Читать книгу The Delmonico Cook Book - Alessandro Filippini - Страница 11

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Codfish during this month is apt to be poor, as no live fish are brought to the New York markets. It is mostly fish caught off Nantucket and repacked in Boston, and from there shipped to New York. Haddock; the same applies to this fish as to the cod. Halibut is in excellent condition this month, both large fish for steaks, and small chicken halibut for dinner fish. Striped bass. Eels. Lobsters. Blackfish [Teutogo onitis]. Salmon from Restigouche make their appearance about the 20th of May. Oregon salmon continue to come during this month, although not in as good order as in previous months. Large flounders for fillet of sole are excellent this month. Fresh mackerel. Spanish-mackerel and pompano from Pensacola, Florida. A few come to market from North Carolina during this month. Butter-fish [Stromateus triacanthus] make their appearance in the market this month. Weakfish [Cyonoscion regale] plenty and cheap. Kingfish from Long Island make their appearance during this month in the markets, and are an excellent fish, growing better each month till October, when they go out of season. Sheep’s-head; a few make their appearance from Long Island. Porgies [Stenotomus chrysops], from Long Island. Sea bass during this month are abundant from Narragansett Bay. Shad from Connecticut is probably at its best this month. There is no doubt that shad from this river possesses a flavor superior to all others. Shad from the North River begin to get soft and are not in good condition. Bluefish; there are a few weighing one and a half to two pounds each in market. Squid [Loligo pealæi] This is an article of food that Spaniards and Italians think a great deal of, but it is very little used by American people as yet. It has been introduced to the American public by the dinners of the Ichthyophagous Club, which is composed of a few gentlemen connected with the leading newspapers, and some eminent scientific men, whose object is to cultivate a taste and demand for those varieties of fish which are not generally supposed to be good edible food. Brook-trout under the existing law come into market on April 1. Probably the finest flavored trout found on this continent are the wild brook-trout taken in the streams of Long Island. Cultivated brook-trout that are raised in ponds and preserves depend very much upon the character of their food as to what the flavor will be. Trout that are fed entirely upon chopped liver are usually flat and insipid to the taste. But trout that are fed upon small minnows or other fish-food, such as clams, larvae of insects, and small fish of any kind, are always more delicate in flavor. Salmon-trout and whitefish; a few are found in market this month, but during warm weather it is very difficult to obtain them in New York City markets in prime condition. Carp [Cyprinus carpia]. These fish are now making their appearance in our markets in considerable quantities, having been introduced into this country through the instrumentality of Professor Spencer F. Baird, late United States Fish and Fisheries Commissioner, some eight years ago. They have been distributed in nearly every State of the Union, and in the Southern States have grown larger, and are found in better condition, than they are in Germany, where the parent fish came from. The market is principally supplied now with fish caught in the Potomac River, weighing from two to fifteen pounds each, and are selling at present for twenty-five cents a pound; but in the course of a few years there is no doubt that these fish will be sold for from ten to twelve cents a pound. Green turtle. Frogs’ legs. Crayfish during this month come from Wisconsin. They are of very fine flavor, and are the best that are found in this country. Prawns from South Carolina. Crab-meat, fresh picked. Soft crabs grow more abundant during this month, and are in excellent condition. A very choice smoked fish is in season this month, called the roe herring, and by some of the grocers under various names, such as bloaters, Burlington herring, etc.