 Section 14 of the Book of Household Management This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Philippa Chantry. The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beaton. Recipes. Chapter 8, Part 1. Fish. Nothing is more difficult than to give the average prices of fish. Inasmuch as a few hours of bad weather at sea will, in the space of one day, cause such a difference in its supply that the same fish—a turbot, for instance, which may be bought today for six or seven shillings—will tomorrow be in the London markets worth perhaps almost as many pounds. The average costs, therefore, which will be found appended to each recipe, must be understood as about the average price for the different kinds of fish, when the market is applied upon an average, and when the various sorts are of an average size and quality. General Rule in Choosing Fish. A proof of freshness and goodness in most fishers is their being covered with scales. Four, if deficient in this respect, it is a sign of their being stale or having been ill-used. Fried Anchovies. Ingredients. One tablespoon of oil, half a glass of white wine, sufficient flour to thicken, twelve anchovies. Mode. Mix the oil and wine together with sufficient flour to make them into a thickish paste. Cleanse the anchovies, wipe them, dip them in the paste, and fry of a nice brown colour. Time, half an hour. Average cost, for this quantity, nine pence. Seasonable, all the year, sufficient for two persons. The Anchovy. In his book of British Fishers, Mr Yarald states that the Anchovy is a common fish in the Mediterranean from Greece to Gibraltar, and was well known to the Greeks and Romans, by whom the liquor prepared from it, called Garum, was in great estimation. Its extreme range is extended into the Black Sea. The fishing for them is carried on during the night, and lights are used with the nets. The Anchovy is common on the coasts of Portugal, Spain and France. It occurs, I have no doubt, at the Channel Islands, and has been taken on the Hampshire Coast and in the Bristol Channel. Other fish of inferior quality, but resembling the real Gorgona Anchovy, are frequently sold for it and passed off as genuine. Anchovy Butter or Paste. Ingredients. Two dozen anchovies, half a pound of fresh butter. Mode. Wash the anchovies thoroughly, bone and dry them, and pound them in a mortar to a paste. Mix the butter gradually with them, and rub the whole through a sieve. Put it by in small pots for use. Then carefully exclude the air with a bladder, as it soon changes the colour of anchovies besides spoiling them. Average cost for this quantity, two shillings. Pot of Anchovies. Pot of Anchovies are made in the same way by adding pounded mace, cayenne, and nutmeg to taste. Anchovy Toast. Ingredients. Toast two or three slices of bread, or, if wanted very savoury, fry them in clarified butter and spread on them the paste. Number 227. Made Mustard, or a few grains of cayenne, may be added to the paste before laying it on the toast. Anchovy Paste. When some delicate zest, as of work just issued on the adulterations of trade, is required to make the plain English breakfast more palatable, many people are in the habit of indulging in what they imagine to be anchovies. These fish are preserved in a kind of pickling bottle, carefully corked down, and surrounded by a red-looking liquor, resembling in appearance diluted clay. The price is moderate, one shilling only being demanded for the luxury. When these anchovies are what is termed potted, it implies that the fish have been pounded into the consistency of a paste, and then placed in flat pots, somewhat similar in shape to those used for pomatom. This paste is usually eaten spread upon toast, and is said to form an excellent bon bouche, which enables gentlemen at wine parties to enjoy their port with redoubled gusto. Unfortunately, in six cases out of ten, the only portion of these preserved delicacies that contains anything indicative of anchovies is the paper label pasted on the bottle or pot, on which the word itself is printed. All the samples of anchovy paste, analyzed by different medical men, have been found to be highly and vividly coloured with very large quantities of bowl Armenian. The anchovy itself, when imported, is of a dark, dead colour, and it is to make it a bright, handsome-looking sauce that this red earth is used. Barbell. Ingredients. Half a pint of port wine. A salt spoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, two sliced onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, nutmeg and maize to taste, the juice of a lemon, two anchovies, one or two barbells, according to size. Mode. Boil the barbells in salt and water till done. Pour off some of the water and, to the remainder, put the ingredients mentioned above. Simmer gently for half an hour, or rather more, and strain. Put in the fish. Heat it gradually, but do not let it boil or it will be broken. Time. Altogether one hour, sufficient for four persons. Seasonable from September to November. The barbell. This fish takes its name from the barbs or wattles at its mouth, and in England is esteemed as one of the worst of the freshwater fish. It was, however, formally, if not now, a favourite with the Jews. Excellent cookers of fish. Others would boil with it a piece of bacon that it might have a relish. It is to be met with from two to three or four feet long, and is said to live to a great age. From Putney upwards in the Thames some are found of large size, but they are valued only as affording sport to the brethren of the angle. Brill. Ingredients. A quarter of a pound of salt to each gallon of water. A little vinegar. Mode. Clean the brill, cut off the fins, and rub it over with a little lemon juice to preserve its whiteness. Set the fish in sufficient cold water to cover it. Throw in salt in the above proportions and a little vinegar and bring it gradually to boil. Simmer very gently till the fish is done, which will be in about ten minutes. But the time for boiling, of course, depends entirely on the size of the fish. Serve it on a hot napkin and garnish with cut lemon, parsley, horseradish, and a little lobster coral sprinkled over the fish. Send lobster or shrimp sauce and plain melted butter to table with it. Time. After the water boils a small brill ten minutes. A large brill fifteen to twenty minutes. Average cost from four to eight shillings. Seasonable from August to April. The brill. This fish resembles the soul, but is broader, and, when large, is esteemed by many in a scarcely less degree than the turbid, whilst it is much cheaper. It is a fine fish, and is abundant in the London market. To choose brill. The flesh of this fish, like that of turbid, should be of a yellowish tint, and should be chosen on account of its thickness. If the flesh has a bluish tint, it is not good. Codfish. Cod may be boiled whole, but a large head and shoulders are quite sufficient for a dish, and contain all that is usually helped, because, when the thick part is done, the tail is insipid and overdone. The latter, cut in slices, makes a very good dish for frying, or it may be salted down and served with egg sauce and parsnips. Cod, when boiled quite fresh, is watery, salting a little renders it firmer. The cod tribe. The jugular, characterised by bony gills, and ventral fins before the pectoral ones, commences the second of the Linnaean order of fishes, and is a numerous tribe, inhabiting only the depths of the ocean, and seldom visiting the fresh waters. They have a smooth head, and the gill membrane has seven rays. The body is oblong, and covered with deciduous scales. The fins are all enclosed in skin, whilst their rays are unarmed. The ventral fins are slender and terminate in a point. Their habits are gregarious, and they feed on smaller fish and other marine animals. Cod's head and shoulders. Ingredients. Sufficient water to cover the fish. Five ounces of salt to each gallon of water. Mode. Cleanse the fish thoroughly, and rub a little salt over the thick part, and inside of the fish, one or two hours before dressing it, as this very much improves the flavour. Lay it in the fish kettle with sufficient cold water to cover it. Be very particular not to pour the water on the fish, as it is liable to break it, and only keep it just simmering. If the water should boil away, add a little by pouring it in at the side of the kettle, and not on the fish. Add salt in the above proportion, and bring it gradually to a boil. Skim very carefully. Draw it to the side of the fire, and let it gently simmer till done. Take it out and drain it. Serve on a hot napkin, and garnish with cut lemon, horseradish, the roe, and liver. Time. According to size, half an hour more or less. Average cost from three to six shillings. Sufficient for six or eight persons. Seasonable from November to March. Note, oyster sauce and plain melted butter should be served with this. To choose cod. The cod should be chosen for the table, when it is plump and round near the tail. When the hollow behind the head is deep, and when the sides are undulated as if they were ribbed. The glutinous parts about the head lose their delicate flavour after the fish has been twenty-four hours out of the water. The great point by which the cod should be judged is the firmness of its flesh. And, although the cod is not firm when it is alive, its quality may be arrived at by pressing the finger into the flesh. If this rises immediately, the fish is good. If not, it is stale. Another sign of its goodness is if the fish, when it is cut, exhibits a bronze appearance, like the silver side of a round of beef. When this is the case, the flesh will be firm when cooked. Stiffness in a cod, or in any other fish, is a sure sign of freshness, though not always of quality. Sometimes codfish, though exhibiting signs of rough usage, will eat much better than those with red gills, so strongly recommended by many cookery books. This appearance is generally caused by the fish having been knocked about at sea in the wellboats in which they are conveyed from the fishing grounds to market. Salt cod, commonly called salt fish. Ingredients sufficient water to cover the fish. Mode, wash the fish and lay it all night in water with a quarter of a pint of vinegar. When thoroughly soaked, take it out, see that it is perfectly clean, and put it in the fish kettle with sufficient cold water to cover it. Heat it gradually, but do not let it boil much or the fish will be hard. Skim well, and when done, drain the fish and put it on a napkin garnished with hard boiled eggs cut in rings. Time, about one hour. Average cost, six pence per pound. Seasonable in the spring. Sufficient for each person, a quarter of a pound. Note, serve with egg sauce and parsnips. This is a special dish on Ash Wednesday. Preserving cod. Immediately as the cod are caught, their heads are cut off. They are then opened, cleaned and salted. When they are stowed away in the hold of the vessel, in beds of five or six yards square, head to tail, with a layer of salt to each layer of fish. When they have lain in this state three or four days in order that the water may drain from them, they are shifted into a different part of the vessel and again salted. Here they remain till the vessel is loaded, when they are sometimes cut into thick pieces and packed in barrels for the greater convenience of carriage. Cod sounds. Should be well soaked in salt and water and thoroughly washed before dressing them. They are considered a great delicacy and may either be broiled, fried or boiled. If they are boiled, mix a little milk with the water. Cod sounds on pool. Ingredients. For force meat. Twelve chopped oysters. Three chopped anchovies. A quarter of a pound of breadcrumbs. One ounce of butter. Two eggs. Seasoning of salt, pepper, nutmeg and mace to taste. Four cod sounds. Mode. Make the force meat by mixing the ingredients well together. Wash the sounds and boil them in milk and water for half an hour. Take them out and let them cool. Cover each with a layer of force meat. Roll them up in a nice form and skewer them. Rub over with lard, dredge with flour and cook them gently before the fire in a dutch oven. Time. One hour. Average cost. Sixpence per pound. Seasonable from November to March, sufficient for four persons. The sounds in codfish. These are the air or swimming bladders by means of which the fishes are enabled to ascend or descend in the water. In the newfoundland fishery they are taken out previous to incipient putrefaction. Washed from their slime and salted for exportation. The tongues are also cured and packed up in barrels whilst from the livers considerable quantities of oil are extracted. This oil having been found possessed of the most nourishing properties and particularly beneficial in cases of pulmonary affections. Cod pie. Ingredients. Any remains of cold cod, 12 oysters, sufficient melted butter to moisten it. Mashed potatoes enough to fill up the dish. Mode. Flake the fish from the bone and carefully take away all the skin. Lay it in a pie dish. Pour over the melted butter and oysters or oyster sauce if there is any left and cover with mashed potatoes. Bake for half an hour and send table of a nice brown color. Time half an hour. Seasonable from November to March. Ingredients. Two slices of cod, pepper and salt taste. Half a teaspoon full of grated nutmeg. One blade of pounded mace. Two ounces of butter. Half a pint of stock number 107. A paced crust, see pastry. For sauce one tablespoon full of stock. A quarter of a pint of cream or milk. Thickening of flour or butter. Lemon peel chopped very fine to taste. 12 oysters. Mode. Lay the cod and salt for four hours then wash it and place it in a dish. Season and add the butter and stock. Cover with the crust and bake for one hour or rather more. Now make the sauce by mixing the ingredients named above. Give it one boil and pour it into the pie by a hole made at the top of the crust which can easily be covered by a small piece of pastry cut and baked in any fanciful shape such as a leaf or otherwise. Time one and a half hours. Average cost with fresh fish two shilling sixpence. Seasonable from November to March. Sufficient for six persons. Note the remains of cold fish may be used for this pie. Curried cod. Ingredients. Two slices of large cod or the remains of any cold fish. Three ounces of butter. One onion sliced. A tea cup full of white stock. Thickening of butter and flour. One small teaspoon full of curry powder. A quarter of a pint of cream. Salt and cayenne to taste. Mode. Flake the fish and fry it of a nice brown color with the butter and onions. Put this in a stew pan. Add the stock and thickening and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir the curry powder into the cream. Put it with the seasoning to the other ingredients. Give one boil and serve. Time three quarters of an hour. Average cost with fresh fish three shillings. Seasonable from November to March. Sufficient for four persons. The food of the cod. This chiefly consists of the smaller species of the scaly tribes. Shellfish, crabs and worms. Their veracity is very great and they will bite at any small body they see moved by the water. Even stones and pebbles which are frequently found in their stomachs. They sometimes attain a great size but their usual weight is from 14 to 40 pounds. Cod a la creme. Ingredients. One large slice of cod. One ounce of butter. One chopped shallot. A little minced parsley. A quarter tea cup full of white stock. A quarter of a pint of milk or cream. Flour to thicken. Cayenne and lemon juice to taste. A quarter of a teaspoon full of powdered sugar. Mode. Boil the cod and while hot break it into flakes. Put the butter, shallot, parsley and stock into a stew pan and let them boil for five minutes. Stir in sufficient flour to thicken and pour to it the milk or cream. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cayenne and sugar and when liked a little lemon juice. Put the fish in the sauce to warm gradually but do not let it boil. Serve in a dish garnished with croutons. Time rather more than half an hour. Average cost with cream to shillings. Seasonable from November to March. Sufficient for three persons. Noted the remains of fish for the preceding day answer very well for this dish. Cod a la bechamel. Ingredients. Any remains of cold cod. Four tablespoons of bechamel. Sea sauces. Two ounces of butter. Seasoning to taste of pepper and salt. Fried bread. A few breadcrumbs. Mode. Flake the cod carefully leaving out all skin and bone. Put the bechamel in a stew pan with the butter. And stir it over the fire till the latter is melted. Add seasoning. Put in the fish and mix it well with the sauce. Make a border of fried bread round the dish. Lay in the fish. Sprinkle over with breadcrumbs and baste with butter. Brown either before the fire or with a salamander and garnish with toasted bread cut in fanciful shapes. Time half an hour. Average cost exclusive of the fish sixpence. The Habitat of the Cod. This fish is found only in the seas of the northern parts of the world between the latitudes of 45 and 66 degrees. Its great rendezvous are the sandbanks of newfound land, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and New England. These places are its favourite resorts, for there it is able to obtain great quantities of worms, a food peculiarly grateful to it. Another cause of its attachment to these places has been said to be on account of the vicinity to the Coppola seas where it returns to spawn. Few are taken north of Iceland and the shoals never reach so far south as the Straits of Gibraltar. Many are taken on the coasts of Norway in the Baltic and off the Orkneys, which, prior to the discovery of newfound land, formed one of the principal fisheries. The London market is well supplied by those taken between the Dogger Bank, the Well Bank and Chroma on the east coast of England. Ingredients. Two slices of cod, a quarter of a pound of butter, a little chopped shallot and parsley, pepper to taste, a quarter of a teaspoon of grated nutmeg or rather less when the flavour is not liked, the juice of a quarter of a lemon. Moad, boil the cod and either leave it whole or what is still better, flake it from the bone and take off the skin. Put it into a stew pan with the butter, parsley, shallot, pepper and nutmeg. Melt the butter gradually and be very careful that it does not become like oil. When all is well mixed and thoroughly hot, add the lemon juice and serve. Time, half an hour, average cost two shilling sixpence with remains of cold fish five shillings. Seasonable from November to March, sufficient for four persons. Note, cod that has been left will do for this. The season for fishing cod. The best season for catching cod is from the beginning of February to the end of April and although each fisherman engaged in taking them catches no more than one at a time an expert hand will sometimes take 400 in a day. The employment is excessively fatiguing from the weight of the fish as well as from the coldness of the climate. Cod alitalien. Ingredients, two slices of crimped cod, one shallot, one slice of ham minced very fine, a half a pint of white stock number 107. When liked, half a tea cup full of cream, salt to taste, a few drops of garlic vinegar, a little lemon juice, half a teaspoon full of powdered sugar. Mode, chop the shallots, mince the ham very fine, pour on the stock and simmer for 15 minutes. If the color should not be good, add cream in the above proportion and strain it through a fine sieve. Season it and put in the vinegar, lemon juice and sugar. Now boil the cod, taking out the middle bone and skin it. Put it on the dish without breaking and pour the sauce over it. Time three quarters of an hour. Average cost three shilling sixpence with fresh fish. Seasonable from November to March. Sufficient for four persons. The fecundity of the cod. In our preceding remarks on the natural history of fishes, we have spoken of the amazing fruitfulness of this fish, but in this we see one more instance of the wise provision which nature has made for supplying the wants of man. So extensive has been the consumption of this fish that it is surprising that it has not long ago become extinct, which would certainly have been the case had it not been for its wonderful powers of reproduction. So early, as 1368, says Dr. Cloquet, the inhabitants of Amsterdam had dispatched fishermen to the coast of Sweden, and in the first quarter of 1792, from the ports of France only, 210 vessels went out to the cod fisheries. Every year, however, upwards of 10,000 vessels of all nations are employed in this trade, and bring into the commercial world more than 40 million of salted and dried cod. If we add to this immense number the havoc made among the legions of cod by the largest scaly tribes of the great deep, and take into account the destruction to which the young are exposed by sea fowls and other inhabitants of the seas, besides the myriads of their eggs destroyed by accident, it becomes a miracle to find that such mighty multitudes of them are still in existence, and ready to continue the exhaustive supply. Yet it ceases to excite our wonder when we remember that the female can give every year birth to more than 9 million at a time. Baked Carb Ingredients One Carb, force meat, breadcrumbs, one ounce of butter, half a pint of stock number 105, half a pint of port wine, six anchovies, two onions sliced, one bay leaf, a faggot of sweet herbs, flour to thicken, the juice of one lemon, cayenne and salt taste, half teaspoonful of powdered sugar. Mode, stuff the carp with delicate force meat after thoroughly cleansing it, and sew it up to prevent the stuffing from falling out. Rub it over with an egg and sprinkle it with breadcrumbs. Lay it in a deep earthen dish and drop the butter oiled over the breadcrumbs. Add the stock, onions, bay leaf, herbs, wine and anchovies, and bake for one hour. Put one ounce of butter into a stew pan, melt it and dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up. Put in the strained liquor from the carp, stir frequently, and when it has boiled add the lemon juice and seasoning. Serve the carp on a dish garnished with parsley and cut lemon and the sauce in a boat. Time one and a quarter hours, average cost seldom bought. Seasonable from March to October, sufficient for one or two persons. The carp. This species of fish inhabit the fresh waters where they feed on worms, insects, aquatic plants, small fish, clay or mould. Some of them are migratory. They have very small mouths and no teeth, and the gill membrane has three rays. The body is smooth and generally whitish. The carp both grows and increases very fast and is a count of the most valuable of all fish for the stocking of ponds. It has been pronounced the queen of river fish and was first introduced to this country about 300 years ago. Of its sound or air bladder a kind of glue is made and a green paint of its gall. Stewed carp. Ingredients. One carp. Salt. Stock number 105. Two onions. Six cloves. 12 peppercorns. One blade of mace. One quarter of a pint of port wine. The juice of half a lemon. Cayenne and salt to taste. A faggot of savoury herbs. Mode. Scale the fish. Clean it nicely and if very large divide it. Lay it in the stew pan after having rubbed a little salt on it and put in sufficient stock to cover it. Add the herbs, onions and spices and stew gently for one hour or rather more should it be very large. Dish up the fish with great care. Strain the liquor and add it to the port wine. Lemon juice and cayenne. Give one boil. Pour it over the fish and serve. Time one and a quarter hours. Average cost seldom bought. Seasonable from March to October. Sufficient for one or two persons. Note this fish can be boiled plain and served with parsley and butter. Chub and char may be cooked in the same manner as the above as also dace and roach. The age of carb. This fish has been found to live 150 years. The pond in the garden of Immanuel College Cambridge contained one that had lived there seventy years and Gesna mentions an instance of one one hundred years old. They are besides capable of being tamed. Dr Smith in his tour of the continent says in reference to the Prince of Condé's seat at Chantilly the most pleasing things about it were the immense shoals of very large carp silvered over with age like silver fish and perfectly tame so that when any passengers approached their watery habitation they used to come to the shore in such numbers as to heave each other out of the water begging for bread of which a great quantity was always kept at hand on purpose to feed them. They would even allow themselves to be handled. The chub. This fish takes its name from its head not only in England but in other countries. It is a river fish and resembles the carp but is somewhat longer. Its flesh is not in much esteem being coarse and when out of season full of small hairy bones. The head and throat are the best parts. The row is also good. The char. This is one of the most delicious of fish being esteemed by some superior to the salmon. It is an inhabitant of the deep lakes of mountains countries. Its flesh is rich and red and full of fat. The largest and best kind is found in the lakes of Westmoreland and as it is considered a rarity it is often potted and preserved. The dace or deer. This fish is gregarious and is seldom above 10 inches long although according to Linnaeus it grows a foot and a half in length. Its haunts are in deep water near piles of bridges where the stream is gentle over gravelly sandy or clay bottoms, deep holes that are shaded, water lily leaves and under the foam caused by an eddy. In the warm months they are to be found in shoals on the shallows near to streams. They are in season about the end of April and gradually improve till February when they attain their highest condition. In that month when just taken, scotched, crimped and broiled they are said to be more palatable than a fresh herring. The roach. This fish is found throughout Europe and the western parts of Asia in deep still rivers of which it is an inhabitant. It is rarely more than a pound and a half in weight and is in season from September till March. It is plentiful in England and the finest are caught in the Thames. The proverb as sound as a roach is derived from the French name of this fish being hosh which also means rock. To dress crab. Ingredients one crab, two tablespoons full of vinegar, one ditto of oil, salt, white pepper and cayenne to taste. Mode empty the shells and thoroughly mix the meat with the above ingredients and put it in the large shell. Garnish with slices of cut lemon and parsley. The quantity of oil may be increased when it is much liked. Average cost from 10 pence to two shillings. Seasonable all year but not so good in May, June and July. Sufficient for three persons. To choose crab. The middle sized crab is the best and the crab like the lobster should be judged by its weight for if light it is watery. Hot crab. Ingredients one crab, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Three ounces of butter, a quarter of a pound of breadcrumbs, three tablespoons of vinegar. Mode after having boiled the crab pick the meat out from the shells and mix with it the nutmeg and seasoning. Cut up the butter in small pieces and add the breadcrumbs and vinegar. Mix altogether put the hole in the large shell and brown before the fire or with the salamander. Time one hour. Average cost from 10 pence to two shillings. Seasonable all year but not so good in May, June and July. Sufficient for three persons. The crab tribe. The whole of this tribe of animals have the body covered with a hard and strong shell and they live chiefly in the sea. Some however inhabit fresh waters and few live upon land. They feed variously on aquatic or marine plants. Small fish, molluscay or dead bodies. The black clawed species is found on the rocky coasts of both Europe and India and is the same that is introduced to our tables being much more highly esteemed as a food than many others of the tribe. The most remarkable feature in their history is the changing of their shells and the reproduction of their broken claws. The former occurs once a year usually between Christmas and Easter when the crabs retire to cavities in the rocks or conceal themselves under great stones. Fishermen say they will live confined in a pot or basket for several months together without any other food than what is collected from the seawater and that even in this situation they will not decrease in weight. The hermit crab is another of the species and has the peculiarity of taking possession of the deserted shell of some other animal as it has none of its own. This circumstance was known to the ancients and is alluded to in the following lines from Opium. The hermit fish, unarmed by nature, left, helpless and weak, grows strong by harmless theft. Fearful they stroll and look with panting wish for the cast crust of some new covered fish or such as empty lie and deck the shore whose first and rightful owners are no more. They make glad seizure of the vacant room and count the borrowed shell their native home. Screw their soft limbs to fit the winding case and boldly herd with the crustaceous race. Crayfish. Crayfish should be thrown into boiling water to which has been added a good seasoning of salt and a little vinegar. When done, which will be in a quarter of an hour, take them out and drain them. Let them cool, arrange them on a napkin and garnish with plenty of double parsley. Note this fish is frequently used for garnishing boiled turkey, boiled fowl, calf's head, turbot and all kinds of boiled fish. Potted crayfish, ingredients, 100 crayfish, pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, two ounces of butter. Mode, boil the fish in salt and water. Pick out all the meat and pound it in a mortar to a paste. Whilst pounding, add the butter gradually and mix in the spice and seasoning. Put it in small pots and pour over it clarified butter carefully excluding the air. Time, 15 minutes to boil the crayfish. Average cost two shillings nine pence. Seasonable all the year. John Dory. Ingredients, a quarter of a pound of salt to each gallon of water. Mode, this fish, which is esteemed by most people a great delicacy, is dressed in the same way as a turbot which it resembles in firmness but not in richness. Cleanse it thoroughly and cut off the fins. Lay it in a fish kettle, cover with cold water and add salt in the above proportion. Bring it gradually to a boil and simmer gently for a quarter of an hour or rather longer should the fish be very large. Serve on a hot napkin and garnish with cut lemon and parsley. Lobster, anchovy or shrimp sauce and plain melted butter should be sent to table with it. Time, after the water boils a quarter to a half an hour according to size. Average cost three shillings to five shillings. Seasonable all the year but best from September to January. Note, small John Dory are very good baked. The Doru or John Dory. This fish is of a yellowish golden colour and is in general rare although it is sometimes taken in abundance on the Devon and Cornish coasts. It is highly esteemed for the table and its flesh when dressed is of a beautiful clear white. When fresh caught it is tough and being a ground fish it is not the worth for being kept to or even three days before it is cooked. End of section 14, recording by Philippa Chantry, Canberra. Section 15 of the Book of Household Management. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Sarah Williams. The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beaton. Recipes. Chapter 8, Part 2. Boiled Eels. 249. Ingredients. Four small eels. Sufficient water to cover them. A large bunch of parsley. Mode. Choose small eels for boiling. Put them in a stew pan with the parsley and just sufficient water to cover them. Simmer till tender. Take them out. Pour a little parsley and butter over them and serve some in a terrine. Time. One half hour. Average cost six pence per pound. Seasonable from June to March. Sufficient for four persons. The eel tribe. The apodal or bony gild and ventral finned fish of which the eel forms the first Linnaean tribe. In their general aspect and manners approach in some instances very nearly to serpents. They have a smooth head and slippery skin. Art in general naked or covered with such small soft and distant scales as are scarcely visible. Their bodies are long and slender and they are supposed to subsist entirely on animal substances. There are about nine species of them mostly found in the seas. One of them frequents are fresh waters and three of the others occasionally pay a visit to our shores. Stood eels. One. 250. Ingredients. Two pounds of eels. One pint of rich strong stock. Number 104. One onion. Three cloves. A piece of lemon peel. One glass of port or Madeira. Three tablespoons of cream. Thickening of flour. Cayenne and lemon juice to taste. Mode. Wash and skin the eels and cut them into pieces about three inches long. Pepper and salt them and lay them in a stew pan. Pour over the stock. Add the onion stock with cloves. The lemon peel and the wine. Stew gently for one half hour or rather more and lift them carefully on a dish which kept hot. Strain the gravy. Stir to the cream sufficient flour to thicken. Mix all together. Boil for two minutes and add the cayenne and lemon juice. Pour over the eels and serve. Time three-quarter hour. Average cost for this quantity two shillings three pence. Seasonable from June to March. Sufficient for five or six persons. The common eel. This fish is known frequently to quit its native element and to set off on a wandering expedition in the night or just about the close of day over the meadows in search of snails and other prey. It also sometimes but takes itself to isolated ponds apparently for no other pleasure than that which may be supposed to be found in a change of habitation. This of course accounts for eels being found in waters which were never suspected to contain them. This rambling disposition in the eel has been long known to naturalists and from the following lines it seems to have been known to the ancients. Thus the maled tortoise and the wandering eel off to the neighboring beach will silent steal. Two. Two fifty-one. Ingredients. Two pounds of middling-sized eels. One pint of medium stock number 105. One-quarter pint of port wine. Salt, cayenne, and mace to taste. One teaspoon full of essence of anchovy, the juice of one-half a lemon. Mode. Skin, wash, and clean the eels thoroughly. Cut them into pieces three inches long and put them into strong salt and water for one hour. Dry them well with a cloth and fry them brown. Put the stock on with the heads and tails of the eels and simmer for one-half hour. Strain it and add all the other ingredients. Put in the eels and stew gently for one-half hour then serve. Time. Two hours. Average cost. One shilling. Nine pence. Seasonable from June to March. Sufficient for five or six persons. Fried eels. Two fifty-two. Ingredients. One pound of eels. One egg. A few breadcrumbs. Hot lard. Mode. Wash the eels. Cut them into pieces three inches long. Trim and wipe them very dry. Dredge with flour. Rub them over with egg and cover with breadcrumbs. Fry of a nice brown and hot lard. If the eels are small, curl them round instead of cutting them up. Garnish with fried parsley. Time. Twenty minutes or rather less. Average cost. Six pence per pound. Seasonable from June to March. Note. Garfish may be dressed like eels and either broiled or baked. The productiveness of the eel. Having occasion says Dr. Anderson in the B. To be once on a visit to a friend's house on D-side in Aberdeenshire, I frequently delighted to walk by the banks of the river. I, one day, observed something like a black string moving along the edge of the water where it was quite shallow. Upon closer inspection I discovered that this was a shoal of young eels so closely joined together as to appear on a superficial view as one continued body, moving briskly up against the stream to avoid the retardment they experienced from the force of the current. They kept close along the water's edge the whole of the way, following all the bendings and sinuosities of the river. Where they were in bade and in still water, the shoal dilated in breadth so as to be sometimes nearly a foot broad, but when they turned a cape, where the current was strong, they were forced to occupy less space and press close to the shore, struggling very hard till they passed it. This shoal continued to move on night and day without interruption for several weeks. Their progress might be at the rate of about a mile an hour. It was easy to catch the animals though they were very active and nimble. They were eels perfectly well formed in every respect, but not exceeding two inches in length. I conceived that the shoal did not contain, on average, less than from twelve to twenty in breadth, so that the number that passed on the hole must have been very great. Once they came, or whither they went, I know not, but the place where I saw this was six miles from the sea. Eel pie, two fifty-three, ingredients, one pound of eels, a little chopped parsley, one shallot, grated nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of one half a lemon, small quantity of force meat, one pint of bechamel, sea sauces, puff paste, mode. Skin and wash the eels, cut them into pieces two inches long and line the bottom of a pie dish with force meat, put in the eels and sprinkle them with the parsley, shallots, nutmeg, seasoning and lemon juice and cover with puff paste. Bake for one hour or rather more, make the bechamel hot and pour it into the pie. Time rather more than one hour, seasonable from August to March. Collard eel, two fifty-four, ingredients, one large eel, pepper and salt to taste, two blades of mace, two cloves, a little allspice, very finely pounded, six leaves of sage and a small bunch of herbs minced very small. Mode. Bone the eel and skin it, split it and sprinkle it over with the ingredients, taking care that the spices are very finely pounded and the herbs chopped very small. Roll it up and bind with a broad piece of tape and boil it in water mixed with a little salt and vinegar till tender. It may either be served whole or cut in slices and when cold the eel should be kept in the liquor it was boiled in but with a little more vinegar put to it. Time two hours, average cost six pence per pound, seasonable from August to March. Haunts of the eel. These are usually in mud, among weeds, under roots or stumps of trees or in holes in the banks or bottoms of rivers. Here they often grow to an enormous size, sometimes weighing as much as fifteen or sixteen pounds. They seldom come forth from their hiding places except in the night and in winter they bury themselves deep in the mud on account of their great susceptibility of cold. Eels of La Tartare, 255. Ingredients. Two pounds of eels, one carrot, one onion, a little flour, one glass of sherry, salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste, breadcrumbs, one egg, two tablespoons of vinegar. Mode. Rub the butter on the bottom of the stew pan, cut up the carrot and onion and stir them over the fire for five minutes. Dredge in a little flour, add the wine and seasoning and boil for one half an hour. Skin and wash the eels, cut them into pieces, put them to the other ingredients and simmer till tender. When they are done, take them out, let them get cold, cover them with egg and breadcrumbs and fry them of a nice brown. Put them on a dish, pour sauce piquant over and serve them hot. Time, one and one half hour. Average cost, one shilling, eight pence, exclusive of the sauce piquant. Seasonable, from August to March, sufficient for five or six persons. Barassity of the eel. We find in a note upon Isaac Walton by Sir John Hawkins that he knew of eels when kept in ponds, frequently destroying ducks. From a canal near his house at Twickenham, he himself missed many young ducks, and on draining in order to clean it, great numbers of large eels were caught in the mud. When some of these were opened, they were found in their stomachs the undigested heads of the quacking tribe which had become their victims. Eels on Matalot, 256, ingredients, five or six young onions, a few mushrooms, one obtainable, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, one laurel leaf, one half pint of fort wine, one half pint of medium stock, number 105, butter and flour to thicken, two pounds of eels. Mode. Rub the stew pan with butter, dredge in a little flour, add the onions, cut very small, slightly brown them, and put in all the other ingredients. Wash and cut up the eels into pieces three inches long, put them in the stew pan, and simmer for one half hour. Make round the dish, a border of croutons, or pieces of toasted bread. Arrange the eels in a pyramid in the center, and pour over the sauce. Serve very hot. Time, three-quarter hour. Average cost, one shilling, nine pence for this quantity. Seasonable from August to March, sufficient for five or six persons. Tenacity of life in the eel. There is no fish so tenacious of life as this. After it is skinned and cut into pieces, the parts will continue to move for a considerable time, and no fish will live so long out of water. The lamprey. With the Romans, this fish occupied a respectable rank among the Pisces tribes, and in Britain it has at various periods stood high in public favour. It was the cause of the death of Henry I of England, who ate so much of them that it brought on an attack of indigestion, which carried him off. It is an inhabitant of the sea, ascending rivers, principally about the end of winter, and after passing a few months in fresh water, returning again to its oceanic residence. It is most in season in March, April, and May, but is, by some, regarded as an unwholesome food, although looked on by others as a great delicacy. They are dressed as eels. Fish and Oyster Pie, 257. Ingredients. Any remains of cold fish, such as cod or haddock. Two dozen oysters, pepper and salt to taste. Breadcrumbs, sufficient for the quantity of fish. One half teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. One teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley. Mode. Clear the fish from the bones and put a layer of it in the pie dish, which sprinkle with pepper and salt, then a layer of breadcrumbs, oysters, nutmeg, and chopped parsley. Repeat this till the dish is quite full. You may form a covering either of breadcrumbs, which should be browned, or puff paste, which should be cut into long strips, and laid in crossbars over the fish, with a line of the paste first laid around the edge. Before putting on the top, pour in some made melted butter, or a little thin white sauce, and the oyster liquor, and bake. Time. If made of cooked fish, one quarter hour. If made of fresh fish and puff paste, three quarter hour. Average cost, one shilling, six pence. Seasonable from September to April. Note. A nice little dish may be made by flaking any cold fish, adding a few oysters, seasoning with pepper and salt, and covering with mashed potatoes, one quarter hour will bake it. Fish cake. 258. Ingredients. The remains of any cold fish. One onion. One faggot of sweet herbs. Salt and pepper to taste. One pint of water. Equal quantities of breadcrumbs and cold potatoes. One half teaspoon full of parsley. One egg. Breadcrumbs. Mode. Pick the meat from the bones of the fish, which latter, put with the heads and fins, into a stew pan with the water. Add pepper and salt, the onions and herbs, and stew slowly for gravy about two hours. Chop the fish fine, and mix it well with breadcrumbs and cold potatoes, adding the parsley and seasoning, making the hole into a cake with the white of an egg. Brush it over with egg, cover with breadcrumbs, and fry of a light brown. Strain the gravy, pour it over, and stew gently for one quarter hour, stirring it carefully once or twice. Serve hot, and garnish with slices of lemon and parsley. Time, one half hour after the gravy is made. Boiled flounders. 259. Ingredients. Sufficient water to cover the flounders. Salt in the proportion of six ounces to each gallon. A little vinegar. Mode. Pat on a kettle with enough water to cover the flounders. Lay in the fish, add salt and vinegar in the above proportions, and when it boils simmer very gently for five minutes. They must not boil fast or they will break. Serve with plain melted butter or parsley and butter. Time, after the water boils five minutes. Average cost three pence each. Seasonable from August to November. The flounder. This comes under the tribe usually denominated flatfish, and is generally held in the smallest estimation of any among them. It is an inhabitant of both the seas and the rivers, while it thrives in ponds. On the English coasts it is very abundant, and the London market consumes it in large quantities. It is considered easy of digestion, and the Thames flounder is esteemed a delicate fish. Fried flounders. 260. Ingredients. Flounders. Egg. And breadcrumbs. Boiling lard. Mode. Cleanse the fish and, two hours before they are wanted, rub them inside and out with salt to render them firm. Wash and wipe them very dry, dip them into egg, and sprinkle over with breadcrumbs. Fry them in boiling lard, dish on a hot napkin, and garnish with crisped parsley. Time. From five to ten minutes, according to size. Average cost three pence each. Seasonable from August to November. Sufficient one for each person. Gudgeons. 261. Ingredients. Egg and breadcrumbs. Sufficient for the quantity of fish. Hot lard. Mode. Do not scrape off the scales, but take out the gills and inside, and cleanse thoroughly. Wipe them dry, flour, and dip into egg, and sprinkle over with breadcrumbs. Fry a nice brown. Time. Three or four minutes. Average cost seldom bought. Seasonable from March to July. Sufficient three for each person. The Gudgeon. This is a freshwater fish, belonging to the carp genus, and is found in placid streams and lakes. It was highly esteemed by the Greeks, and was at the beginning of supper, served fried at Rome. It abounds both in France and Germany, and is both excellent and numerous in some of the rivers of England. Its flesh is firm, well-flavored, and easily digested. Gernet, or Gernard. 262. Ingredients. One Gernet. Six ounces of salt to each gallon of water. Mode. Cleanse the fish thoroughly, and cut off the fins. Have ready some boiling water, with salt in the above proportion. Put the fish in, and simmer very gently for one half hour. Parsley and butter, or anchovy sauce, should be served with it. Time. One half hour. Average cost seldom bought. Seasonable from October to March, but in perfection in October. Sufficient? A middling-sized one for two persons. Note. This fish is frequently stuffed with force meat and baked. The Gernet. If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused Gernet, says false staff, which shows that this fish has been long known in England. It is very common on the British coasts, and is an excellent fish as food. Baked Hattix. 263. Ingredients. A nice force meat. Sea force meats. Butter to taste. Egg, and breadcrumbs. Mode. Scale and clean the fish, without cutting it open much. Put in a nice delicate force meat, and sew up the slit. Brush it over with egg. Sprinkle over breadcrumbs, and baste frequently with butter. Garnish with parsley and cut lemon, and serve with a nice brown gravy, plain melted butter, or anchovy sauce. The egg and breadcrumbs can be omitted, and pieces of butter placed over the fish. Time. Large Hattix. Three quarter hour. Moderate-sized one quarter hour. Seasonable from August to February. Average cost from nine pence upwards. Note. Hattix may be filleted, rubbed over with egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in a nice brown. Garnish with crisp parsley. The Hattix. This fish migrates in immense shoals, and arrives on the Yorkshire coast about the middle of winter. It is an inhabitant of the northern seas of Europe, but does not enter the Baltic, and is not known in the Mediterranean. On each side of the body, just beyond the gills, it has a dark spot, which superstition asserts to be the impressions of the finger and thumb of St. Peter when taking the tribute money out of a fish of this species. Boiled Hattix. 264. Ingredients. Sufficient water to cover the fish. One quarter pound of salt to each gallon of water. Mode. Scrape the fish, take out the inside, wash it thoroughly, and lay it in a kettle with enough water to cover it, and salt to the above proportion. Simmer gently from 15 to 20 minutes, or rather more, should the fish be very large. For small Hattix, fasten the tails in their mouths and put them into boiling water. 10 to 15 minutes will cook them. Serve with plain melted butter or anchovy sauce. Time. Large Hattix, one half hour. Small, one quarter hour, or rather less. Average cost, from nine pence upwards. Seasonable, from August to February. Weight of the Hattix. The Hattix seldom grows to any great size. In general, they do not weigh more than two or three pounds, or exceed 10 or 12 inches in size. Such are esteem very delicate eating, but they have been caught three feet long when their flesh is coarse. Dried Hattix. 1. 265. Dried Hattix should be gradually warmed through, either before or over a nice clear fire. Hub a little piece of butter over, just before sending it to table. 2. 266. Ingredients. One large thick Hattix. Two bay leaves. One small bunch of savory herbs, not forgetting parsley. A little butter and pepper. Boiling water. Mode. Cut up the Hattix into square pieces. Make a base in hot by means of water, which pour out. Lay in the fish with the bay leaves and herbs. Cover with boiling water. Put a plate over to keep in the steam, and let it remain for 10 minutes. Take out the slices. Put them in a hot dish. Rub over with butter and pepper, and serve. Time. 10 minutes. Seasonable, at any time, but best in winter. The Fin and Hattix. This is the common Hattix cured and dried, and takes its name from the fishing village of Findhorn near Aberdeen in Scotland, where the art has long attained to perfection. The Hattix are there hung up for a day or two in the smoke of peat, when they are ready for cooking, and are esteemed by the scotch, a great delicacy. In London, an imitation of them is made by washing the fish over with pyrolignus acid, and hanging it up in a dry place for a few days. Red herrings, or Yarmouth bloaters. 267. The best way to cook these is to make incisions in the skin across the fish, because they do not then require to be so long in the fire, and will be far better than when cut open. The hard row makes a nice relish by pounding it in a mortar, with a little anchovy, and spreading it on toast. If very dry, soak in warm water one hour before dressing. The red herring. Red herrings lie 24 hours in the brine, when they are taken out and hung up in a smoking-house formed to receive them. A brushwood fire is then kindled beneath them, and when they are sufficiently smoked and dried, they are put into barrels for carriage. Baked white herrings. 268. Ingredients. 12 herrings, 4 bay leaves, 12 cloves, 12 allspice, 2 blades of mace, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste, sufficient vinegar to fill up the dish. Mode. Take the herrings, cut off the heads, and gut them. Put them in a pie dish, heads and tails alternately, and, between each layer, sprinkle over the above ingredients. Cover the fish with the vinegar, and bake for one half hour, but do not use it till quite cold. The herrings may be cut down the front, the backbone taken out, and closed again. Sprats done in this way are very delicious. Thyme, one half an hour. Average cost, one pence each. To choose the herring. The more scales this fish has, the sureer the sign of its freshness. It should also have a bright and silvery look, but if read about the head, it is a sign that it has been dead for some time. The herring. The herring tribe are found in the greatest abundance in the highest northern latitudes, where they find a quiet retreat and security from their numerous enemies. Here they multiply beyond expression, and, in shoals, come forth from their icy region to visit other portions of the great deep. In June they are found about Shetland, once they proceed down to the Orkneys, where they divide, and surround the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The principal British herring fisheries are off the Scotch and Norfolk coasts, and the fishing is always carried on by means of nets, which are usually late at night. For, if stretched by day, they are supposed to frighten the fish away. The moment the herring is taken out of the water, it dies. Hence the origin of the common saying, dead as a herring. Kejuri, 269. Ingredients. Any cold fish. One tea cupful of boiled rice. One ounce of butter. One tea spoonful of mustard. Two soft boiled eggs. Salt and cayenne to taste. Mode. Pick the fish carefully from the bones. Mix with the other ingredients, and serve very hot. The quantities may be varied according to the amount of fish used. Time. One quarter hour after the rice is boiled. Average cost. Five pence. Exclusive of the fish. To boil lobsters. 270. Ingredients. One quarter pound of salt to each gallon of water. Mode. Buy the lobsters alive, and choose those that are heavy and full of motion, which is an indication of their freshness. When the shell is encrusted, it is a sign that they are old. Medium-sized lobsters are the best. Have ready a stew pan of boiling water, salted in the above proportion. Put in the lobster, and keep it boiling quickly from 20 minutes to three-quarter hour, according to its size, and do not forget to skim well. If it boils too long, the meat becomes thready, and if not done enough, the spawn is not red. This may be obviated by great attention. Hub the shell over with a little butter or sweet oil, which wipe off again. Time. Small lobster. 20 minutes to one half hour. Large ditto. One half hour to one-third hour. Average cost. Medium size. One shilling six pence. To two shilling six pence. Seasonable. All the year, but best from March to October. To choose lobsters. This shellfish, if it has been cooked alive, as it ought to have been, will have a stiffness in the tail, which, if gently raised, will return with the spring. Care, however, must be taken, and thus proving it, for if the tail is pulled straight out, it will not return when the fish might be pronounced inferior, which, in reality, may not be the case. In order to be good, lobsters should be weighty for their bulk. If light, they will be watery, and those of medium size are always the best. Small-sized lobsters are cheapest, and answer very well for sauce. In boiling lobsters, the appearance of the shell will be much improved by rubbing over it a little butter or salad oil on being immediately taken from the pot. The lobster. This is one of the Great Crab Tribe, and is found on most of the rocky coasts of Great Britain. Some are caught with the hand, with the larger number in pots, which serve all the purposes of a trap, being made of osears, and baited with garbage. They are shaped like a wire mousetrap, so that when the lobsters once enter them, they cannot get out again. They are fastened to a cord and sunk in the sea, and they are placemarked by a buoy. The fish is very prolific, and deposits of its eggs in the sand, where they are soon hatched. On the coast of Norway they are very abundant, and it is from there that the English metropolis is mostly supplied. They are rather indigestible, and as a food, not so nutritive as they are generally supposed to be. Hot Lobster. 271. Ingredients. One lobster. Two ounces of butter. Grated nutmeg. Salt. Pepper and pounded maize to taste. Breadcrumbs. Two eggs. Mode. Pound the meat of the lobster to a smooth paste with the butter and seasoning, and add a few breadcrumbs. Beat the eggs, and make the whole mixture into the form of a lobster. Pound the spawn, and sprinkle over it. Bake one quarter hour, and just before serving, lay over it the tail and body shell, with the claws underneath to resemble a lobster. Time. One quarter hour. Average cost. Two shillings. Six pence. Seasonable at any time. Sufficient for four or five persons. Lobster salad. 272. Ingredients. One hen lobster. Lettuces. Endive. Small salad. Whatever's in season. A little chopped beetroot. Two hard-boiled eggs. A few slices of cucumber. For dressing, equal quantities of oil and vinegar. One teaspoon full of maize mustard. The yolks of two eggs. Cayenne and salt to taste. Three teaspoon full of anchovy sauce. These ingredients should be mixed perfectly smooth and form a creamy looking sauce. Mode. Wash the salad, and thoroughly dry it by shaking it in the cloth. Cut up the lettuces and endive. Pour the dressing on them, and lightly throw in the small salad. Mix all well together with the pickings from the body of the lobster. Pick the meat from the shell. Cut it up into nice square pieces. Put half in the salad. The other half reserved for garnishing. Separate the yolks from the whites of two hard-boiled eggs. Chop the whites very fine, and rub the yolks through a sieve. And afterwards the coral from the inside. Arrange the salad lightly on a glass dish, and garnish, first with a row of sliced cucumber, then with the pieces of lobster. The yolks and whites of the eggs. Coral and beetroot placed alternately, and arranged in small separate bunches so that the colors contrast nicely. Average cost. Three shillings, six pence. Sufficient for four or five persons. Seasonable from April to October. Maybe had all the year, but salad is scarce and expensive in winter. Note. A few crayfish make a pretty garnishing to a lobster salad. The shell of the lobster. Like the others of its tribe, the lobster annually casts its shell. Previously to its throwing off the old one, it appears sick, languid, and restless, but in the course of a few days it is entirely invested in its new coat of armor. Whilst it is in a defenseless state, however, it seeks some lonely place where it may lie undisturbed, and escape the horrid fate of being devoured by some of its own species who have the advantage of still being encased in their mail. Lobster à la mode Francais. 273. Ingredients. One lobster. Four tablespoons of white stock. Two tablespoons of cream. Pounded mace and cayenne to taste. Breadcrumbs. Mode. Pick the meat from the shell and cut it up into small square pieces. Put the stock, cream, and seasoning into a stew pan. Add the lobster and let it simmer gently for six minutes. Serve it in the shell, which must be nicely cleaned, and have a border of puff paste. Cover it with breadcrumbs. Place small pieces of butter over and brown before the fire, or with a salamander. Time. One quarter hour. Average cost. Two shillings. Six pence. Seasonable at any time. Celerity of the lobster. In its element, the lobster is able to run with great speed upon its legs or small claws, and, if alarmed, to spring, tail foremost to a considerable distance. Even it is said, with the swiftness of a bird flying. Fishermen have seen some of them pass about thirty feet with a wonderful degree of swiftness. When frightened, they will take their spring, and, like a chamois of the Alps, plant themselves upon the very spot upon which they decide to hold themselves. Lobster curry. An entree. Two seventy-four. Ingredients. One lobster. Two onions. One ounce of butter. One tablespoon full of curry powder. One half pint of medium stock. Number one oh five. The juice of one half lemon. Mode. Pick the meat from the shell and cut it into nice square pieces. Fry the onion of a pale brown in the butter. Stir in the curry powder and stock, and simmer till it thickens, when put in the lobster. Stew the whole slowly for one half hour, and stir occasionally, and just before sending to table, put in the lemon juice. Serve boiled rice with it the same as for other curries. Time. Altogether three quarter hour. Average cost. Three shillings. Seasonable at any time. Lobster cutlets. An entree. Two seventy-five. Ingredients. One large hen lobster. One ounce fresh butter. One half salt spoon full of salt. Pounded mace. Grated nutmeg. Cayenne. And white pepper to taste. Egg. And breadcrumbs. Mode. Pick the meat from the shell, and pound it in a mortar with the butter, and gradually add the mace and seasoning, while mixing the ingredients. Beat all to a smooth paste, and add a little of the spawn. Divide the mixture into pieces of an equal size, and shape them like cutlets. They should not be very thick. Brush them over with egg, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and stick a short piece of the small claw in the top of each. Fry them with a nice brown and boiling lard, and drain them before the fire on a sieve reversed. Arrange them nicely on a dish, and pour bechamel in the middle, but not over the cutlets. Time. About eight minutes after the cutlets are made. Average cost. For this dish, two shillings, nine pence. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for five or six persons. Ancient mode of cooking the lobster. When this fish was to be served for the table, among the ancients, it was opened lengthwise, and filled with the gravy composed of coriander and pepper. It was then put on the gridiron, and slowly cooked, whilst it was being basted with the same kind of gravy with which the flesh had become impregnated. To dress lobsters. Two seventy-six. When the lobster is boiled, rub it over with a little salad oil, which wipe off again. Separate the body from the tail, break off the great claws, and crack them at the joints, without injuring the meat. Split the tail in halves, and arrange all neatly in a dish, with the body upright in the middle, and garnish with parsley. Lobster patties. An entree. Two seventy-seven. Ingredients. One minced lobster. Four tablespoons of bechamel. Six drops of anchovy sauce. Lemon juice. Cayenne to taste. Mode. Line the patty pans with puff paste, and put into each a small piece of bread. Cover with paste. Brush over with egg, and bake of a light color. Take as much lobster as is required. Mince the meat very fine, and add the above ingredients. Stir it over the fire for six minutes. Remove the lids of the patty cases. Take out the bread. Fill with the mixture, and replace the covers. Seasonable at any time. Local attachment of the lobster. It is said that the attachment of this animal is strong to some particular parts of the sea, a circumstance celebrated in the following lines. Not like their home the constant lobster's prize, and foreign shores and seas unknown despise. Though cruel hands the banished retchic spell, and force the captive from his native cell, he will, if freed, return with anxious care. Find the known rock, and to his home repair. No novel customs learns in different seas, but wanted food in home-taught manners, please. Potted lobster. Two seventy-eight. Ingredients. Two lobsters. Seasoning to taste of nutmeg. Pounded mace, white pepper, and salt. One-quarter pound of butter. Three or four bay leaves. Mode. Take out the meat carefully from the shell, but do not cut it up. Put some butter at the bottom of a dish. Lay in the lobster as evenly as possible, and with the bay leaves and seasoning between. Cover with butter, and bake for three-quarter hour in a gentle oven. When done, drain the hole on a sieve, and lay the pieces in potting jars with the seasoning about them. When cold, pour over it clarified butter. And, if very highly seasoned, it will keep some time. Time. Three-quarter hour. Average cost for this quantity. Four shillings, four pence. Seasonable at any time. Potted lobster may be used cold, or as fricassee with cream sauce. How the lobster feeds. The pincers of the lobster's large claws are furnished with knobs, and those of the other are always serrated. With the former, it keeps firm hold of the stalks of the submarine plants, and with the latter, it cuts and menses its food with great dexterity. The knobbed, or numb claw, as it is called by fishermen, is sometimes on the right and sometimes on the left, indifferently. End of section 15. Recording by Sarah Williams, Germantown, Maryland, June 2008.