Herring, whether kippered, pickled, salted, or in
the shape of bloaters, should always be boned and
filleted, and if very dry and highly salted or smoked,
are improved by soaking for a little time in milk or
milk and water. Pickled herring are often too salt
to be eaten comfortably when lifted from their
pickle or tin. In this case take them out a few
days before they are wanted, trim them neatly, and
soak them for five or six hours in milk and water,
then dry them carefully on a clean cloth, arrange
them in a piedish with a bay leaf or two, some
peppercorns, green tarragon, capers, and minced
onion, pour over this sufiicient vinegar and water to
cover it all thoroughly, and let them stand in this
till wanted. To serve them, lift out the fish and
cut them across right through ; dish them by putting
together the pieces neatly back into shape, and
serve either sprinkled with a little very good fresh
oil, or some of the marinade finely minced. This
method is also applicable to pilchards, sardines,,
smoked sprats, &c., of course diminishing the time
proportionately.
Sardines, anchovies, and all fish pickled in oil,,
should always be carefully cleansed from all trace
of the preserving oil, and are usually served boned
and filleted, and garnished with capers, minced
parsley, and a sprinkling of good fresh oil. The
44
SALADS, SANDWICHES, &c.
best way to cleanse tbe first two fisb is to take them
from the bottle or tin and arrange them separately
side by side, without touching, in a dish, then pour
orer them sufficient hot water to rinse them well,
tilting the dish slightly to let the water run off at
the bottom, carrying with it any taint of the fishy
liquid in which they were preserved; then wipe
carefully in a clean cloth, removing all scales,
skin, and bone, and use, sprinkling them with
fresh oil, but never with that contained in the bottle
or tin.
Smoked salmon, tunny, reindeer, or other tongue,
sausages, &c., are always sliced very thinly, and
served en couronne, or in a straight line, the slices
overlapj)ing, with a little fresh parsley round,
Olives (stuffed or plain), cucumbers, radishes,
fresh figs, and melons of all kinds are often abroad
seiwed as hors d’ oeuvre. The melon is sliced down
into neat portions, the seeds, &c., removed, and a
knife slipped round the slice to cut the flesh loose
from the skin without taking the latter away.
Sugar, salt, pepper, and ground ginger are all served
with it. The figs are served plain, the red-fleshed
kind being the best for this purpose. For the
cucumbers, choose small ones, before the seeds are
fully formed, peel, slice them thinly, sprinkle with
salt, let them stand a little to drain, and serve
sprinkled with white pepper, salt, oil, vinegar, and
minced parsley or fennel. If individual hors
d’oeuvre are preferred, the above can be dished in
tiny boat-shaped cases, made with ordinaiy fried
bread, cut to shape and cooked till biscuit-crisp
HORS D’CEUVRE.
45
Page 21
Presented as published in 1901. 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
Herring, whether kippered, pickled, salted, or in the shape of bloaters, should always be boned and filleted, and if very dry and highly salted or smoked, are improved by soaking for a little time in milk or milk and water. Pickled herring are often too salt to be eaten comfortably when lifted from their pickle or tin. In this case take them out a few days before they are wanted, trim them neatly, and soak them for five or six hours in milk and water, then dry them carefully on a clean cloth, arrange them in a pie dish with a bay leaf or two, some peppercorns, green tarragon, capers, and minced onion, pour over this sufficient vinegar and water to cover it all thoroughly, and let them stand in this till wanted. To serve them, lift out the fish and cut them across right through ; dish them by putting together the pieces neatly back into shape, and serve either sprinkled with a little very good fresh oil, or some of the marinade finely minced. This method is also applicable to pilchards, sardines, smoked sprats, &c., of course diminishing the time proportionately.
Sardines, anchovies, and all fish pickled in oil, should always be carefully cleansed from all trace of the preserving oil, and are usually served boned and filleted, and garnished with capers, minced parsley, and a sprinkling of good fresh oil. The
best way to cleanse the first two fish is to take them from the bottle or tin and arrange them separately side by side, without touching, in a dish, then pour orer them sufficient hot water to rinse them well, tilting the dish slightly to let the water run off at the bottom, carrying with it any taint of the fishy liquid in which they were preserved; then wipe carefully in a clean cloth, removing all scales, skin, and bone, and use, sprinkling them with fresh oil, but never with that contained in the bottle or tin.
Smoked salmon, tunny, reindeer, or other tongue, sausages, &c., are always sliced very thinly, and served en couronne, or in a straight line, the slices overlapping, with a little fresh parsley round,
Olives (stuffed or plain), cucumbers, radishes, fresh figs, and melons of all kinds are often abroad served as hors d’ oeuvre. The melon is sliced down into neat portions, the seeds, &c., removed, and a knife slipped round the slice to cut the flesh loose from the skin without taking the latter away. Sugar, salt, pepper, and ground ginger are all served with it. The figs are served plain, the red-fleshed kind being the best for this purpose. For the cucumbers, choose small ones, before the seeds are fully formed, peel, slice them thinly, sprinkle with salt, let them stand a little to drain, and serve sprinkled with white pepper, salt, oil, vinegar, and minced parsley or fennel. If individual hors d’oeuvre are preferred, the above can be dished in tiny boat-shaped cases, made with ordinaiy fried bread, cut to shape and cooked till biscuit-crisp
HORS D’CEUVRE.