two, and the whites and shells of five eggs, whisk until the sugar is melted, then add the jelly, place it on the fire, and whisk until boiling, pass it through a jelly-bag, pouring that back again which comes through first until quite clear; it is then ready for use, by putting it in moulds or glasses.

740. Gelatine and Isinglass Jelly is made as above, using one ounce and a half of either, and boil in one quart of water, reduce to half; if not required very clear, as for lemon jelly, it need not be run through a bag, but merely through a fine sieve.

741. Hartshorn Jelly.—Use half a pound of hartshorn shavings, boil in three quarts of water, and reduce to one; proceed as before. Also Arney’s jelly powder can be used instead of any of the above, by dissolving in boiling water.

742. Gold or Silver Jelly, or both mixed, is made with eau de vie de Dantzic, mixing the gold or silver leaves with a little jelly, ornamenting the bottom of the mould with it, which place in ice till set, fill with very clear calf’s foot jelly. It can also be made by cutting up a quarter of a sheet of gold leaf in a glass of pale brandy, and use as the former.

743. Maresquino Jelly is made by mixing six liqueur-glasses of maresquino with a quart of clarified calf’s foot jelly; peaches or other fruits cut in quarters may be added.

744. Rum-Punch, CuraÇoa, Noyeau, are made with the same quantity, and as the former.

745. French Jellies may be made with all kinds of fresh fruits, filling the mould by degrees, the jelly first, let it set, then the fruit, and so on till full, the mould being buried in ice; when ready to serve dip in hot water, mix it well, and turn out carefully on your dish. In the winter, preserved fruits in syrup may be used, decorating the mould with them, pouring in a little jelly at a time until it is cold, and fill up by degrees; proceed as above.

746. Orange Jelly.—Procure five oranges and one lemon, take the rind off two of the oranges, and half of the lemon, and remove the pith, put them into a basin, and squeeze the juice of the fruit into it; then put a quarter of a pound of sugar into a stewpan, with half a pint of water, and set it to boil until it becomes a thick syrup, when take it off, and add the juice and rind of the fruits, cover the stewpan, and place it again on the fire; as soon as boiling commences skim well, and add one glass of water by degrees, which will assist its clarification, let it boil another minute, when add half an ounce of good isinglass, dissolved as directed (No. 740), pass it through a jelly-bag, add a few drops of prepared cochineal to give an orange tint, and then fill a mould and place it on ice; turn out as before.

747. Lemon Jelly is made the same way, only using six lemons and the rind of one; serve quite white, and add a gill of Bucellas, or any very pale wine.

Calf’s foot stock, reduced and clarified, may be used instead of the isinglass.

748. Whipped Jellies are made from any of the above by placing some warm jelly in a large bowl or basin on ice, and when nearly cold whisking it; pour quickly in a mould set on ice and salt, where let remain till ready for serving; dip it in lukewarm water, strike gently, taking it in the right hand, place the left on it, turn it over, if it shakes in the mould, let it gradually slip off your hand on the dish, and remove the mould. All jellies are removed the same way.

749. Bohemian Jelly Creams may be made of any flavor as jellies, and either ripe fruit or with marmalade or jam, to which add the juice of two lemons, a pint of water, in which one ounce and a half of isinglass has been dissolved, or a pint of reduced clarified calf’s foot jelly, stir together in a bowl placed on ice; when nearly cold, stir quickly in three parts of a pint of whipped cream, fill the mould, which should be kept on ice, and turn out as before. A small bottle of Crosse and Blackwell’s jelly may be used instead of the isinglass or jelly, by uncorking and placing the bottle in a stewpan of hot water till dissolved, or pour it in a clean stewpan, and reduce it one third. Cherries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, and gooseberries must be passed through a sieve; but apricots, peaches, apples, pears, quinces, pineapples, and marmalade may be used as they are. Creams may be made of any flavor, and of either ripe fruits, jams, or marmalade; they are made plain, thus: put the yolks of five eggs in a stewpan, with six ounces of sugar, beat it up with a spoon until white; in another stewpan have a pint of milk and one ounce of isinglass, boil ten minutes, stir continually to prevent burning, flavor with vanilla or anything to your taste, pour the milk on the eggs and sugar, put on the fire, stir well together, do not let it boil, pass through a tammy into a round bowl; when cold, set on ice, add two or three glasses of liqueur, keep stirring its contents, and when setting, add three parts of a pint of cream well whipped, mix well together, and pour into your mould in the ice, and keep there till required; turn out as before.

750. Charlotte Russe.—Line the inside of a plain round mould with Savoy biscuits, cutting and placing them at the bottom to form a rosette, standing them upright and close together, fill with any of the above creams, omitting the fruits, place the mould in ice, let it remain till ready to serve, turn over on a dish, and remove the mould.

751. Strawberry Charlotte.—Line a plain round mould with ripe strawberries by burying the mould in ice to the rim, and dipping the strawberries in calf’s foot jelly, first covering the bottom with them cut in halves, the cut side downwards, afterwards building them up the sides, the jelly (which must be cold, but not set) causing them to adhere; when finished, fill it with the cream as directed for the charlotte russe, and when ready to serve dip the mould in warm water, and turn it out upon your dish. The cream must be very nearly set when you pour it in, or it would run between the strawberries and produce a bad effect.

752. Chartreuse Cake of variegated Fruits.—Line a charlotte mould very tastefully with various kinds of fruits (such as stoned cherries, strawberries, pieces of peaches, apricots, &c.) by dipping them into jelly, forming some design at the bottom of the mould, and building them in reverse rows up the sides, having the mould previously placed in ice, when well set, terminate as in the last.

753. Blancmange.—To one quart of milk add one ounce of isinglass, a quarter of a pound of sugar, a quarter of an ounce of cinnamon, a little grated nutmeg, half of the peel of a lemon, and a bay-leaf, simmer over a slow fire, stirring till the isinglass is dissolved, pass it through a napkin into a basin, and pour into a mould. This can be made any color or flavor that will not curdle the milk; the milk of bitter almonds may be added to flavor it.

754. Another.—Put into a bowl about a pint of clear calf’s-foot jelly warm, break six eggs, beat the yolks and pour them gradually into the jelly, beating all the time; put on the fire and whisk till nearly boiling, set it on ice or in cold water, keep stirring till nearly cold, and fill your mould. You may add whatever flavor you like.

755. Trifles should be made early in the day on which they are wanted; take a stale Savoy cake, cut it in slices of one inch thick, and lay it on the bottom of the dish; lay on that a thin layer of any kind of marmalade, jam, or jelly, have some macaroons and ratafia cakes and lay on, and cover the whole with some sponge cakes. For a dish nine inches in diameter, mix two glasses of sherry, one of brandy, half a one of rum, and the same of noyeau, and pour over, and let it remain until it is well soaked, then pour over about one inch thick of rich custard; put a pint of cream into a bowl, with some sifted sugar, a squeeze of a lemon, and about a tablespoonful of the wine, &c., you have put on the cake, whisk it well up. I use a trifle-blower, which saves some trouble; I also use it for all whipped cream; and as the froth rises remove it with a spoon on to a clean sieve, where let it drain, then place it on the custard until it is high and handsome.

I have occasionally, when being in a hurry, and having no cream by me, proceeded as above, and made the whip with the whites of eggs, and some very white peach or egg-plum marmalade together, until it makes firm froth or whip, which put on the custard; this may also be colored a nice pink.

Trifles are generally considered unwholesome; I think it is because they are often made too long before they are wanted, and no spirit is used in the cake, the consequence is, the cream turns sour.

The remains of this make an excellent pudding.

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