Light French Jelly

Translation of a 16th century Italian Recipe into English by Shannon Wanty

From Christoforo di Messisbugo, Banchetti composizioni di vivande e apparecchio generale (Lucio Spineda, Venice, 1610)

p101v A fare gelatia chiara Francese per piatti dieci. (To make light French jelly for ten plates.)

Take a large beaker of white wine, and that which will be sweeter, will be best. The four calves' feet, four cracked calves' bones, like the soup of knees, and take out all the marrow, and then put them to rinse a little, then put the meat to boil a good hour, and lso, when the meat is well cooked taking it out, and straining the mixture with a sieve, then have a pound and a half of sugar, an ounce and a half of cinnamon, a third [of an ounce] of cloves, a fifth [of an ounce] of nutmeg, a third [of an ounce] of saffron, a quarter [of an ounce] of long pepper, and half an ounce of grains of paradise, all of these well ground, and the white of ten well beaten eggs, and a beaker of fine strong vinegar, and put all of these things to boil in the mixture, and when it has boiled a little, put it to strain twice, and thereupon put in the necessary salt, it will be excellent.