When the Cockles are brought home they must first be laid
in salt and water for a few hours, so that they may clean them-
selves of any sand they may contain. They must then be
put on a clean dish, and boiling water must be poured over
them to make them open. This may have to be repeated once
or twice, as the Cockle shells are always very tightly closed.
When open, the fish must be taken out and cooked. Cockles
make good soup, and are excellent stewed like Oysters or in
patties. Fish broth is of course needed in cooking them, and
this is best made by using some of the Cockles themselves
instead of fish cuttings. Cockles are out of season from April
to September.
Periwinkles. — As this book is not written for such stern
economists as the lady who, when a sick relative was ordered
Oysters and Champagne, thought that Periwinkles and Ginger-
beer would do as well, and wondered that the patient sank
from exhaustion, it may seem superfluous to explain how
Periwinkles should be cooked. Still, as they can only be
gathered between tide-marks, children at the seaside delight
in collecting them for school -room tea, and it is not every cook
who knows how to prepare Periwinkles. They should be
well washed in several waters, left to soak in fresh water for
an hour, and then washed again. Shake the Periwinkles well
to make them draw back into their shells, put them into a
saucepan of boiling salted water (sea water if possible) and
boil them hard for twenty minutes. Periwinkles are eaten,
according to the time-honoured fashion of street boys, by pick-
them out of their shells with a stout pin.
Whelks are good for nothing but bait.
Crayfish. — The natural history of the Crayfish is so
curious and interesting that Professor Huxley devoted a whole
volume to its discussion. Crayfish are like small freshwater
Lobsters, from three to four inches in length, and greenish-
brown in colour. They are found in many English and Irish
becks and rivers, as well as in most parts of the world where
the water is not too cold for them, as it is even in Scotland.
Yet although Crayfish cannot bear cold, they are so intolerant
120
SHELL-FISH
of sunshine that they are only found where a river runs east
and west. In these cases the banks protect the Crayfish from
the sun. Crayfish are armed with powerful pincers, so powerful
that when lying concealed in the burrows which they make
for themselves during winter they can seize a vole or water-rat
and hold its head under water till it drowns. No food comes
amiss to the Crayfish ; indeed, as a French naturalist remarked,
“ ils meconnaissent les plus saints devoirs,” for the males eat
the females, preferring the time in May and June when the
victims are loaded with eggs. In France Crayfish are regularly
cultivated for food, and in Paris alone from five to six millions
of Crayfish, or JEcrevisses , either of home production or “made
in Germany,” are consumed every year, at a cost of ten thousand
pounds. Crayfish are more plentiful in England than is
generally supposed. Not long ago two gentlemen caught nine
hundred in a single evening, in the Thames and Severn Canal
in Gloucestershire.
Page 77
Presented as published in 1898. 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
When the Cockles are brought home they must first be laid in salt and water for a few hours, so that they may clean themselves of any sand they may contain. They must then be put on a clean dish, and boiling water must be poured over them to make them open. This may have to be repeated once or twice, as the Cockle shells are always very tightly closed. When open, the fish must be taken out and cooked. Cockles make good soup, and are excellent stewed like Oysters or in patties. Fish broth is of course needed in cooking them, and this is best made by using some of the Cockles themselves instead of fish cuttings. Cockles are out of season from April to September.
Periwinkles. — As this book is not written for such stern economists as the lady who, when a sick relative was ordered Oysters and Champagne, thought that Periwinkles and Gingerbeer would do as well, and wondered that the patient sank from exhaustion, it may seem superfluous to explain how Periwinkles should be cooked. Still, as they can only be gathered between tide-marks, children at the seaside delight in collecting them for school-room tea, and it is not every cook who knows how to prepare Periwinkles. They should be well washed in several waters, left to soak in fresh water for an hour, and then washed again. Shake the Periwinkles well to make them draw back into their shells, put them into a saucepan of boiling salted water (sea water if possible) and boil them hard for twenty minutes. Periwinkles are eaten, according to the time-honoured fashion of street boys, by picking them out of their shells with a stout pin.
Whelks are good for nothing but bait.
Crayfish. — The natural history of the Crayfish is so curious and interesting that Professor Huxley devoted a whole volume to its discussion. Crayfish are like small freshwater Lobsters, from three to four inches in length, and greenishbrown in colour. They are found in many English and Irish becks and rivers, as well as in most parts of the world where the water is not too cold for them, as it is even in Scotland. Yet although Crayfish cannot bear cold, they are so intolerant
of sunshine that they are only found where a river runs east and west. In these cases the banks protect the Crayfish from the sun. Crayfish are armed with powerful pincers, so powerful that when lying concealed in the burrows which they make for themselves during winter they can seize a vole or water-rat and hold its head under water till it drowns. No food comes amiss to the Crayfish ; indeed, as a French naturalist remarked, “ ils meconnaissent les plus saints devoirs,” for the males eat the females, preferring the time in May and June when the victims are loaded with eggs. In France Crayfish are regularly cultivated for food, and in Paris alone from five to six millions of Crayfish, or JEcrevisses , either of home production or “made in Germany,” are consumed every year, at a cost of ten thousand pounds. Crayfish are more plentiful in England than is generally supposed. Not long ago two gentlemen caught nine hundred in a single evening, in the Thames and Severn Canal in Gloucestershire.