Dumas relates that when he was at Poti, at the mouth of the river Rioni, he made an excursion to the Lake of Poti, which is eight leagues in circumference, and communicates with the sea. With the aid of a fisherwoman, he took many fish, amongst them a carp 40 lb. in weight. It contained 13 lb. of egg-roe, and one of its scales covered entirely a five-franc (silver) piece. The flesh of this carp had no muddy taste, but was of quite pure flavour. As the carp, like the eel, burrows much in mud, partly for protection, partly for spawning, feeding, and wintering, |it acquires the peculiar flavour called muddy. From this it is freed liy keeping it for some time, days or weeks, in running pure water, enclosed in boxes with perforated bottoms and sides. Some CARP AND ITS PREPARATIONS 555 cooks remove the muddy flavour by drenching the carp, just out of the water, with a glassful of vinegar. This causes it to burst into a violent perspiration, and in this the muddy taste is discharged. When you dress carp for cooking, take particular care to extract from the back of the head an angular substance called the gall-stone, French Varner; if this were not removed it would impart a bitter taste to the entire fish, and make it unfit for the table. Carp has for centuries been much reared and valued by the inhabitants of religious houses, so-called monks and nuns, and by great landed pi'oprietors. But in late years it has much decreased in value or estimation. However, one of the great landed proprietors in Bohemia is reported to derive a great income from the produce of fish-ponds, in which, amongst other fish, carp are reared. Carp may be marinaded and fried, or stuffed and grilled ; it may be boiled blue, or in court bouillon (semi-braised) ; boiled loith mushrooms ; the Eussians are said to boil it in beer — Carpe h la Bihre, or d la Moscovite; Carpe d la Daube is a complicated stuffed form, with an elaborate ragovit ; Caipe en Poupeton is similar (see the word poicpeton in the vocabulary) ; carp covered with or transformed into force- meat; carp stetoed ditto steived and fried, or baked; fillets of carp ; hashed carp ; fricandeau of carp ; larded and other preparations of carp and of its roes. A fanciful cook has endeavoured to make a dish of tongties of carp. As the fishes listened to St. Antony when he found his church empty, they should be protected from this manifestation of contempt for their silentious habits. Tench, French tanche, German Schleie, Cyprimis tincta, may be prepared in many ways like carp, e.g., as matelote along with eel and carp, or as Garp d la Poulette, and grilled. Tench must be scraped not from tail to head, but from belly to back, to remove its scales. There is a marine tench as well as a sweet-water one. 556 THE SPIRIT OF COOKER) The Bavarian renhe, a small carp, thrives in the deep waters of the Bavarian Alps or Highlands, and of Tyrol. At Munich, e.g., it may be had twice a week from the Lake of Starnberg when it is in season. Egged, crumbed, and fried, it is as perfect as any fish on the globe. It is almost boneless, a feature which raises it high above other sweet- water fish, eels alone excepted. It varies in size from that of a herring to much larger dimensions, in which it weighs up to 4^ lb.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Dumas relates that when he was at Poti, at the mouth of the river Rioni, he made an excursion to the Lake of Poti, which is eight leagues in circumference, and communicates with the sea. With the aid of a fisherwoman, he took many fish, amongst them a carp 40 lb. in weight. It contained 13 lb. of egg-roe, and one of its scales covered entirely a five-franc (silver) piece. The flesh of this carp had no muddy taste, but was of quite pure flavour. As the carp, like the eel, burrows much in mud, partly for protection, partly for spawning, feeding, and wintering, |it acquires the peculiar flavour called muddy. From this it is freed liy keeping it for some time, days or weeks, in running pure water, enclosed in boxes with perforated bottoms and sides. Some CARP AND ITS PREPARATIONS cooks remove the muddy flavour by drenching the carp, just out of the water, with a glassful of vinegar. This causes it to burst into a violent perspiration, and in this the muddy taste is discharged. When you dress carp for cooking, take particular care to extract from the back of the head an angular substance called the gall-stone, French Varner; if this were not removed it would impart a bitter taste to the entire fish, and make it unfit for the table. Carp has for centuries been much reared and valued by the inhabitants of religious houses, so-called monks and nuns, and by great landed proprietors. But in late years it has much decreased in value or estimation. However, one of the great landed proprietors in Bohemia is reported to derive a great income from the produce of fish-ponds, in which, amongst other fish, carp are reared. Carp may be marinaded and fried, or stuffed and grilled ; it may be boiled blue, or in court bouillon (semi-braised) ; boiled loith mushrooms ; the Eussians are said to boil it in beer — Carpe h la Bihre, or d la Moscovite; Carpe à la Daube is a complicated stuffed form, with an elaborate ragout ; Carpe en Poupeton is similar (see the word poupeton in the vocabulary) ; carp covered with or transformed into forcemeat; carp stetoed ditto stewed and fried, or baked; fillets of carp ; hashed carp ; fricandeau of carp ; larded and other preparations of carp and of its roes. A fanciful cook has endeavoured to make a dish of tongties of carp. As the fishes listened to St. Antony when he found his church empty, they should be protected from this manifestation of contempt for their silentious habits. Tench, French tanche, German Schleie, Cyprimis tincta, may be prepared in many ways like carp, e.g., as matelote along with eel and carp, or as Carpe à la Poulette, and grilled. Tench must be scraped not from tail to head, but from belly to back, to remove its scales. There is a marine tench as well as a sweet-water one. The Bavarian renhe, a small carp, thrives in the deep waters of the Bavarian Alps or Highlands, and of Tyrol. At Munich, e.g., it may be had twice a week from the Lake of Starnberg when it is in season. Egged, crumbed, and fried, it is as perfect as any fish on the globe. It is almost boneless, a feature which raises it high above other sweetwater fish, eels alone excepted. It varies in size from that of a herring to much larger dimensions, in which it weighs up to 4^ lb.

The spirit of cookery