Culinary art in its application to crustaceans and molluscs becomes much more restricted than it is in relation to higher animals used for food. Lobster is mostly plain- boiled. After this preparation its meat may receive various additional accommodations, such as a tomato sauce, whereby it h&com&Q d I’ Americaine ; or a gratination; or be formed into a boudin, or a cake so called, being a pAte ; or it may be formed into guenelles, y^ith. the flavour of different sauces, or with spinach. Tinned lobster is rather coarse, and requires much skill to become tasty. Potted lobster gives a chance to a skilful cook for producing a specialized finished pre- paration. Sea crawfish may be prepared much like lobster. Langos- tinos, or Southern prawns, about fifty to the pound, should be treated like the following. Praiuns and shrimps are distinguished by a very tine savoury taste, which makes them welcome additions to sauces (see Garum, su2Jra), farces, salads, and rehshes of bread and butter of rare effect. To learn their full value, acquire a pailful of prawns of the Isle of Wight, or of the Tagus at Lisbon, and let them be boiled at once and served with, say, tea. Or request the shrimpmonger to bring you a quart of his last boiling while they are hot. To shell them, hold the carapace and part of the tail of the shrimp with the thumb and index tinger of the right hand ; with the left hand take hold of the last three joints of the tail, bend it back a little, and pull, when the shell of the tail will come off at the third joint ; then lay hold of the flesh of the tail. 559 LOBSTER, CRAB, CRAYFISH, OYSTERS which on pulling will come easily out of the remainder of the shell. The so-called potting of prawns and shrimps is really a mode of preserving them in clarified butter (ghee). PiO/wns go well in an omelette or in sorambled eggs. Prawns in French are called crevettes, shrimps chovvettes, or scilicogues . The omelette with prawn tails is beautifully said by Dumas ‘ to contain much kitchen,' meaning that most dexterous cookery was involved in its production — ‘ voici un article qui, je crois, contient beaucoup de cuisine.’ Praicn soiip d la Bisque is quite analogous to true bisq^ie, described under Soups. In its preparation a little alcohol is not only useful, but necessary, to extract the colour and flavoior, and leave it with the fat. Crayfish, or craiofish, is a favourite with cooks for garnishes for mere show, on skewers surmounting or screening the dishes. Their main mission is to furnish that excellent soup called bisque. Jules Janin is reported to have jocularly termed the boiled lobster a marine cardinal. Dumas, smell- ing disrespect, denies this. By extending this a little, we might term the crustaceans, which turn red by heat, aqmtic cardinals; to cooks such a comparison will, appear less dis- respectful than to some other people, as they are in the habit of calling many dishes, distinguished by a natural or artificially imparted red colour, a la cardinal. Crayfish has been honoured with many recipes for its preparation besides those of bisque. It is boiled, steioed d la Bordelaise, d V Anglaise, en matelote — after the manner of Gascony ; on canapes, in aspic, etc. Dressed crab, hot or cold, is an old English dish, and re- quires much patience for its picking. Many fishmongers have great dexterity in its preparation, and produce a good-looking dish.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Culinary art in its application to crustaceans and molluscs becomes much more restricted than it is in relation to higher animals used for food. Lobster is mostly plainboiled. After this preparation its meat may receive various additional accommodations, such as a tomato sauce, whereby it becomes à l'Américaine ; or a gratination; or be formed into a boudin, or a cake so called, being a pâte ; or it may be formed into guenelles, with. the flavour of different sauces, or with spinach. Tinned lobster is rather coarse, and requires much skill to become tasty. Potted lobster gives a chance to a skilful cook for producing a specialized finished preparation. Sea crawfish may be prepared much like lobster. Langostinos, or Southern prawns, about fifty to the pound, should be treated like the following. Praiuns and shrimps are distinguished by a very tine savoury taste, which makes them welcome additions to sauces (see Garum, supra), farces, salads, and rehshes of bread and butter of rare effect. To learn their full value, acquire a pailful of prawns of the Isle of Wight, or of the Tagus at Lisbon, and let them be boiled at once and served with, say, tea. Or request the shrimpmonger to bring you a quart of his last boiling while they are hot. To shell them, hold the carapace and part of the tail of the shrimp with the thumb and index finger of the right hand ; with the left hand take hold of the last three joints of the tail, bend it back a little, and pull, when the shell of the tail will come off at the third joint ; then lay hold of the flesh of the tail. LOBSTER, CRAB, CRAYFISH, OYSTERS which on pulling will come easily out of the remainder of the shell. The so-called potting of prawns and shrimps is really a mode of preserving them in clarified butter (ghee). Prawns go well in an omelette or in scrambled eggs. Prawns in French are called crevettes, shrimps crevettes, or scilicogues . The omelette with prawn tails is beautifully said by Dumas ‘ to contain much kitchen,' meaning that most dexterous cookery was involved in its production — ‘ voici un article qui, je crois, contient beaucoup de cuisine.’ Prawn soup à la Bisque is quite analogous to true bisque, described under Soups. In its preparation a little alcohol is not only useful, but necessary, to extract the colour and flavour, and leave it with the fat. Crayfish, or crayfish, is a favourite with cooks for garnishes for mere show, on skewers surmounting or screening the dishes. Their main mission is to furnish that excellent soup called bisque. Jules Janin is reported to have jocularly termed the boiled lobster a marine cardinal. Dumas, smelling disrespect, denies this. By extending this a little, we might term the crustaceans, which turn red by heat, aquatic cardinals; to cooks such a comparison will, appear less disrespectful than to some other people, as they are in the habit of calling many dishes, distinguished by a natural or artificially imparted red colour, a la cardinal. Crayfish has been honoured with many recipes for its preparation besides those of bisque. It is boiled, stewed à la Bordelaise, d V Anglaise, en matelote — after the manner of Gascony ; on canapes, in aspic, etc. Dressed crab, hot or cold, is an old English dish, and requires much patience for its picking. Many fishmongers have great dexterity in its preparation, and produce a good-looking dish.

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