Fish should not be boiled in common water unless there
be added to it a quantity of salt equal to a quarter of a pound
to the gallon, or an ounce to the quart of water. Whenever
sea-water is available for boiling fish, it should be preferred
to salted water ; as the Dutch commonly use sea-water,
and produce excellently cooked fish, the dish thus pi’oduced
by the aid of sea-water is termed by the French d VHol-
landaise. When fish is boiled in a mixture of wine, vinegar,
roots, rhizomes, and spices, it is called uw court houillon, and
when the wine used in this process is in part red, the fish is
said to be done au bleu ; there is, however, also fish, e.g.,
eel, done blue, in the confection of which red wine has no
part. When fish is boiled in broth, or in water impreg-
nated with vegetables and spices, it is called d la bonne
cau, and then the fish may be sent to table in some of the
soup-like liquid ; what is called soiichy or souchet is a slice
of fish boiled in such broth or water with vegetables. The
water should always be, as regards quantity, the minimum
with which the purpose can be effected ; excessive quantities
of water make the fish tasteless. Opinions differ as regards
the initial temperature of the water, between the extremes
of cold and boiling, some proposing an uncertain medium
noiuxc; of salt-water or sea fish
515
called tepid. Small fish, or relatively small slices of fish,
may be thrown into boiling water, just as well as into
boiling fat for frying, and become well done ; but larger
fish, or more voluminous pieces of fish, should be put into
tepid, relatively cold water, so that they may be penetrated
by the beat gradually, and cooked equally throughout, and
not overdone on the outside before the inside has begun to
be set. For the same reason here set forth, the vessel in
which fish is to be boiled must in a certain measure be pro-
portionate in size to the fish to be boiled, for failing this,
the other conditions of success, particularly that concerning
the minimum quantity of fluid, cannot be maintained ; the
cook should, therefore, have at least two fish-kettles of
different sizes at his disposal ; each kettle should be pro-
vided with a strainer^ of perforated tin, with supports, by
means of which it can be kept raised above the water. For
when the fish is done, but its dishing is delayed, it should not
be left in the water, but raised out of it on the strainer, and
kept merely steanied, with the lid of the kettle on. On
account of this difficulty of keeping boiled fish without
deterioration, Kitchiner advises cooks, when they have
large dinners to prepare for uncertain guests, to fry or
stew their fish instead of boiling it ; they would, he Says,
get more credit by it, and the carving would be easier.
Page 324
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Fish should not be boiled in common water unless there be added to it a quantity of salt equal to a quarter of a pound to the gallon, or an ounce to the quart of water. Whenever sea-water is available for boiling fish, it should be preferred to salted water ; as the Dutch commonly use sea-water, and produce excellently cooked fish, the dish thus produced by the aid of sea-water is termed by the French d VHollandaise. When fish is boiled in a mixture of wine, vinegar, roots, rhizomes, and spices, it is called uw court houillon, and when the wine used in this process is in part red, the fish is said to be done au bleu; there is, however, also fish, e.g., eel, done blue, in the confection of which red wine has no part. When fish is boiled in broth, or in water impregnated with vegetables and spices, it is called d la bonne cau, and then the fish may be sent to table in some of the soup-like liquid ; what is called soiichy or souchet is a slice of fish boiled in such broth or water with vegetables. The water should always be, as regards quantity, the minimum with which the purpose can be effected ; excessive quantities of water make the fish tasteless. Opinions differ as regards the initial temperature of the water, between the extremes of cold and boiling, some proposing an uncertain medium
noiuxc; of salt-water or sea fish
called tepid. Small fish, or relatively small slices of fish, may be thrown into boiling water, just as well as into boiling fat for frying, and become well done ; but larger fish, or more voluminous pieces of fish, should be put into tepid, relatively cold water, so that they may be penetrated by the beat gradually, and cooked equally throughout, and not overdone on the outside before the inside has begun to be set. For the same reason here set forth, the vessel in which fish is to be boiled must in a certain measure be proportionate in size to the fish to be boiled, for failing this, the other conditions of success, particularly that concerning the minimum quantity of fluid, cannot be maintained ; the cook should, therefore, have at least two fish-kettles of different sizes at his disposal ; each kettle should be provided with a strainer^ of perforated tin, with supports, by means of which it can be kept raised above the water. For when the fish is done, but its dishing is delayed, it should not be left in the water, but raised out of it on the strainer, and kept merely steanied, with the lid of the kettle on. On account of this difficulty of keeping boiled fish without deterioration, Kitchiner advises cooks, when they have large dinners to prepare for uncertain guests, to fry or stew their fish instead of boiling it ; they would, he Says, get more credit by it, and the carving would be easier.