A Course of Lectures on the Principles of Domestic Economy and Cookery

difference in the appearance of a dish. _Question._ Can you tell us how we can tell whether a frozen fish is stale or fresh? MISS CORSON. You can after you have thawed it in cold water; you can tell by the smell. (Laughter.) The way to thaw frozen fish is to put it into perfectly cold water and keep it in a cold place until all the frost is drawn out. Of course the most of the fish in this market would be frozen in the winter. This one has been frozen. _Question._ Can you tell us how to carve a whole fish? MISS CORSON. You would have a rather sharp knife and spoon; a fish knife, though it looks pretty, is not good to serve fish with because it is apt to be dull; you want a knife that will cut down through the fish without tearing it, without attempting to cut down through the bone, unless you know where the joints are located. _Question._ Would you cook a fish with the fins? MISS CORSON. The latest fancy of fish lovers in New York, the members of the Ichthyophagous Club, who are supposed to be the leaders in the fashions of fish, is to have the fish served with the fins, head and tail on; and with some fish they want even the scales; and then they simply lift off the skin, the entire skin, before they begin to serve it. They have the fish thoroughly washed and drawn, and then cooked with the scales and fins on. You can judge how easy it would be to do that, because you saw how easily that skin came off this fish. The skin comes off-easily if the fish is properly cooked--cooked enough. _Question._ What kind of fish can be cooked with the scales on? MISS CORSON. I think the black bass, and some kinds of sea fish. The idea is that if the fish are not scaled they will keep their flavor; a fish properly dressed retains enough of its flavor even if it is scalded before it is cooked.