Proper cow bones to prepare holodets Holodets blues 

  



Holodets is a typical Eastern Europe recipe. It is is basically a meat aspic, the gelatin being obtained from long boiling the bones and melting the connective tissue-collagen.

I tried to do holodets using cow bones (no pig feet, that one is easier).  

My problem is that I can't figure out from the recipes which bone is used. It's mentioned as "hoof", "knee", "leg bone", etc. But there is no photograph and bone names vary from place to place.  

I prepared the dish but the collagen content of the bones I used was not enough, so I ended up adding agar-agar, which I know is not needed if the bones are "the correct ones".  

Can anyone to help me to identify the bones? A photograph should be the optimal answer!  

NB> Please feel free to correct my English
Not sure about Holodet. But a good source of making gelatin from meat is the knee bone with all the cartilage in it. I use it to make foot jelly (aka gala, galarita, ptcha). This is not the same as bones with marrow. AFAIK marrow is not a big source of cartilage. You do have to simmer at low heat for a long time to get the cartilage to dissolve. Don't try a rolling boil, it wont work.