it, however, we are not informed. Suppose the dish
to be a fried sole or a sweetbread. We all know the
real thing — a sweetbread at the Cafe Bignon — soft
and white inside, and a perfect golden-brown out,
without even a shade of colour varying in the whole
dish. On the other hand, a sweetbread a la Mary
Ann, covered with bread-crumbs, some a whitey-brown,
some brown, and some black, but still containing
patches with no bread-crumbs at all, looking like a
cat’s back where the cook had accidentally spilt some
boiling water.
Or, perhaps, a still greater blunder has been made.
On this particular occasion Mary Ann, who means
well, endeavours to do her utmost to make things look
nice, and in trying to obtain this nice golden-colour,
fries the sole till it is so dried up that it becomes
scarcely eatable. Who has not occasionally in small
families noticed the slight passing shadow of annoy-
ance on the face of the hostess, as she becomes aware
of some such little contretemps ? — in which, perhaps, a
very close observer of human nature might detect the
thought : “ It will never warm up for breakfast.”
Now, is it possible to write clear directions, so that
any one with an average amount of common sense
can, by following them, fry fish, sweetbreads, &c., which
will combine colour with quality? We believe it is
possible ; at any rate, it is worth the attempt.
Uses and Abuses of a Frying-pan. 13
All fish that has to be fried with egg and bread-
crumbs must be treated alike in this respect. The
fish must first be thoroughly dried. Next, it must be
floured. This is done in order to ensure its being
dry, just as a baby’s neck is powdered for a similar
purpose after being dried with a towel. Next, the
egg must be thoroughly beaten up before it is used ;
otherwise, the white of the egg especially is apt to slip
off, leaving those bald patches we have mentioned.
Again, the bread-crumbs must be dry and fine. It is
no use to attempt to use bread-crumbs made from
new bread, which will be necessarily coarse.
Now, we will suppose these conditions complied
with — say a sole has been carefully dried and floured,
has been carefully egged over, and then covered with
some very fine bread-crumbs. Most cooks will say :
“Well, then fry it in plenty of hot fat, allow it to drain
on a napkin, and that’s all.”
Wait a minute. If you have a frying-pan two feet
in diameter, filled with boiling fat three inches deep,
this would do very well. A few minutes would suffice
to cook the sole a nice colour, “ all over alike.” But
have you this ? Probably, to start with, the fish is a
trifle longer than the frying-pan. The fat is a quarter
of an inch deep, and won’t cover the fish. How,
under these very common circumstances, will you get
your fish to look nice ?
14
Common-sense Cookery.
✪ Fried Sole
Page 2 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1880. 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
it, however, we are not informed. Suppose the dish to be a fried sole or a sweetbread. We all know the real thing — a sweetbread at the Cafe Bignon — soft and white inside, and a perfect golden-brown out, without even a shade of colour varying in the whole dish. On the other hand, a sweetbread a la Mary Ann, covered with bread-crumbs, some a whitey-brown, some brown, and some black, but still containing patches with no bread-crumbs at all, looking like a cat’s back where the cook had accidentally spilt some boiling water.
Or, perhaps, a still greater blunder has been made. On this particular occasion Mary Ann, who means well, endeavours to do her utmost to make things look nice, and in trying to obtain this nice golden-colour, fries the sole till it is so dried up that it becomes scarcely eatable. Who has not occasionally in small families noticed the slight passing shadow of annoyance on the face of the hostess, as she becomes aware of some such little contretemps ? — in which, perhaps, a very close observer of human nature might detect the thought : “ It will never warm up for breakfast.”
Now, is it possible to write clear directions, so that any one with an average amount of common sense can, by following them, fry fish, sweetbreads, &c., which will combine colour with quality? We believe it is possible ; at any rate, it is worth the attempt.
Uses and Abuses of a Frying-pan. 13
All fish that has to be fried with egg and breadcrumbs must be treated alike in this respect. The fish must first be thoroughly dried. Next, it must be floured. This is done in order to ensure its being dry, just as a baby’s neck is powdered for a similar purpose after being dried with a towel. Next, the egg must be thoroughly beaten up before it is used ; otherwise, the white of the egg especially is apt to slip off, leaving those bald patches we have mentioned. Again, the bread-crumbs must be dry and fine. It is no use to attempt to use bread-crumbs made from new bread, which will be necessarily coarse.
Now, we will suppose these conditions complied with — say a sole has been carefully dried and floured, has been carefully egged over, and then covered with some very fine bread-crumbs. Most cooks will say : “Well, then fry it in plenty of hot fat, allow it to drain on a napkin, and that’s all.”
Wait a minute. If you have a frying-pan two feet in diameter, filled with boiling fat three inches deep, this would do very well. A few minutes would suffice to cook the sole a nice colour, “ all over alike.” But have you this ? Probably, to start with, the fish is a trifle longer than the frying-pan. The fat is a quarter of an inch deep, and won’t cover the fish. How, under these very common circumstances, will you get your fish to look nice ?
Common-sense Cookery.
Records on this page
Fried Sole