Of oysters there is a great variety in the world, but none attain the quality of the English natives of Whitstable. 560 THE SPIRIT OF COOKERY There are oysters which may yet be cooked, although, like mussels, they are not very suitable for being eaten raw. The tinned oysters from foreign parts are of such a nature that cheapness alone could claim for them a place in the kitchen. There are many preparations into which oysters used to enter as flavouring accessories — oyster sauce, oyster soup, etc. ; but their further use is much restricted by the high price of the shellfish. Oysters may be scolloped, fried in butter and crumb, steived, and placed in small pdtes, or in vol-au-vent. There are hdtelets of oysters, being oysters grilled on skeioers, jpicMed oysters, oysters in hash, in force- meat, with Parma cheese, a la Daube, and others. The escalop or scollop is known by its beautiful ridged shell, which is used not only to dress, cook and serve its own fish therein, but also as a vessel for many similar, yet as to material widely heterogeneous, preparations, such as are then called ‘ scolloped ’ or colloped. The scollop is in season, like the oyster, from September to April, and is not allowed to be taken during the months from May to August inclusive. On the whole, the scollop is more a curiosity than an article of common consumption. The mussel, French moula, Mytilus eduiis, when half grown and properly prepared, is an excellent article of food ; when full grown it is somewhat hard. It has an impaired reputation because some rare specimens have been found poisonous, even with fatal effect ; but it is probable that the alleged poison was as much poison to the shellfish as to the persons who ate the latter. Hence it is believed that their quality depends greatly upon the place in which they have lived, and their flavour upon the objects to which they attach themselves by the elastic fibres of their byssus. Mussels are most used for sauces and garnishes, but there are also substantial preparations, such as Mussels in Force- meat {Monies d la Bordelaise). We made the acquaintance of this dish at Bordeaux, and have kept its memory green. SHELLFISH, OCTOPUS, FROG 561 The trimmed mussel is replaced iu its shell spiced, and covered with a savoury farce, c.g., sausage meat ; it is then painted with hutter, over this with yolk, crumbed, again buttered, and baked in an oven for twenty minutes. Clams are a species of cockles, found only in Devonshire, Cornwall, part of Wales, and on the west coast of Ireland and Scotland. On the basaltic island of Staffa the cave third in size is named after this shellfish Glam Shell Cave. Clams, when small, may be eaten raw ; when they are larger they may be cooked after several of the recipes applicable to oysters. . Cockles and whelks are, like oysters, eaten raw. Peri- winkles, popularly called tvinkles, are small marine snails, and eaten as a relish with bread-and-butter.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Of oysters there is a great variety in the world, but none attain the quality of the English natives of Whitstable. There are oysters which may yet be cooked, although, like mussels, they are not very suitable for being eaten raw. The tinned oysters from foreign parts are of such a nature that cheapness alone could claim for them a place in the kitchen. There are many preparations into which oysters used to enter as flavouring accessories — oyster sauce, oyster soup, etc. ; but their further use is much restricted by the high price of the shellfish. Oysters may be scolloped, fried in butter and crumb, steived, and placed in small pâtes, or in vol-au-vent. There are hâtelets of oysters, being oysters grilled on skewers, pickled oysters, oysters in hash, in forcemeat, with Parma cheese, a la Daube, and others. The escalop or scollop is known by its beautiful ridged shell, which is used not only to dress, cook and serve its own fish therein, but also as a vessel for many similar, yet as to material widely heterogeneous, preparations, such as are then called ‘ scolloped ’ or colloped. The scollop is in season, like the oyster, from September to April, and is not allowed to be taken during the months from May to August inclusive. On the whole, the scollop is more a curiosity than an article of common consumption. The mussel, French moule, Mytilus edulis, when half grown and properly prepared, is an excellent article of food ; when full grown it is somewhat hard. It has an impaired reputation because some rare specimens have been found poisonous, even with fatal effect ; but it is probable that the alleged poison was as much poison to the shellfish as to the persons who ate the latter. Hence it is believed that their quality depends greatly upon the place in which they have lived, and their flavour upon the objects to which they attach themselves by the elastic fibres of their byssus. Mussels are most used for sauces and garnishes, but there are also substantial preparations, such as Mussels in Forcemeat {Moules à la Bordelaise). We made the acquaintance of this dish at Bordeaux, and have kept its memory green. SHELLFISH, OCTOPUS, FROG The trimmed mussel is replaced in its shell spiced, and covered with a savoury farce, c.g., sausage meat ; it is then painted with hutter, over this with yolk, crumbed, again buttered, and baked in an oven for twenty minutes. Clams are a species of cockles, found only in Devonshire, Cornwall, part of Wales, and on the west coast of Ireland and Scotland. On the basaltic island of Staffa the cave third in size is named after this shellfish Glam Shell Cave. Clams, when small, may be eaten raw ; when they are larger they may be cooked after several of the recipes applicable to oysters. . Cockles and whelks are, like oysters, eaten raw. Periwinkles, popularly called winkles, are small marine snails, and eaten as a relish with bread-and-butter.

The spirit of cookery