Essence of Beef

Set three or four quarts of broth on a slow fire in a saucepan and reduce it to jelly, keeping it simmering all the time; it may take twenty hours to reduce.

When properly reduced, the stock is very dark-brown and has a pleasant odor.

Let the reduced stock cool until it becomes rather hard.

Check the stock: if it tastes like glue and has an unpleasant odor, it was not made properly or with good beef.

If properly made, the stock will keep for a long time.

Use the stock to thicken sauces or decorate boned birds; it can also be used to make soup in a hurry, though it is inferior to fresh broth.

Put about three tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar in a bowl with the white of a small egg; mix and work for at least five minutes with a piece of wood until it is perfectly white and rather thick.

Make a funnel with thick, white paper; put the mixture in it and squeeze it out to create decorations of desired size by cutting the smaller end of the funnel.

The mixture may also be spread on cakes with a knife, according to the desired decoration.

A charlotte russe may be decorated in the same way, using the same cream used to fill it.