Take out the roes of several full-grown fresh sturgeons,
put them into a bowl of water, remove as many of the fibres
as possible, and beat the roes in the water with a whisk
until they are all out. Should any of these fibres adhere
to the whisk, they must be taken off and thrown away.
Put the .fine part or grains of the roe into a sieve, pour
away the water and add fresh, replace the roe, and whisk
well again. Continue to change the water and whisk until
the former is quite clear, and all the fibres are removed by
the latter. Drain these grains of roe, put them into a
basin, sprinkle over sufficient salt and pepper to taste, tie
them up in canvas, and hang them up where the water can
drip from them. When drained they are ready for use, and
may be eaten raw or on buttered toast, and sprinkled over
with chopped onions. If the Caviare is wanted to be kept
for any length of time, plenty of salt must be mixed with it.
Very good imitations of Caviare are manufactured in
the vicinity of Marseilles, and along the shores of the
Mediterranean, especially at Tunis. It is called Bou-
targue, or Poutargue, and is prepared by treating the
roes of the mullet, shad, and other fish as described for
Caviare. In the Indian Archipelago, and in the numerous
rivers of Sumatra, ' these fish are very common and grow
to a great size, and lead to a great trade, without any
undue destruction of fish. The Indians set branches of
cedar-trees overnight in the water in the spawning-
season, and in the morning they are usually covered with
spawn ; this is collected in baskets made expressly for
the purpose, and when the spawn is in sufficient quan-
tities the Indians set to work and roll it up into balls
with their hands, setting these in the sjm to dry. Herring-
eggs are considered very good prepared in this way, and
the Spanish Americans make cakes of these and other
fish eggs, salted, rubbed into paste, pressed into masses,
smoked, cut up into thin slices, and served.
Canapes of Caviare. — Cut two or three slices of bread about
jin. in thickness, and then cut them up into rounds with
a biscuit-cutter, of about 2in. in diameter ; put these in a
pan with a little butter, and fry to a light brown colour.
When done, spread a layer of Caviare on the rounds, and
serve them on a dish covered with a napkin, or ornamental
dish-paper.
Caviare with Eggs. — Cut some slices about jin. thick off
stale French rolls ; butter them with anchovy butt dr, or
fry them lightly in butter. Spread over each slice a thick
For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils,
Caviare — continued.
layer of Caviare, squeeze a little lemon-juice over, and add
a dust of pepper and salt. Have ready some hard-boiled
eggs, peel them, and cut into slices, using a very sharp
knife ; lay the slices of egg one on each slice of bread, and
serve on a dish with an ornamental paper. A little chopped
mustard-and-cress salad spread over the Caviare is a great
improvement.
Page 203
Presented as published in 1890. 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
Take out the roes of several full-grown fresh sturgeons, put them into a bowl of water, remove as many of the fibres as possible, and beat the roes in the water with a whisk until they are all out. Should any of these fibres adhere to the whisk, they must be taken off and thrown away. Put the .fine part or grains of the roe into a sieve, pour away the water and add fresh, replace the roe, and whisk well again. Continue to change the water and whisk until the former is quite clear, and all the fibres are removed by the latter. Drain these grains of roe, put them into a basin, sprinkle over sufficient salt and pepper to taste, tie them up in canvas, and hang them up where the water can drip from them. When drained they are ready for use, and may be eaten raw or on buttered toast, and sprinkled over with chopped onions. If the Caviare is wanted to be kept for any length of time, plenty of salt must be mixed with it. Very good imitations of Caviare are manufactured in the vicinity of Marseilles, and along the shores of the Mediterranean, especially at Tunis. It is called Boutargue, or Poutargue, and is prepared by treating the roes of the mullet, shad, and other fish as described for Caviare. In the Indian Archipelago, and in the numerous rivers of Sumatra, ' these fish are very common and grow to a great size, and lead to a great trade, without any undue destruction of fish. The Indians set branches of cedar-trees overnight in the water in the spawningseason, and in the morning they are usually covered with spawn ; this is collected in baskets made expressly for the purpose, and when the spawn is in sufficient quantities the Indians set to work and roll it up into balls with their hands, setting these in the sjm to dry. Herringeggs are considered very good prepared in this way, and the Spanish Americans make cakes of these and other fish eggs, salted, rubbed into paste, pressed into masses, smoked, cut up into thin slices, and served.
Canapes of Caviare. — Cut two or three slices of bread about jin. in thickness, and then cut them up into rounds with a biscuit-cutter, of about 2in. in diameter ; put these in a pan with a little butter, and fry to a light brown colour. When done, spread a layer of Caviare on the rounds, and serve them on a dish covered with a napkin, or ornamental dish-paper.
Caviare with Eggs. — Cut some slices about jin. thick off stale French rolls ; butter them with anchovy butt dr, or fry them lightly in butter. Spread over each slice a thick
For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils,
Caviare — continued.
layer of Caviare, squeeze a little lemon-juice over, and add a dust of pepper and salt. Have ready some hard-boiled eggs, peel them, and cut into slices, using a very sharp knife ; lay the slices of egg one on each slice of bread, and serve on a dish with an ornamental paper. A little chopped mustard-and-cress salad spread over the Caviare is a great improvement.