HERRING, smoked whole, or scaled and boneless, are widely consumed. The freshest, fattest, and largest are best. Smoked SALMON, HALIBUT, and STURGEON, are appetizing relishes for the summer tea table. There are also EELS pickled in jelly. SARDELLES—small fish packed in highly salted milk, smoked SPRATS, ANCHOVIES, etc.
Mackerel have the front rank in this line, and there are few good tables on which they do not occasionally appear. They are sold by the grocer in barrels and fractions of barrels, in kits of 20, 15, and 10 pounds, in tins, minus heads and tails, and by the single fish. The best are the fattest, largest, and freshest of the current season. They should be free from rust and soaked before cooking until all the brine is drawn out. They can be afterwards salted, if necessary. They are graded as “Extra” and “Fancy” “Shores” and “Bays,” and vary in size and fatness, as numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4.
SALMON, ETC.—Both Halifax and Oregon salmon are pickled or salted, and in demand in many sections of the country, and pickled SALMON BELLIES are very fine. HERRING and COD are also to be had in brine.
There are several varieties of these articles in liquids, pastes, and solids. Some, at least, of them, without being true nutrients are excellent as condiments, stimulants, and tonics for digestion. Meat juices contain a substance called kreatine, which is similar in its exhilarating properties to the peculiar principles of tea and coffee. Fifty pounds of meat are said to be required to make one pound of Liebig’s meat extract. These preparations are valuable additions to other foods, but all that is needed for nourishment should be added to them.
Until lately, man had done little more in preserving his food in a fresh condition, than the squirrels which gather and store their nuts and seeds in a warm, dry place. To be sure, he knew how to dry and smoke, and the uses of salt and sugar. He had even tried to preserve his meats and fruits in a fresh state; but his rude methods hardly foreshadowed the splendid results which have recently been achieved in the line of canned goods.
M. Appert, of France, first patented (in 1810) a process for preserving animal and vegetable substances in close vessels of glass—after subjecting them to the action of heat—and an English firm soon after introduced provisions preserved in tin. But it was reserved for Americans to lead the world, not only in the magnitude of their canning industries, but also in the art of preserving meats, vegetables, and fruits, by processes so delicate and effective, as to retain their original shape and texture, as well as their freshness and flavor. And, moreover, while they have practically prolonged the “Seasons” for perishable food products throughout the entire year, and furnish them for the consumer at very reasonable rates, the producer has often thanked them for giving stability to prices in seasons of great “Gluts” and abundance.