September.
Meat.—As for the meat market, buck venison goes out, and pork is again seasonable. It need scarcely be said that fresh pork is eaten all the year round by a section of the public. All meat ought to be very cheap. The highest prices for mutton always mean for Southdown, of which there is only enough to supply a small percentage of customers. Not a twentieth part of the mutton killed is Southdown, so that butchers cannot fairly quote the prices given for it as a justification of exorbitant retail prices of mutton in general. Southdown sheep carry most of their weight in the hind quarter, and the Leicester and other coarser sheep are heavier in front, and this also must be allowed for in quoting market prices, as the fore quarter is always cheaper than the leg and loin.
Ham must not be too new. The best manufacturers keep their hams for some months before they send them out; but people in a small way of business cannot afford to turn over their money so slowly, and it never would answer to keep cheap hams. If the consumer has no place to keep them, it is often possible to make arrangements to have them kept a month or two at the shop. Ham and bacon must be hung up in a warm but airy place, and they are generally tied in canvas or paper bags. They are often hung in a kitchen, which does very well if it is not too warm. There is much fashion and fancy as to choice of different parts of bacon. The streaky covering of the rib bones, corresponding to the thin flank of beef and breast of mutton, is preferred for boiling, and commands a high price, strangely enough, because that is one of the cheapest parts of other meat. A leaner part is the back, or part of the gammon. The cheapest is the fore hock or fore end, for boiling or family use. Part of the thick flank is very good for boiling. To choose bacon, a knife or skewer should be run in close to the bone, and, when withdrawn, should have no strong, rancid smell. The bacon should not have yellow, “rusty” patches.
Game and Poultry.—Partridge-shooting begins with the month. Much the same hints must be given to distinguish old from young as for grouse. The tough, hard beak is characteristic of last year’s birds; the under half of the beak breaks or bends if a young bird is held up by it. There is also in the breast plumage of an old bird a mark shaped like a horseshoe. They should have dark-coloured bills and yellowish legs. French partridges, with the beautiful grey and brown plumage, are not considered so good eating; they are slightly larger.
September witnesses the advent of the stubble-goose in all the glory of sage and onions and apple-sauce, but many prefer gosling, or tender adolescent “green” goose, to the plump stubble-fed bird. This animal must of course be roasted to get rid of his superabundant fat; but in Ireland a curious dish, called a goose-pie, is often consumed by the robust inhabitants, and boiled goose is sometimes eaten in the rural districts.
Fish.—Net-fishing ended last month, but line-fishing still goes on. Good takes of herring are reported from the Scotch coast, and before the month is out the Cornish fishermen will be drawing their harvest of pilchards from the sea, packing and curing them for foreign exportation. This yearly exportation of pilchards is one of the unaccountable food customs of England. We send them to the Mediterranean, and we import sardines in oil. Sardines are eaten everywhere, and yet the two fish are so much alike that many persons believe them to be the same in different stages of growth; and in appearance and flavour they both strongly resemble herrings, which are eaten in England far more than any other fish. It is said of herring, pilchard, and sardine, that if you hold them up by the dorsal fin, one tilts its head up, the other its tail up, and the third swings even.
Oysters are again in the market. Small ones with fairly smooth shells are the best, though it may be advisable to buy the larger and less delicate fish at a lower price for scalloping or cooking.
In a country admirably supplied with lobsters the tiny crayfish cuts an insignificant figure, except in the eyes of those who by foreign travel have become awakened to its rare merit. To be thoroughly appreciated, the crayfish should be eaten hot, and “accommodated” à la bordelaise.
Among true fishes grey mullet holds the chiefest place during the present month. This excellent fish may be cooked in various ways—boiled, broiled, or au vin blanc. John Dory holds his position, but salmon is gone and codfish is hardly yet in season; turbot and brill are good in September, and the latter fish is no insignificant rival to the turbot.
Vegetables.—This month sees many of the winter’s potatoes out of the ground, and stored in a dry dark place for winter. In choosing them it should be remembered that large deep eyes cut to waste. Champions, for instance, are good, but on this account not economical. A rough-skinned potato is generally floury; but there are many exceptions to this rule. Small potatoes are seldom economical, even at a low price, the waste in peeling being so great. The best way to try them is by cooking a few in various ways.