FINE ORANGE JELLY.--Take four large calves' feet, that have been singed, but not skinned. Boil them in a gallon of clear, soft water, till the liquid is reduced to one quart, and all the meat has dropped from the bones. Strain it into a pan, cover it, and let it stand till next morning. It should then be a firm cake. Take a knife, and carefully remove all the fat from the top of the cake, and all the sediment from the bottom, and press some clean, soft, blotting-paper (or white paper) upon it, to clear it from all remains of greasiness. Then cut the cake of jelly into slices, and put it into a preserving-kettle. Add to it a pound and a half of loaf-sugar, broken up, a pint and a half of strained orange-juice, and the yellow rinds of four oranges, pared thin, and cut in pieces. Beat, slightly, the whites of six eggs, and add them to the mixture, with three of their shells, crushed small. Set the kettle over a clear fire, and stir till you see indications of the scum begin to rise. Then cease stirring, immediately, or the jelly will be cloudy. After it has come to a boil, simmer it ten minutes. Then take it off the fire. Let it stand about five minutes, and then pour the whole into a jelly-bag; place a white pan beneath, for the jelly to drip into. Take care not to squeeze the bag, or the clearness of the jelly will be irrecoverably destroyed. If it is not clear, on first running through, empty the bag, wash it clean, and return the jelly to it, and let it drip again. Repeat this, if necessary, till it is quite bright and transparent. When it has congealed, and become firm, put it into a glass bowl, and break it up. If you wish it in moulds, put it into them, of course, while it is liquid; but not till it is quite clear.
It will be clear much sooner, and with certainty, if you add two or three blades of isinglass, when it first begins to boil.
The oranges should be ripe, high-coloured, and rolled under the hand, to increase the juice.
EXCELLENT CURRANT-JELLY.--The currants should be quite ripe, but not _over_-ripe. Having picked them from the stems, put the fruit into a large stone jar, or pitcher, and tie closely over the top a very thick paper, (for instance, sugar-loaf paper, or coarse brown.) Set the jar into a kettle of boiling water, the water not quite reaching the top of the jar; and let the currants remain over a moderate fire an hour after they have begun to boil. Then pour them into a linen bag, and let the juice drip into a vessel beneath. Do not squeeze the bag, or the jelly will not be clear. When the juice has ceased to drip, measure it; and to each quart allow a pound of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, broken up. Crush the sugar small, by rolling it on a clean paste-board, with a rolling-pin. Put the juice (_without the sugar_) into a preserving-kettle, and let it just come to a boil. Then take it off; and, while it is very hot, immediately stir into it the sugar, a handful at a time, using a wooden spoon to stir it with. If the sugar is of the best sort, it will require no skimming, and will have no sediment. Therefore, as nothing of it will be lost or wasted, it is more economical than sugar of inferior quality. Put the jelly immediately into tumblers, or white jars, and cover it at once; first, with double white tissue-paper, cut to fit exactly the inside of the top; and then with writing-paper, cut larger, so as to turn downward, round the outside of the top. Paste the paper firmly on, and set the jelly away in a dry, cool place. Notch the edge of the paper, with scissors.