Fish
I CAN think of no better lesson on how to choose fish than this: if it is possible in your neighborhood, or while vacationing, go to see a fish boat empty its gleaming cargo on the wharf. Learn to know the earmarks -not only those left by St. Peter on a haddock, but the signs of perfect freshness on all fish. Do not be afraid of touching them; fresh smelts have the fragrance of violets, and every fish has a wholesome smell.
Turn them over, examine them closely. "An eye like a dead fish" refers to a fish which has lain for weeks in cold storage, not to one just from the water. It will have eyes as full and almost as clear as any live creature. Notice the gills; they will be be beautifully red, the fins will be stiff, the scales shining, and the flesh so firm that it springs back after the finger has been pressed into it . One cannot expect, especially if your home is some distance from the ocean or the great lakes, to find in the market fish as superlatively fresh as when lifted straight from the net. .
Still, to be fit for human food, they should not have lost much of their beauty. The signs to avoid are limp fins, dull eyes, pale, liver -colored gills, flesh in which you leave a dent by an impression of the finger , streaks of gray or yellow in the skin and flesh, and the slightest symptom of a disagreeable odor. If you have to make the choice between salt cod and a fish of this description, choose salt cod; it is infinitely more healthful; it does not contain a possibility of ptomaine poisoning. When purchasing halibut or swordfish, where the head and fins have been removed, the test is pearly white or shining gray skin , firm flesh, and a good odor. It is an excellent rule never to buy fish which is out of season. If you want bluefish in February or shad in November, you can probably obtain it-a obtain ita fish dealer will produce almost any- 1 Garnishing a Planked Fish with Mashed Potato Squeezed Through Pastry Bag. thing from his refrigerator at any time of the year-but you may rest assured it has seen a repose of months in cold storage. If not really dangerous to eat, it will be flabby, it will go to pieces before it is cooked, , and be lacking in flavor. It is an excellent plan to post oneself thoroughly on the fish which is in season all the year round and purchase according to the month. A dealer will assure one that fish which has been packed in ice ten days is in as excellent condition as when fresh caught. I should say seven or eight days is the limit. After that time it will begin to lose its beautiful mother-of-pearl sheen.
Although the old theory that fish is brain food has been exploded , the MRS. CURTIS'S COOKBOOK brain worker will find what he most requires in a bountiful diet of fish.