flesh, and the slightest symptom of a disagreeable odor. If
you have to make the choice between salt pork and a fish of
this description, choose salt pork ; it is infinitely more health-
ful ; it does not contain a possibility of poisoning. When pur-
chasing halibut or swordfish, where the head and fins have
been removed, the test is pearly white or shining gray skin,
firm flesh, and a good odor. It is an excellent rule never to
buy fish which is out of season. If you want bluefish in Feb-
ruary or shad in November, you can probably obtain it — a fish
dealer will produce almost anything from his refrigerator at
any time of the year — but you may rest assured it has known
a repose of months in cold storage. If not really dangerous
to eat, it will be flabby, it will go to pieces before it is cooked
and be lacking in flavor. It is an excellent plan to post one's
self thoroughly on the fish which is in season all the year round,
and purchase that according to the month. A dealer will as-
sure you that fish which has been packed in ice ten days is in
as excellent condition as when fresh caught. I should say
seven or eight days is the limit. After that time it will begin
to lose its beautiful mother-of-pearl sheen.
Although the old theory that fish is brain food has been
exploded, the brain-worker will find what he most requires in
a bountiful diet of fish. It is digestible food which is not over-
stimulating or over-nutritive. Both the poet and the preacher
will do better work on a dinner of broiled bluefish than on rare
roast beef. Salmon, mackerel, and eels, which are exceed-
ingly oily, are an exception to the digestible rule. They should
be severely let alone by people of weak stomachs, while white-
fish may be classed as the most digestible of all fish.
The shimmering array on a market stall is alluring and
confusing, and the fish dealer is apt to be persuasive. It is no
economy to be inveigled into buying a five-pound bluefish
when two pounds of halibut would have fed your family. Fish
left over can be utilized nicely in many ways, as the following
pages will show, but it is better not to have any; in summer,
cold fish has not remarkable keeping qualities. Decide when
you order a fish how you will cook it. The fish dealer can
54 THE HOME COOK BOOK
prepare it for planking or broiling better than you can. The
cheapest fish is not always the most economical. Five pounds
of cod will contain about two pounds of waste in the shape
of skin, head, tail, and bone, while two pounds of halibut is
solid fish with scarcely an ounce of waste.
COOKING
Page 31
Presented as published in 1905. 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
flesh, and the slightest symptom of a disagreeable odor. If you have to make the choice between salt pork and a fish of this description, choose salt pork ; it is infinitely more healthful ; it does not contain a possibility of poisoning. When purchasing halibut or swordfish, where the head and fins have been removed, the test is pearly white or shining gray skin, firm flesh, and a good odor. It is an excellent rule never to buy fish which is out of season. If you want bluefish in February or shad in November, you can probably obtain it — a fish dealer will produce almost anything from his refrigerator at any time of the year — but you may rest assured it has known a repose of months in cold storage. If not really dangerous to eat, it will be flabby, it will go to pieces before it is cooked and be lacking in flavor. It is an excellent plan to post one's self thoroughly on the fish which is in season all the year round, and purchase that according to the month. A dealer will assure you that fish which has been packed in ice ten days is in as excellent condition as when fresh caught. I should say seven or eight days is the limit. After that time it will begin to lose its beautiful mother-of-pearl sheen.
Although the old theory that fish is brain food has been exploded, the brain-worker will find what he most requires in a bountiful diet of fish. It is digestible food which is not overstimulating or over-nutritive. Both the poet and the preacher will do better work on a dinner of broiled bluefish than on rare roast beef. Salmon, mackerel, and eels, which are exceedingly oily, are an exception to the digestible rule. They should be severely let alone by people of weak stomachs, while whitefish may be classed as the most digestible of all fish.
The shimmering array on a market stall is alluring and confusing, and the fish dealer is apt to be persuasive. It is no economy to be inveigled into buying a five-pound bluefish when two pounds of halibut would have fed your family. Fish left over can be utilized nicely in many ways, as the following pages will show, but it is better not to have any; in summer, cold fish has not remarkable keeping qualities. Decide when you order a fish how you will cook it. The fish dealer can
prepare it for planking or broiling better than you can. The cheapest fish is not always the most economical. Five pounds of cod will contain about two pounds of waste in the shape of skin, head, tail, and bone, while two pounds of halibut is solid fish with scarcely an ounce of waste.
COOKING