This section is from the book "The Table: How To Buy Food, How to Cook It, and How to Serve It", by Alessandro Filippini. Also available from Amazon: The Table: How To Buy Food, How To Cook It And How To Serve It.
Clean and neatly trim three pairs of fine sweetbreads. Soak them for three hours in three different fresh waters, one hour in each water, with one pinch of salt in each water. Drain, place in cold water, and blanch them until they come to a boil. Then drain, and freshen them in cold water. Cover with a napkin, lay them aside in a cool place, and they will now be ready for general use.
When they are to be used in molds, they should be gently pressed down with a pound weight.
 
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