Home › The Principles of Cookery › Fish, Essence Of
Fish, Essence Of
This is made by boiling fresh fish in stock with herbs and vegetables till its flavour is extracted. Fish gravy for making fish sauces and moistening fish patties may be made by stewing in as much water as will cover them the bones, fins, and trimmings of fish which has been filleted before being cooked. The stock may be flavoured with vegetables and herbs, and should be freed from fat before being used.
An outline rather than a formula: Cassell's gives the principle and leaves the proportions to the cook. Two preparations are described here — a concentrated essence made by simmering whole fresh fish in stock, and an everyday fish gravy drawn from bones and trimmings.
- Do not boil it longThe single thing modern practice has overturned. Fish bones give up their flavour and gelatine in 20 to 30 minutes; past that the stock turns bitter and glue-like from the breakdown of the bones and any residual blood. The entry sets no time, only "till its flavour is extracted" -- judge it by the clock rather than by the phrase.
- Which bonesUse flatfish, sole, turbot, whiting, cod or other lean white fish. Oily fish — salmon, mackerel, herring, sardine — make a rank, greasy stock that no amount of skimming corrects. Remove the gills, which are bitter, and rinse the frames until the water runs clear.
- Proportions, since none are givenA workable ratio is 2 lb of bones and trimmings to about 2 quarts of water, with an onion, a leek white, a stick of celery, a few parsley stalks, a bay leaf and six peppercorns. That yields roughly 6 cups of finished stock.
- "Essence" means reduced"Essence" means concentrated -- The first preparation is fish cooked in stock rather than water, which gives a deeper base. The entry does not say to reduce it, but to finish it as an essence, strain and then reduce over brisk heat, off the bones. Reduce after straining, never with the bones still in the pot.
- Freed from fatSkim during cooking and again after. Chilling the strained stock overnight lifts any remaining fat as a solid cap, which is easier than skimming warm liquid and gives a cleaner sauce.
- SaltThe original says nothing about seasoning. Leave it unsalted if you intend to reduce it, or the essence will be inedible by the time it has concentrated; season the finished sauce instead.
- KeepingFish stock is the most perishable of the stocks. Cool it quickly, refrigerate and use within two days, or freeze it — reduced essence freezes well in ice-cube trays and thaws straight into a sauce.
Cassell's gives this as a principle rather than a worked recipe, and fish stock earned that place: sauces, patties, moistening for a raised pie, the liquid for a fish soup all drew on the same pot, and the pot was made from what the fillets had left behind. The entry does draw a distinction between an essence, built on stock, and a plain gravy from bones and trimmings. The instruction to fillet the fish before cooking and stew the frames separately reflects a household where a whole fish was bought and broken down at home.