The Gastronomic Regenerator: A Simplified and Entirely New System of Cookery: With Nearly Two Thousand Practical Receipts Suited to the Income of All Classes

gills, and part of the inside will come with them. _Gurnets._ Scrape off all the scales, cut the fins off close, pull out the gills, open the bellies, and take out the inside; wash it well, and scrape the parts where the blood rests, or when cooked it will look like a bruise. _Herrings._ Scrape them, pull out the gills, and the inside with them, leaving the roe unbroken; wipe them well. _Smelts._ This fish is so very delicate, that it requires every attention in cleaning them: pull out the gills, and the inside will come with them; wipe very lightly. METHOD OF CLEANING FRESH-WATER FISH. _Carp._ Have a sharp-pointed kitchen knife, put the point carefully under the scales (between the scales and the skin); at the tail of the fish pass the knife gently up the back to the head, dividing the scales from the skin carefully; you may then take off the whole of the scales in one piece from each side, and your fish will look very white; (most cooks are acquainted with this mode, but should it be too difficult for some, they can scrape it in the common way; it will not look so white, but will eat equally good;) then make a small incision in the belly, close to the bladder; pull out the gills with a cloth, and the inside with them; but if any remains, take it out of the incision, but be careful not to disturb the roe or break the gall; lay it in spring water half an hour to disgorge; dry it with a cloth. _Pike._ Take off the scales as you would a carp; make two incisions in the belly, a small one close to the bladder, and a larger one above; pull one of the gills at the time with a strong cloth, and if the inside does not come with them, take them out of the incisions, and wash it well; the cutting of the fins is a matter of taste, but it is usually done. _Trout_ Are sometimes served with the scales on, but they