The great drawback to the enjoyment of all kinds of
Shell-fish is that it is impossible to kill them without cruelty.
Lobsters, indeed, can be killed by running a long narrow-
bladed knife diagonally into the tail at the third joint from the
end, thus severing the spinal cord; and fishmongers have
some method of killing Crabs. But as a rule all kinds of
Shell-fish are either boiled alive or roasted alive. An ex-
perienced and humane cook told me that she always put a good
dash of vinegar into the boiling water with the Lobsters, for it
“took their breath,” and, as she believed, killed them at once.
All Shell-fish are best boiled in fresh sea-water, but if this
cannot be had Lobsters and Crabs must be put into a quart of
fast-boiling water with a teaspoonful of salt, and cooked for
twenty or twenty- five minutes. (If cooked longer the flesh will
be stringy.) To put “a fine lively lobster” into wai’m water
and boil it up gently, as some cookery books advise, is revolt-
ing barbarity, although the authors may salve their consciences
io6
SHELL-FISH
by tlie fancy that molluscs cannot feel pain. For Shrimps and
Prawns the water must be fiercely boiling, and as the putting
in of the Shrimps lowers the temperature the water must be
stirred with a red-hot poker. In this way Shrimps will be
cooked in six minutes, Prawns in eight minutes.
Oysters, Scallops, Mussels, and the American Clams all
belong to the same family of Shell-fish, and are attached to
the rocks on which they live. Clams only come to England in
a bottled or tinned state, either by themselves or cooked with
fat pork as “ Clam Chowder,” but when eaten fresh they are
considered a great delicacy. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed
on the New England coast in 1620 they learnt from the Red
Indians the art of roasting Clams on the shore in ovens made
of hot stones, and this method is universal at American “ Clam
bakes,” or picnics, now.
Oysters attach themselves to the rock by a muscular pro-
jection called a foot. The “ beard ” of an Oyster is its row of
gills, and, by stewing, a good deal of valuable liquid may be
extracted from “ beards.”
In following American recipes for the cooking of Oysters it
must be recollected that their Oysters are very much larger
than our Natives. American cooks do not use breadcrumbs for
their gratins, but substitute powdered “crackers ” or biscuits —
a method which might often be adopted with advantage here,
using the plainest Captain’s biscuits.
Oysters. — All over the world Oysters rank highest among
Shell-fish. In this country Natives are in season from the
first of September to the first of May. Natives, which are
small Oysters with delicate shells, have been cultivated at
Whitstable and Colchester from very early times, and the
natural Oyster-beds still remain. On other parts of the coast
there are establishments for Oyster culture. An Oyster grows
at the rate of one inch in diameter every year till the shell is
three inches broad. After that period its growth is much
slower, and an adult Oyster is believed to be from seven to ten
years old. Oysters for sauce are generally foreign, and can be
obtained all the year round.
There are countless ways of cooking and serving Oysters,
but the simplest methods are generally the best. Perhaps
OYSTERS
107
Page 67
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The great drawback to the enjoyment of all kinds of Shell-fish is that it is impossible to kill them without cruelty. Lobsters, indeed, can be killed by running a long narrow-bladed knife diagonally into the tail at the third joint from the end, thus severing the spinal cord; and fishmongers have some method of killing Crabs. But as a rule all kinds of Shell-fish are either boiled alive or roasted alive. An experienced and humane cook told me that she always put a good dash of vinegar into the boiling water with the Lobsters, for it “took their breath,” and, as she believed, killed them at once. All Shell-fish are best boiled in fresh sea-water, but if this cannot be had Lobsters and Crabs must be put into a quart of fast-boiling water with a teaspoonful of salt, and cooked for twenty or twenty- five minutes. (If cooked longer the flesh will be stringy.) To put “a fine lively lobster” into wai’m water and boil it up gently, as some cookery books advise, is revolting barbarity, although the authors may salve their consciences
io6
by the fancy that molluscs cannot feel pain. For Shrimps and Prawns the water must be fiercely boiling, and as the putting in of the Shrimps lowers the temperature the water must be stirred with a red-hot poker. In this way Shrimps will be cooked in six minutes, Prawns in eight minutes.
Oysters, Scallops, Mussels, and the American Clams all belong to the same family of Shell-fish, and are attached to the rocks on which they live. Clams only come to England in a bottled or tinned state, either by themselves or cooked with fat pork as “ Clam Chowder,” but when eaten fresh they are considered a great delicacy. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the New England coast in 1620 they learnt from the Red Indians the art of roasting Clams on the shore in ovens made of hot stones, and this method is universal at American “ Clam bakes,” or picnics, now.
Oysters attach themselves to the rock by a muscular projection called a foot. The “ beard ” of an Oyster is its row of gills, and, by stewing, a good deal of valuable liquid may be extracted from “ beards.”
In following American recipes for the cooking of Oysters it must be recollected that their Oysters are very much larger than our Natives. American cooks do not use breadcrumbs for their gratins, but substitute powdered “crackers ” or biscuits — a method which might often be adopted with advantage here, using the plainest Captain’s biscuits.
Oysters. — All over the world Oysters rank highest among Shell-fish. In this country Natives are in season from the first of September to the first of May. Natives, which are small Oysters with delicate shells, have been cultivated at Whitstable and Colchester from very early times, and the natural Oyster-beds still remain. On other parts of the coast there are establishments for Oyster culture. An Oyster grows at the rate of one inch in diameter every year till the shell is three inches broad. After that period its growth is much slower, and an adult Oyster is believed to be from seven to ten years old. Oysters for sauce are generally foreign, and can be obtained all the year round.
There are countless ways of cooking and serving Oysters, but the simplest methods are generally the best. Perhaps
OYSTERS