Shrimps And Prawns

There are two kinds of shrimp - the brown and the red. The brown keeps near the shore, and is the most highly flavoured.

The red shrimp is smaller, and of a more delicate flavour. It was accidentally discovered in Great Yarmouth Roads by some boatmen who were sweeping for lost anchors. The basket of "swill" let down between the boats to find the anchor returned full of red shrimps, which had not before been known.

The prawn is a very large shrimp. It is caught in traps and baited nets on the coast, and at the mouth of rivers. Shrimps bought alive and boiled at home are very superior to those bought ready boiled. This is the case also with prawns. They take ten or fifteen minutes to boil in salt and water. Amongst boiled purchased shrimps we sometimes see a few flat and extended; this is caused by the shrimp having been dead before it was boiled. It will not be good to eat.

Shrimp Pancakes

Boil one pound of the best fluke potatoes; peel and beat them up in a mortar; then (with a spoon) stir the same up with milk till they become a soft paste; scatter into the latter half a pint of picked shrimps, dredge a small quantity of flour into the paste, divide it into portions, and fry them separately in a pan with good butter. If eggs are used they will improve them.

Cray-Fish, Mussels, Etc

Cray-fish resemble lobsters, but are not equal to them in flavour.

Mussels maybe eaten plain. Put a quart of them in a pan, after being well washed, with some onions cut in slices, also a little parsley; put them on a sharp fire for ten minutes, when they will all open; then remove the beard and black part, and eat them plain with some of their juice. Mussels are sometimes poisonous. They are not very generally eaten.

Cockles are much liked by some people. They are very good pickled.

Whelks when small are boiled and eaten like periwinkles. When large they can be removed from their shell, and fried as fritters.

Periwinkles are eaten chiefly by the poor.

St. James's cockle or scallop is a very good shell fish. It resembles lobster in flavour, and is scalloped like oysters in its own shell.

Scalloped Scallops

Take the Scallops out of their shells, cut off their beards and divide each into three or four pieces. Fry some bread crumbs with butter, pepper and salt, until they are brown. Put in the scallops and fry them and the bread crumbs for three minutes, shaking the pan all the time. Pack them neatly in their shells, brown the tops, and serve them.

If the greater shells of the scallop are saved they will supply the place of the silver-scallop shell, in which it is usual to send scalloped oysters, veal, or chicken to table.

Dried Fish

Salmon, Cod, Herrings, and Haddock are our dried fish. These fish are dried by being salted and smoked; they are also sometimes rubbed over with pyroligneous acid, which preserves them at smaller cost. Preserved salmon is called kippered; preserved cod is called salt fish. It is prepared chiefly in Newfoundland, and sent home dry, or in barrels with layers of salt. Preserved herrings are called "Red," or "Bloaters." The former are very dry and salt, and keep a long time; the latter have very little salt, or smoking, and will not keep long.

Bloaters are sold at 1/2d. to 1 1/2d. each; haddock is dried and salted, price from 3d. to 6d. each.

Choosing Fish

For choosing fish we give these rules: - Eyes should be bright; gills a fine clear red; body stiff; smell not unpleasant.

Fish may be preserved well in ice, but it rather spoils their flavour.