LOCAL DISHES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIV, Issue 831, 8 February 1906, Page 26

LOCAL DISHES.

When K ng Henry 1., in 1135, succumbed to the seductions of that historic feast of lampreys, the dish by no means fell in popu ar estimation. On the contrary, although this delicacy was directly responsible for the monarch’s death, the lamprey became a dish of such repute in the neighbourhood of the Severn, where the fish most abound, that the town of Gloucester was ordered to send “ a lamprey pie, w th a raised crust,” as an annual tribute to the sovereign at Christmas time. A few years , at er, the citizens apparently allowed themselves to become preoccup ed with other matters at the festive seasons, and this contribution to the royal larder was overlooked; for history records that in the reign of King John “the men of Gloucester gave 40 marks to the king to have It’s goodwill, because they regarded him not as they ought in the matter of their lampreys.” A pie continued to be sent till the Municipal Reformation Act of 1835, the city account books

showing details of amounts paid for the ifish, and for cooking the same, carriage, etc. Some years ago a former Mayor of Gloucester ascertained through the Lord High Steward that, hav'ng regard to the ancient custom, her late Majesty wou’d be willing to accept a royal lamprey pie from the Mayor as a birthday offering and token of loyalty and affection of the citizens; and the custom has s nee been kept up by succeeding mayors. Lampreys, or elvers as they are likewise caled, are still highly esteemed in the county as an art cle of food. The fish, which closely resemble young eels, appear in shoals in the Severn and Wye about April, when they are often caught by night, with the aid of a lantern. A common mode of preparation s to press them into cheeses wh ch are eventually cut into slices and fried. They are also potted. The harvest gathered from the sea affords a pleasant d versity of fare at many points around our coast. The Yarmouth bloater is world-fam-ous ; the Colchester Oyster Feast is an annual function that may well be the envy of every other Corporation, and as a civ’c banquet yields precedence only to the whitebait dinner at Greenwich. Though the Cornish p Ichard has recently shown itself shy of those waters, it must be included in a 1 st of local specialities. Both n its uncooked state and tinned a la sardines, t is a recognised article of commerce. That our pilchards have to be sent from cornwall to Italy to be tinned, thus incurring double sea-freight, is a slur on our pr ncip 7 es of commercial economy. The Americans will tel 1 you, regarding their natural products, that they ear what they can, and can what they can’t. We manage the former, but not the latter. The marinated pilchard ’s, however, a method of preparation confined to the county, and is most genera ly employed by the Cornish housewife. The fish are placed n a jar with vinegar and spice, and then the jar is subjected to a long baking in the oven. Whre many dishes of local repute need on’y to be known to w n instant approval, others are undoubtedly an acquired taste. As an example, one may mention Laver, a dish for which there is a great demand on the borders of the Br’tish Channel, particularly in North Devon and South Wales. It is made with a species of dark brown seaweed which is scraped from the rocks. On the south side of the Channel t is prepared with vinegar, and eaten as a salad or pickle, while the We’sh mix it with oatmea' and make it nto little brown cakes. To the uninitiated, it is not appetis ng in appearance; but judging by the enormous demand there is for it in the vicin’ties named, it must become more palatable aftei’ a longer acquaintance. Another little known tern of daily fare is the Ormer, which is consumed in large numbers in the Channel This shell-fish is found on the rocks around the islands. It formed one of the luxur’es of the p 7 ace as far back as the 17th century, since the following appears in. a quaint pamph l et dealing wi L h Sark, published 'n London in 1673, and entitled, “ News from the Channel; or the discovery and perfect Description of the Island of Serke, by a gentleman bow inhabitng there, to Its friend and kinsman in London.” Speaking of the food of the island, the writer says: “ For beTy t’mber, our three staple commodities are fish, fowl, and rabbits. Of the first, a little industry will purchase us a hundred sorts, para large fish we call a vrackfish. wh ; ch we split, and nailing it to our walls, dry it in the sun for part of our winter provisions. As also a arge shell-fish, taken plentifully at low tides, called an Ormund, that st’cks to the rocks, whence we beat them off with a forck or iron hook. ’Tis much bigger than an oyster, and like that good either fresh or pickled, but ’’nfinitely more pheasant to the gusto; so that an epicure would think his pallat in paradice, if he m ght but always gormandise on such delit 1 ous ambrosia.”