FISH SOME FOLK REFUSE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16938, 12 January 1923, Page 10

FISH SOME FOLK REFUSE.

When I offered a brace of trout Iron my creel to an acquaintance, he said, I will ask my wile.” After a conference with his helpmate, he remark©.l, Thank you very much, but we don’t eat freshwater fish.” As a rule, the angler has no difficulty in persuading his friends to accept trout. There are. however, occasions when trout are refused for the simple reason that they swim in fresh water instead of in the sea. What is wrong with fresh water y With the exception of the salmon, sea trout, and brown trout, among the fis.i taken from our rivers, there is only limited demand for fresh water fisli. Eels are marketable fish in several localities, but there are many person® who have never tasted eels. In Scot land the eel is generally dieesteemed. Carp and tench, formerly appraisal as delicacies by the lord of the manor and the abbot, are rarely seen upot? the table in this country. Filleted perch is a. favourite dish iu several Continental countries, but have never seen perch in an English menu. Tho only valid explanation why trout should be refused is that the- rejector has never tasted a well-cookod trout. As a matter of fact, a properly dressed trout is a- rarity. The prejudice against several kinds of fish is due to bad «ook mg. Now. a trout is an exceedingly handsome fish, shot, with gold and silver and speckled with crimson. The golden sheen of a trout can bo preserved 1 y skilful cooking. Generally speaking, a fried trout is almost black, and tho gold and the spots have disappeared. A well-cooked trout, as Tzaak Walton said, “ may justly contend with all sea fish for precedency and daintiness of taste.” The best trout for the tablo are the nimble, lusty fish bred in swift flowing burns, and not more than throe quarters of a pound in weight. The big cannibal trout of slow rivers arc coarsw and inferior in every sense from the gastronomic point of view. Small trout should be fried and big trout boiled. The fi.sh should be cleaned dry and not soused in water. Oil o-. butter are the best media for frying, and the cooked trout should be gold-m and not dark. After frying, all fish should he pressed gently in a hot cloth. A little chopped pnrslov should be fried wit-n the fish. Artistic frying is really a process of stewing in fat. The fire should be clear and not too fierce. The best trout I have eaten have been cooked on glowing wood embers or charcoal.