The flesh of good, fresh fish is firm and hard^ and will rise at once when pressed with the finger. If- the eyes be dull and sunken, the gills pale, and the fiesh flabb}^ or soft, the fish is not fresh. Fish should be cleaned as soon as possible, in strongly salted water. They should be washed (not soaked) by wiping with a cloth wet in salt water. Then wrap them in a cloth which is sprinkled with salt, and put them in a cool place. If put in the ice-chest, they will taint the butter and milk. Put ice around them, if necessary ; but do not let them touch the ice, as fresh water and ice will soften them. When once they lose their hard, firm con- sistency, they are considered unfit to eat by those who know what good fish really are. Frozen fish should be thawed in cold water. Fresh- water fish having a muddy taste or smell are improved by soaking in salt and water. Salt fish should be soaked in fresh water, with the shin side up^ to draw out the salt, and should be eaten only occasionally^, for the reason before stated. To Clean a Fish. — If the fish have scales, remove them before opening. Scrape with a small, sharp knife from the tail to the head ; hold the knife flat and slanting, resting it on the fish, that the scales ma}^ be taken upon the knife ; scrape slowly, that the scales may not fl}^ over everything near, and rinse the knife often in cold water. When the fish is to be served whole ^ do not remove the head and tail. Smelts and small fish served whole are opened under the gills, and the contents squeezed out by pressing from the middle with the thumb and finger. Large fish are split open from the gills half-way down the lower The Boston Cook Book. i6i part of the body, the entrails removed, and the inside scraped and cleaned. Open far enough to remove all the blood on the backbone. Many leave the sound, which is the white part adhering to the bone ; but it is better to remove it. To Skin a Fish, — Cut a thin, narrow strip down the backbone, taking off the dorsal fin. Then open the lower part half-w^aj down. Slip the knife under and up through the bon}^ part of the gills, and hold this bony part between the thumb and finger, and strip the skin ofiT toward the tail. Then do the same on the other side. Small fish, like mackerel and w^hite-fish, when dressed for broiling, should be split through the back. To Bone a Fish. — Clean, and strip off the skin ; lay the fish flat on a board ; begin at the tail, and run the knife in under the flesh close to the bone, and scrape it away clean from the bone, holding the flesh carefull}^, not to break the flakes. When the flesh on one side is removed, slip the knife under the bone on the other side, and raise the bone, leaving the flesh on the board ; then pull out all the small bones left in the flesh, which 3'ou can easily feel with the fingers. Fish wdth many fine bones, like shad and her- ring, are not boned ; but from cod, cusk, mackerel, white- fish, and haddock they may be easil}' removed.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The flesh of good, fresh fish is firm and hard, and will rise at once when pressed with the finger. If the eyes be dull and sunken, the gills pale, and the flesh flabby or soft, the fish is not fresh. Fish should be cleaned as soon as possible, in strongly salted water. They should be washed (not soaked) by wiping with a cloth wet in salt water. Then wrap them in a cloth which is sprinkled with salt, and put them in a cool place. If put in the ice-chest, they will taint the butter and milk. Put ice around them, if necessary; but do not let them touch the ice, as fresh water and ice will soften them. When once they lose their hard, firm consistency, they are considered unfit to eat by those who know what good fish really are. Frozen fish should be thawed in cold water. Freshwater fish having a muddy taste or smell are improved by soaking in salt and water. Salt fish should be soaked in fresh water, with the shin side up, to draw out the salt, and should be eaten only occasionally, for the reason before stated. To Clean a Fish. — If the fish have scales, remove them before opening. Scrape with a small, sharp knife from the tail to the head; hold the knife flat and slanting, resting it on the fish, that the scales may be taken upon the knife; scrape slowly, that the scales may not fly over everything near, and rinse the knife often in cold water. When the fish is to be served whole, do not remove the head and tail. Smelts and small fish served whole are opened under the gills, and the contents squeezed out by pressing from the middle with the thumb and finger. Large fish are split open from the gills half-way down the lower The Boston Cook Book. part of the body, the entrails removed, and the inside scraped and cleaned. Open far enough to remove all the blood on the backbone. Many leave the sound, which is the white part adhering to the bone; but it is better to remove it. To Skin a Fish, — Cut a thin, narrow strip down the backbone, taking off the dorsal fin. Then open the lower part half-way down. Slip the knife under and up through the bony part of the gills, and hold this bony part between the thumb and finger, and strip the skin off toward the tail. Then do the same on the other side. Small fish, like mackerel and white-fish, when dressed for broiling, should be split through the back. To Bone a Fish. — Clean, and strip off the skin; lay the fish flat on a board; begin at the tail, and run the knife in under the flesh close to the bone, and scrape it away clean from the bone, holding the flesh carefully, not to break the flakes. When the flesh on one side is removed, slip the knife under the bone on the other side, and raise the bone, leaving the flesh on the board; then pull out all the small bones left in the flesh, which you can easily feel with the fingers. Fish with many fine bones, like shad and herring, are not boned; but from cod, cusk, mackerel, whitefish, and haddock they may be easily removed.

Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book