Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/342

296 Fish in Season.—Fish should be not only fresh, but of good quality and in season. Dr. Pavy says: "The quality of fish as an article of food is influenced by the act of spawning, and presents considerable variations at different periods. It is just previous to spawning that the animal is in its highest state of perfection. Its condition altogether is then at its best point. The animal is fatter than at any other period, and of a richer flavour for eating. During the process of spawning its store of fatty matter is drawn upon, and it becomes poor, thin, watery and flabby. It is now said to be 'out of season,' and requires time to arrive in condition again. In fish like the cod, where the fatty matter accumulates, specially in the liver, this organ presents a most striking difference in volume and condition before and after spawning; whilst in such fish as the salmon, herring, etc., where the fat is dispersed amongst the flesh, it is the body which affords the chief evidence of change. As salmon enters the rivers from the sea for the purpose of depositing its spawn, it is plump and well provided with fat. On its return, the contrast in its condition is very great. It is now so exhausted and thin as to be looked upon as unfit for food." When fish is out of season the flesh is bluish in colour, and lacks firmness in texture. It does not become flaky and opaque in boiling, and there is none of the coagulated albumen, or curdy matter, between the flakes. The boiling has something to do with this appearance as well as the season.

Fish out of season can often be bought at a low price, but it is never cheap. Some few fish are sold all the year round; but for many there is a close time, during which they may not be killed or sold under penalty. Any one who sells fresh salmon between September 3 and February 1 is bound to prove that it was caught out of the United Kingdom; and, failing that, is liable to a fine of £2. A good deal of Norwegian salmon is brought to London. Even salted and dried salmon must have been cured out of the country or before the close season began. Trout is out of season for four months from October. In Scotland there is no close time for trout, which is protected in England and Wales between October 2 and February 1. Other fresh-water fish are protected from March 15 to June 15, by a law passed in 1878, but they form so small a part of the national food supply that few persons notice their absence from the stalls of the fishmonger. Eels are by far the commonest of fresh-water fish. Large quantities are caught in the Lincolnshire water-courses and Norfolk Broads, and 800 tons are said to be imported annually into the United Kingdom from Holland, but much of these last are used for bait.

The quality of fish depends very much on the nature of their food. As a rule, fish caught in the open sea are preferable to those living off headlands or in an inland sea, with slow current and shallow water. Cod is not only better in the coldest weather, but it is never so good as when it is caught in the extreme northern latitudes. A cheap fish,