Take half a peck of fresh sprats, do not wash them, only draw them at the gills, and put them into stone jars with the following mixture. Two pounds of common salt, a pound of saltpetre, two ounces of white pepper, and the same quantity of lump sugar, half an ounce of lemon-peel, and four or five bay-leaves; pound these all well together; put a layer of this at the bottom of the jar, then a layer of sprats, and so alternately till the jar is full; tie them down close with a bladder, and keep them in a cold dry place, and they will be ready for use in six months: if you turn the jar upside down twice a week, they will be ready in half that time.

Observations

Smelts are prepared in the same manner.

Essence Of Mock Anchovies

When the preceeding preparation has been kept a year or more, it may be made into essence by pounding the fish in a marble mortar till they are quite fine, and adding to them the liquor they were pickled in; if there is not sufficient of this, to make it thinner you may dilute it with cold spring water; when well mixed, strain through a hair sieve, and bottle it for use.

Mock Essence Of Anchovies

Boil a quart of stale ale for a quarter of an hour, let it stand till it is cold; take five Dutch pickled herrings with their liquor, (take off the heads and roes,) mince them fine, put them into the beer, with a stick of horseradish scraped fine; let it boil twenty minutes; strain it; hold a clean fryingpan, over the fire that it may be quite dry, put a quarter of a pound of flour in it; keep stirring it with a wooden spoon, till it is the colour of essence of anchovies; put the liquor to it, and stir it together till it boils; let it boil a quarter of an hour; when cold, bottle it; if not of sufficient colour, put a little bole armeniac to it.

Observations

These three preparations are among the best of the imitations of anchovy, and are frequently sold for it, and for common palates may do very well; but to impart to artificial anchovies the delicious flavour of the Gorgona fish, so as to impose upon a gourmand of good taste, we fear will still remain in the catalogue of the sauce-maker's desiderata.

Essence Of Anchovy

The goodness of this preparation depends almost entirely on having fine mellow fish, that have been in pickle long enough (i. e. about twelve months) to dissolve easily, yet are not at all rusty. It has been said that some shops have a trick of putting anchovy liquor on pickled sprats: you will easily discover this by washing one of them, and tasting the flesh of it, which in the finest anchovies is mellow, red, and high flavoured, and the bone moist and oily.

Put into a marble mortar a pound of anchovies, beat them to a pulp, and put them into a saucepan with a quart and half a pint of water, let them simmer very gently by the side of a slow fire for an hour and a half, frequently stirring them together. (This is the properway to perfectly dissolve the fish, and completely incorporate it with the water, so that it may continue suspended, and not separate. To prevent the separation of essence of anchovy, various other expedients have been tried, such as the addition of mucilage, flour, oatmeal, or gum; but where any of these things are added, it does not keep half so well as it does without them.) Skim it well, and add to it an ounce of salt, and a drachm of Cayenne pepper; let it simmer together ten minutes longer, and strain it. If this is properly made, a tablespoonful will be about equal to an anchovy.

Observations

It must he kept in a very close stopped bottle; for if the air gets to it, the fish takes the rust, and it is spoiled directly' Some of the oilshops colour this with bole armeniac, rose pink, Venice-red, etc.; but all these additions deteriorate the flavour of the anchovy, and the palate and stomach suffer for the gratification of the eye, which, in culinary concerns, will never be indulged by the sagacious gourmand, at the expense of these two primum mobiles of his pursuits.

*** If essence of anchovy be made for the use of private families, it should he with good sherry or Madeira wine, {instead of water, as directed above,) not merely to enrich the flavour of the sauce, but it will keep infinitely better.