The curiosities of food

by P. L. Simmonds

The cuckold or horned coney fish (Monacanthus tomentosus) is much used as food, and, when stuffed and baked, considered a delicacy.

Under the general name of the Spanish mackerel, several species of Cymbium, C. Caballa, C. regale, and C. immaculata, are caught in the West Indian seas. They are a coarse, dry fish, and not much esteemed, except when coveeched. To coveech a fish, it must be cut into junks, fried with onions and oil, and afterwards potted with vinegar, a little pepper or cloves, fried onions, and some oil. It becomes an article of trade in that manner, and a considerable quantity, according to Sir Robert Schomburgk, is sent from the Leeward Islands and Barbados to Guiana.

The young king-fish, termed Coramour in the West Indies, kept in a fish pond or craal for some time, is esteemed a great delicacy.

The mud-fish (Eleotris gyrinus), found in the water courses of Antigua, is also considered a dainty. This fish is common in the streamlets and creeks of the other West Indian Islands, and is considered a most delicious fish when in full perfection. It resembles the smelt in appearance, and is easy of digestion.

The common cod of Newfoundland (Morrhua vulgaris) is well known as an article of food the wide world over. It is always a thick, well-fed fish, and often attains a great weight, sometimes 70 or 80 lbs., and even more.

There is another variety, slightly, though permanently distinct, the American cod, fine specimens of which may be seen in the fish market of Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the season; their quality is admirable.

Dried cod for the Brazils are packed in large flat tubs, called drums, into which they are pressed by a powerful screw. Each drum contains exactly 128 lbs. of dry fish, that being the Portuguese quintal; and the drums are shaped to suit the convenience of the Brazilians, who transport them into the interior of South America slung in pairs upon mules. For the Mediterranean markets, the fish are stowed in the holds of the vessels in bulk, and seldom receive damage, such is the excellent manner in which they are cured and stowed. The best and whitest of the cod are required for the Neapolitan market, for even the Lazzaroni of Naples are very particular as to the quality of their fish.

On the coast of Norway, cod are caught in nets, and it is stated by Mr. Laing, in his journal of a residence in that country, that these nets are becoming more in use every season. For this fishery, every boat is provided with six or eight nets, each twenty fathoms in length, and thirty meshes deep. The mesh of the cod net is six inches from knot to knot, and is made of three-ply hemp thread. The back ropes and ground ropes of each net are fastened to the net, and the whole are set like Scotch herring nets, only with longer buoy-ropes. The cod nets are set at night, in 60 to 80 fathoms water, and are taken up in the morning. The introduction of nets in the cod fishery is said to have improved very considerably the condition of the inhabitants of the coast of Norway, as by means of nets, the quantity of fish caught has been nearly doubled. It is not at all unlikely, that cod nets might be used with advantage on the Gulf-coast of New Brunswick, especially in the early part of each season, when the cod come close to the shore in pursuit of herring, capelin, and gaspereaux.

‘Some of the purely national dishes of Sweden, as lut-fisk on Christmas-eve, are most extraordinary things, lut-fisk being the stock fish steeped in a solution of potash until in fact decomposition takes place. On Christmas-eve, the great evening of Sweden, this thing is boiled and eaten with oil sauce; and this, together with grot, which is simply boiled rice, form the Christmas dishes of Sweden, just as roast beef and plum pudding do of England. The smell of the lut-fisk is terrific, but a true Swede clings to his national dish on Julaften as much as any beef-eating Englishman does to his. The poor often substitute boiled corn for rice; and at all times rye porridge made with milk, not water, is their common food; the number of meals might seem to make amends for their quality. Fish is almost the staple of food; quantities are salted in the autumn, and even in winter. They are taken in a most ingenious manner from under ice. You see holes cut in certain distances, and a man seated on a stool at the furthest end on each side. The man you are looking at appears to be sitting idly on the ice, but suddenly he puts his hand into the small opening cut in it, and pulls up a bright coloured little fish, and then another and another, throwing them on the frozen lake, where they jump about, displaying their colours, poor things, to advantage, and suffering cruelly.’[28]

Much more attention is now paid to the prosecution of the fisheries, and the preparation of the fish for export, in our North American colonies. Last season, an enterprising firm in Carleton, New Brunswick, sent to the Gulf of St. Lawrence a vessel of 30 tons, fitted with the necessary apparatus and well supplied, for the preparation of spiced salmon; which vessel, after an absence of two months and a half, returned with a full fare of the estimated value of £1,750, or yielding a profit of about 700 per cent. on the outlay, with all expenses defrayed!