Girl's home manual of cookery, home management, home nursing and laundry

Croutons. Cut slices of stale bread one-quarter inch thick, remove crusts and spread with butter. Place on a baking tin cut in quarter-inch strips and then in ’ quarter-inch dice. Bake a golden brown in the oven. Serve on a doiley on a hot plate. Pieces of bread and butter, toast or bread may be used. FISH Classification. Fish may be divided into three classes for eating: white, oily, and shell fish. White fish have the fat mostly stored in the liver; ex.: cod, halibut. Oily fish have fat distributed throughout their flesh; ex.: herring, salmon. Digestion. White fish are easier to digest than oily fish. Shell fish are difficult to digest because of their close fibres. The oyster is an exception and if eaten raw is easy to digest. Composition. Protein and fat are the chief nutrients in fish. Fish contains more gelatine but has less extractives than meat. There is more waste to fish in skin and bone. Food Value. Fish contains more water and rather less protein than an equal quantity of lean meat. Fish is also less stimulating. It depends on the amount of fat a fish contains how much energy it will yield. Salmon, herring and mackerel are better than cod in this respect, and are more satisfying to people at hard work. Since fish is deficient in carbohydrates, potatoes and bread are good foods to combine with it. Choice of Fish. Fish must be perfectly fresh. This is indicated by bright eyes, red gills. firm flesh, and there should be no unpleasant smell. Eat only fish that is in season. Care of Fish. Fish should be removed from paper on arrival, it should be kept in a cool place and not near food it is likely to flavour. The Cleaning of Fish. Place the fish on paper. Cut a slit on the under side near the head, draw out all internal organs. Burn these except the roe. Remove scales with a knife, beginning at the tail end, incline knife towards self to prevent scales from flying. Wipe fish inside and out with a damp cloth and cold water. Use salt to remove blood. The head may be left on or cut off. The Cooking of Fish. As most fish have less flavour than meat, and since the nutrients are easily dissolved out of fish by water, boiling, except for salmon, is not as good a method of cooking fish as steaming, baking, frying or baking in a paper bag. Boiled Fish. To 2 quarts water allow 1 tbsp. salt and 1 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice. The salt improves the flavour, the acid whitens and makes the flesh firmer. Prepare the fish and tie in clean cheesecloth if neither fish kettle nor frying basket is available. Plunge into boiling water, boil one minute, then cook just below boiling point. Remove all scum as it rises. Time. Allow 10 minutes to each pound of fish and ten minutes over to the whole piece, but the thickness of the fish and the amount of bone must be taken into account. Fish is cooked when the flesh leaves the bone. Serving. Dish on a hot dish, garnish with parsley and cut lemon. White sauce should be served with it. White fish, such as cod, halibut, fresh haddock, are all a better flavour if baked instead of boiled. Steamed Fish. Prepare fish and sprinkle with a little salt and a few ‘drops of lemon juice. Tie it in cheesecloth and place in steamer. A fish steak may be steamed between two buttered plates over a saucepan of boiling water. Invert the plates when fish is half cooked. Time. Allow 15 minutes to each pound and 15 minutes over to the whole. Serve as for boiled fish (see above). Fish Sauce. 4 cup butter. lg tsp. pepper. 3. tbsp. flour. 1 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice. Y% tsp. salt. 1 cup fish stock, hot water or milk.