FoodNet

Foods, their selection and preparation

1935

Page 220

Presented as published in 1935. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
The Pacific coast produces few oysters. The olympian oysters are small in size and of good flavor. Japanese oysters now being produced there are very large. Oysters are in season from September to April. Sum¬ mer is the spawning season, and the flavor is less good at that time than in the cooler months. Lobsters come largely from New England fisheries. Practically all the domestic catch is used fresh or frozen. The claw meat is preferred and brings a higher price than the tail meat. Lobster is a popular shellfish. This popularity, combined with uneconomic methods of collection, is rapidly decreasing the supply and, as most consumers of lob¬ ster know, increasing the price. While the total yearly poundage has de¬ creased, lobster still is responsible for about one tenth of the income of the New England fish industry. It is already a luxury food, and supplies will decrease further unless some¬ thing is done to control the catch so that the young lobsters will not be taken before the age for spawning. Crabs come in largest amounts from the Chesapeake Bay area, but the South Atlantic and Gulf areas also contribute to the national supplies of this popular shellfish. Other areas provide fresh crab meat for local use. Crabs are sold as "soft-shelled crab” just after molting. These come on the market in early summer. They must be shipped alive; consequently their distribution is limited to [245] Table XLV • Proximate Composition of Edible Portions of Some Typical Fin Fish Species Total Solids Fat Protein (N x 6.25) Ash (Inor¬ ganic Matter) Fuel Value per Pound Fresh Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Calories Alewife . 25.6 4.9 19.4 1.5 570 Bass, black . 23.3 1.7 20.6 1.2 455 Bass, red . 18.4 .5 16.9 1.2 335 Bass, sea . 20.7 .5 19.8 1.4 390 Bass, striped . 22.3 2.8 18.6 1.2 465 Bluefish . 21.5 1.2 19.4 1.3 410 Butterfish . 30.0 11.0 18.0 1.2 800 Catfish . 35.9 20.6 14.4 .9 1,135 Cod . . 17.4 .4 16.5 1.2 325 Eels, salt-water . 28.4 9.1 18.6 1.0 730 Flounder . 15.8 .6 14.2 1.3 290 Haddock . 18.3 .3 17.2 1.2 335 Halibut . 24.6 5.2 18.6 1.0 565 Herring . 27.5 7.1 19.5 1.5 660 Mackerel . 26.6 7.1 18.7 1.2 645 Perch, white . 24.3 4.0 19.3 1.2 530 Perch, yellow . 20.7 .8 18.7 1.2 380 Pickerel, pike . 20.2 .5 18.7 1.1 370 Pompano . 27.2 7.5 18.8 1.0 665 Red snapper . 21.5 1.0 19.7 1.3 410 Salmon, Atlantic . 35.4 12.8 22.0 1.4 950 Salmon (Atlantic), landlocked, spent . 22.3 3.3 17.8 1.2 470 Salmon, chinook, California . 36.4 17.8 17.8 1.1 1,080 Shad . 29.4 9.5 18.8 1.3 750 Smelt . 20.8 1.8 17.6 1.7 405 Spanish mackerel . 31.9 9.4 21.5 1.5 795 Trout, brook . 22.2 2.1 19.2 1.2 445 Trout, salmon, Atlantic . 29.2 10.3 17.8 1.2 765 Whitefish . 30.2 6.5 22.9 1.6 700 Whale meat (mammal) . 28.8 4.2 23.1 1.2 607 Canned Mackerel . . 31.82 8.68 19.63 1.30 731 Salmon, chinook (Atwater, 1888) . 38.12 15.70 20.18 1.32 1,037 Salmon (Shostrom, Clough, and Clark, 1924): Sockeye . 35.22 11.22 20.80 1.23 860 Chinook . 36.83 15.72 17.67 1.21 991 Coho . 32.51 8.49 21.08 1.24 750 Pink . 30.20 6.99 21.40 .76 696 Chum . 29.96 6.69 20.67 1.02 524 Steelhead trout . 33.16 8.95 21.32 1.21 792 Atlantic salmon . 35.70 12.49 21.14 1.22 920 Sardines in oil (French) .