h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Now that's some info I can use.It feels at times I'm swimming with the sharks.

I suppose you could make stock out of sharks if you really wanted to. Probably it would make good aspic, as sharks are high in cartilege.

Speaking of aspic....I heard on NPR a recipe for that made of calves feet,making sure to wash them well first.

That does not surprise me. Aspic is (traditionally) made from animal-based gelatin. The richest source of such things is the animal protein keratin, which is what horns and hooves are made of. So cooking down hooves should yield very firm aspic. Of course, if you make chicken stock and stick it in the fridge, it will usually gel, although in a wobbly rather than a firm fashion, thanks to boiling the proteins out of the bones and marrow. This works better if you crack the bones first.

Well, if you want to thicken your chicken stock, and go through the ghastly process of the Guide article that gave birth to this forum, you may want to add the chicken's feet (you know, the ones they walk on) to the stock. That's where most of the gelatin is in the chicken. It may be a good idea simply because it has been found to help with arthritis. However, it has nothing to do with why the chicken crossed the road. No self-respecting chicken broth will be without some basics. Those have been mostly covered, yet you still need a whole peeled onion, a couple of garlic cloves, a tomato, a scraped carrot, the heart from a green bell pepper, 10 peppercorns, a sprig of parsley and some salt. All this is just to get a basic stock; if you want to flavor it, then you add some thyme, a bay leaf, a stalk of celery, etc. You must skim the water with all the stuff when it first comes to a boil and remove all the yucky grayish-brown foam; otherwise you won't get a clear broth. It is a good idea to refrigerate the broth and remove the congealed fat from the surface the next day if you worry about cholesterol. You may save that fat for multiple uses if you don't worry about the big C.: it's great for frying eggs, or to cook garlic cloves to put on a dish to keep vampires away.