Natural oyster beds are found in
shallow water with stony bottoms along the entire At-
lantic Coast. The 03'ster is five years old before it is
ready for the table. I was told once b}^ an old salt how
many oysters the lady oyster would produce during
the year; at present I do not recall it, but the number
70 SCIENTIFIC COOKING.
was marvelous. The Blue Points are considered the best
to serve on the half-shell for the first course at a din-
ner. They are so called from Blue Point, Long Island,
from where they originally came. The Linhaven, a
plump, fine-flavored oyster, is better to my notion than
the Blue Point, and I see they are serving them a great
deal and charge ten cents more on the half-dozen at
all first-class cafes. Oysters from the Chesapeake Bay
are considered very fine.
Oyster farming has grown to be quite an industry
at the present day. Oysters that are large and suitable
for broiling are sold in the East by the quart, but as
you go South they are sold by count. The New Orleans
market furnishes the largest oyster T have ever seen
served, but the flavor was not nearly so good.
The oyster now is served all the year round, but
during the summer months they are apt to be flabby
and not so well flavored; but, if fresh, are perfectly
he'althy, and in Pittsburg during this last year I ate
them for my flrst course at Fort Pitt Hotel in June,
and found them fine.
Opening the Oyster.
Use a thin, flat knife made for the purpose; put
it under the back end of the right valve, and push
forward until it cuts the strong muscle that holds the
shells together. As soon as this is done, the right valve
can be lifted and separated from the left, and in serving
them on the half-shell they are always left on the left
valve.
To Clean the Oysters.
Place them in a strainer over a bowl. Pour over
them cold water — half cup of water to a quart of oys-
OYSTERS AND SIlELL-FISH. 71
ters. Carefully lift each oyster separately to see there
are no pieces of shell remaining on the tough muscle.
Reserve the oyster liquor in the bowl to be used for
any purpose necessary.
Scallops.
The scallops belong to the bivalve family, and are
found in Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay.
The edible portion of the scallop is the central muscle,
and is the only part served in the market. They are
found in the market from October until April.
Cl&ms.
The clam is found just below the surface of the
sand and mud above low-water mark, and are dug with
shovel or rake. There are two kinds of clams — hard
and soft-shell. The soft-shell is considered a great deli-
cacy by a connoisseur. The hard-shell clams are found
along the coast from New York to Florida. The small
ones are called little neck clams, and are served same as
Blue Points as a first course at dinner.
Lobster.
Page 32
Presented as published in 1911. 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
Natural oyster beds are found in shallow water with stony bottoms along the entire Atlantic Coast. The oyster is five years old before it is ready for the table. I was told once by an old salt how many oysters the lady oyster would produce during the year; at present I do not recall it, but the number
was marvelous. The Blue Points are considered the best to serve on the half-shell for the first course at a dinner. They are so called from Blue Point, Long Island, from where they originally came. The Linhaven, a plump, fine-flavored oyster, is better to my notion than the Blue Point, and I see they are serving them a great deal and charge ten cents more on the half-dozen at all first-class cafes. Oysters from the Chesapeake Bay are considered very fine.
Oyster farming has grown to be quite an industry at the present day. Oysters that are large and suitable for broiling are sold in the East by the quart, but as you go South they are sold by count. The New Orleans market furnishes the largest oyster T have ever seen served, but the flavor was not nearly so good.
The oyster now is served all the year round, but during the summer months they are apt to be flabby and not so well flavored; but, if fresh, are perfectly healthy, and in Pittsburg during this last year I ate them for my flrst course at Fort Pitt Hotel in June, and found them fine.
Opening the Oyster.
Use a thin, flat knife made for the purpose; put it under the back end of the right valve, and push forward until it cuts the strong muscle that holds the shells together. As soon as this is done, the right valve can be lifted and separated from the left, and in serving them on the half-shell they are always left on the left valve.
To Clean the Oysters.
Place them in a strainer over a bowl. Pour over them cold water — half cup of water to a quart of oys-
OYSTERS AND SIlELL-FISH. 71
ters. Carefully lift each oyster separately to see there are no pieces of shell remaining on the tough muscle. Reserve the oyster liquor in the bowl to be used for any purpose necessary.
Scallops.
The scallops belong to the bivalve family, and are found in Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay. The edible portion of the scallop is the central muscle, and is the only part served in the market. They are found in the market from October until April.
Clams.
The clam is found just below the surface of the sand and mud above low-water mark, and are dug with shovel or rake. There are two kinds of clams — hard and soft-shell. The soft-shell is considered a great delicacy by a connoisseur. The hard-shell clams are found along the coast from New York to Florida. The small ones are called little neck clams, and are served same as Blue Points as a first course at dinner.
Lobster.