Back in the 1800s, codfish was plentiful along the east coast in the U.S. and cookbooks often had recipes for fish balls. Fish balls are no longer popular here, but quite common in Scandinavia, China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS COMMON FISH BALLS Pare six medium-sized potatoes and put in boiling water. Boil half an hour. Drain off all the water, turn the potatoes into a tray with one pint of finely-chopped cod fish, and…
I’ve seen a whole fish for sale in grocery stores, but not just the fish’s head. I never heard of a fish sound and didn’t even know they had tongues. The things I learn from reading old cookbooks! The Sound is the swim bladder of many of the bony fishes. Fish that have a skeleton made of cartilage instead of bone don’t have bladders. Fish Tongues are almost always attached to the bottom of the mouth, so they don’t protrude….
Anchovies is a name given to approximately 140 species of small “forage fish.” This means they are foraged and eaten by larger fish, sea birds, and marine mammals. Today, anchovies are mostly canned whole, bones and all. When cooked, they will almost completely dissolve, leaving only the flavor. I never realized the many ways you can use anchovies until I began reading through 1800s cookbooks. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS BUYING ANCHOVIES These delicate fish are preserved in…
Many cookbooks from the 1800s included recipes for cooking turtle; snapping turtle, box turtle, sea turtle, and diamondback terrapin. Today, many species of turtles are endangered and it’s illegal to capture or kill them. In the U.S., you can hunt diamondback terrapins and snapping turtles, but only in season and you must have a hunting license. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS: TURTLE SOUP Kill the turtle at daylight in summer, the night before in winter, and hang it up to bleed….
INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS FISH. REMARKSIn choosing fresh fish, select only those that are thick and firm, with bright scales and stiff fins. The gills should be a very lively red and the eyes full and prominent. In the summer, as soon as they are brought home, clean them and put them in ice till you are ready to cook them. Even then, do not attempt to keep a fresh fish till next day. Mackerel cannot be cooked too…
Although eels look like water snakes to me, they are actually elongated fish. There are many species and they can be from 2 inches in length to 13 feet. Most eels live in the shallow waters of the ocean and are nocturnal. But the American eel lives mostly in freshwater and returns to the ocean to spawn. Recipes using eels were common in 1800s cookbooks, but so far I haven’t seen any in cookbooks printed in the 1900s and later….
Oysters were plentiful along the U.S. east coast during the 1800s, and were cheap enough for the working class to buy. Over time, though, the demand for oysters depleted many of the beds. Their scarcity caused prices to rise and oysters became an expensive delicacy. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS Oysters must be fresh and fat to be good and are in season from September to May. They are sometimes eaten during the summer months, but are not so palatable and…
Lobsters used to be cheap and plentiful during the Colonial era in the U.S. They were often fed to prisoners, apprentices, slaves and children. Around the 1800s, though, lobster began to be acceptable for discriminating diners, which caused the price to rise. Information from History.com Today, lobster is still expensive and the cost continues to rise. INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ABOUT LOBSTERS Large lobsters are not as good as small ones. From about one to two and one-half…