Fried Oysters

Ingredients

• Large oysters
• Dried bread crumbs
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tablespoonf ul water or oyster juice for each egg
• Eggs

Method

1. 1

   Remove pieces of shell from the oyster by running each oyster through the fingers.

2. 2

   Wash the oysters, drain immediately, and dry them on a soft cloth or towel.

3. 3

   Season with salt and pepper.

4. 4

   Beat the eggs slightly and dilute by adding one tablespoonful of water or strained oyster juice to each egg.

5. 5

   Season the dried bread crumbs.

6. 6

   Dip the oysters into the prepared crumbs, then into the egg mixture, and finally into the crumbs.

7. 7

   Fry one minute, drain, place on paper, and serve.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from A text-book of cooking (1915) by Carlotta Cherryholmes Greer, page 35. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Large oysters Dried bread crumbs Salt and Pepper Eggs 1 tablespoonf ul water or oyster juice for each egg Remove pieces of shell from the oyster by running each oyster through the fingers. Wash the oysters, drain imme- diately, and dry them on a soft cloth or towel. (See Clean- ing Oysters, p. 285.) Season with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs slightly and dilute by adding one tablespoonf ul of water or strained oyster juice to each egg. Season the dried bread crumbs. Dip the oysters into the prepared crumbs, then into the egg mixture, and finally into the crumbs. Fry one minute, drain, place on paper, and serve. Lemons cut into eighths are desirable to serve with fried oysters. Parsley makes a pleasing garnish. LESSON XXI Fat as a Frying Medium; Digestion op Fat Experiment 31: Action of Oil and Water. — Pour a little salad or cottonseed oil into a test tube, add the same quantity of water, and shake the tube. Set the tube aside for a minute and examine. Which material rises to the top ? Is oil soluble in water ? What applica- tion can be made from this concerning the effectiveness of cleaning the fat of meats with water ? Breaking up of Fats. — Fats and oils are not soluble in any substance found in the digestive juices, but they are FAT AS A FRYING MEDIUM 81 acted upon by a ferment and by an alkaline substance found in the pancreatic juice. The ferment breaks up some of the fat into a fatty acid and glycerine. (An example of a fatty acid is found in rancid butter. Its presence in butter causes the strong odor.) At some time during diges- tion, probably before its separation, 1 fat is emulsified, i.e. divided into tiny globules which do not coalesce. When a fat is emulsified, it often looks like milk. (Milk contains fat in an emulsified form; the fat separates, however, by standing and rises to the top to form cream.) Fats can be emulsified by several different substances. A soap solution is one of the substances that will emulsify fats. To show the action of soap solution on fat, try the following : Experiment 32 : Emulsion of Fat. — In a test tube put a bit of soap and 2 tablespoonfuls of water. Heat until the soap is melted. Add J teaspoonful of salad oil. Shake the mixture and then examine. What familiar food does the mixture look like ? Set the tube aside for a minute. Does the oil rise to the top as in Experiment 31 ? In what form does the fat now exist ? If fats are emulsified by means of soap, one might ask where the soap comes from in the process of digestion ? The soap is thought to be formed by the action of the alkali of the pancreatic juice upon some of the fatty acids formed by the splitting up of the fat. By means of the soap thus formed, fat is emulsified during digestion. Al- though there is some difference of opinion as to which process of fat digestion takes place first, it is now generally agreed that fat is absorbed as fatty acid and glycerine. FISH BALLS 1 cupful salt codfish 1 egg 4 small potatoes \ tablespoonful butter J teaspoonful pepper 1 See "Textbook of Physiology," by Wm. H. Howell, p. 731. 82 THE COOKING OF FOODS Wash the fish in water and tear into small pieces ; wash and pare the potatoes. Cook the fish and the whole pota- toes together in gently boiling water, containing no salt, until the potatoes are soft. Drain and shake over the fire until dry; mash, add the beaten egg 9 butter, pepper, and salt (if needed), and beat until light. Take up the mixture by spoonfuls, mold slightly, and place in hot deep fat Do not fry more than six balls at one time. Fry until brown, drain, garnish, and serve at once. The potatoes used in fish balls may be steamed.. The cod- fish, however, must be soaked or cooked in water. QUESTIONS Why is it not necessary to soak codfish for Fish Balls in water before cooking ? Why is salt not added to the water in which codfish and potatoes are cooked ? If a food that is to be fried contains much water, what happens to the water when placed in the hot fat ? Explain why it is better to leave the potatoes whole rather than cut them into pieces for cooking. Why is it especially necessary to dry the fish and potato mixture be- fore frying ? What ingredient do Fish Balls contain that hardens immediately on being heated ? Of what advantage is this ingredient in mixtures that are to be fried ? What is the price per package of codfish ? What is the weight and measure of a package ? REVIEW IV. — MEAL COOKING ffltnu Corn Soup Baked Potato Fruit Tapioca See Review I (p. 41) for suggestions regarding the preparation of the lesson. PAT AS A FRYING AND SAUTEING MEDIUM 83 LESSON XXII Fat as a Frying and Sauteing Medium Saut6ing and Frying. — Sautting is browning in a small quantity of fat, and frying is browning in deep fat. At best, foods coated with fat are somewhat difficult of diges- tion. Fat is not soluble in water (see Experiment 31, p. 80) and forms a seal about other materials, thus hindering their solution or digestion. It is well, then, to have the least possible quantity of fat soak into foods cooked in fats. It has been found that foods soak up much more fat when sauted than when fried. The greatest care should be taken, however, to have the fat and the food to be fried in such condition that as little fat as possible will be absorbed. The fat should be sufficiently hot (see Experiments 29 and 30, pp. 78, 79), the food as dry as possible, and the browned food drained on paper. Although hot fat must be used for frying, care should be taken not to overheat it. Fat is rendered unwholesome by overcooking. Croquettes. — Croquettes are cooked vegetable, cereal, meat, or fish mixtures dipped in dried crumbs and eggs and browned in deep fat. These food mixtures are shaped in various ways. Rice and potato croquettes ar£ usually cylindrical in shape, while chicken croquettes are formed into cones. Croquettes may be dipped in melted butter and browned in the oven or broiling oven instead of frying in deep fat. Starch occurs in considerable quantity in the vegetables and cereals commonly used for croquettes. Meat and fish are usually mixed with a thick white sauce when used for croquettes, hence croquettes invariably contain a starchy substance. If croquette ingredients are heated while mix- ing, it is necessary to cool them thoroughly before shaping, in order that the starch may be as stiff as possible. 84 THE COOKING OF FOODS POTATO CROQUETTES 1 pint mashed potatoes Celery salt 2 tablespoonfuls butter Onion juice Cayenne 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley 1 teaspoonful salt 1 egg-yolk or £ egg Mix ingredients together, shape into smooth round balls and then into cylinders. Koll in dried bread crumbs

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.