Codfish a La Mode

A plain salt-cod and potato pudding of the sort that appeared on Friday tables and breakfast plates alike. The recipe assumes you know how to handle salt fish, which is the only part that can go wrong.

• Freshening the cod"Freshen" means soaking the salt out. Cover the picked fish with cold water and refrigerate 6-12 hours, changing the water three or four times; taste a shred before proceeding. Under-soaked cod will make the whole dish inedible, and there is no salt anywhere else in the ingredient list because the fish is expected to supply it.
• Oven heatNo temperature is given. A moderate oven, around 350-375F, is the usual modern equivalent for this kind of baked pudding. Note that two cups of milk with two eggs may need longer than the twenty to twenty-five minutes specified unless the mixture is spread shallow; test that the centre is set.
• The earthen dishAn earthenware baking dish, glazed inside. The mixture comes to roughly five and a half cups, so allow a 2-quart dish; any ceramic or glass baking dish of that capacity works, and metal is fine too, though it browns the edges faster.
• EggsThe list calls for two eggs and the method mentions "well-beaten egg" in the singular. Beat both, whites and yolks together, and fold them in last after the potato and milk are smooth.
• ConsistencyTwo cups of milk into two cups of mashed potato gives a loose, spoonable batter rather than a stiff mixture. That is correct; it bakes to a soft pudding, not a fish cake. If your potatoes were made with milk and butter already, hold back some of the liquid.
• Picking the fish'Pick very fine' means shredding the fish by hand into fine threads, discarding any skin, bone or dark membrane. The original picks the fish before freshening it, which lets the water reach the shreds more evenly.
• YieldThe quantities make roughly five and a half cups, enough for about four as a main dish with a green vegetable, or six as a side. No yield is given in the original.