Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-11-06
THE T00THSOME POlIPANO.
q FINNY MoRSEL THAT TICKLES
THE CALIFoRNIAE'S PALATE.
1t Camc Originally From Japan, But
is Caught Now On the Pacific
Coast-Three Ways of Cooking 1t.

SOaSC-Inrec W avs Oi 1oohiuS it'
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in California are like the
snakes in Ireland. There are no pom.
pano. The real pompano, the genu.
inc, simon-pure article, only swims in
the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The delicious little finny morsel that
Is sold in San Francisco fish markets
under that name is really the stroma-
teus simillimus, or "butter fish," but
he Is a thousand times more appetizing
than the real article, and whether you
call him pompano, butter fish, stroma.
teus simillimus or similia similibus
curantur, he's the finest little fish that
ever sizzled over fire of hot Goals OF
followed the soup on menu card.
Originally the pompano, as we call
him to save trouble, came from the
japanese coast. A little school of them
strayed too far from shore and got
caught in the great Japan current, the
gulf stream of the Pacific, and event.
ually brought up in Monterey Bay.
How long ago this took place no one
knows, but it was not until 1870, or
thereabouts, that the fishermen began
to find stray pompano iu their nets.
Only very few at first, but California
seems to have suited the Japanese
strangers, and the number has been
steadily increasing from year to year,
and now they are only forty cents a
pound.
When the Monterey fishermen began
to catch them first each man caught so
few it hardly paid to sell them. So a
sort of cooperative scheme WAS adopt
ed. All the pompano caught on Mon
day, no matter by whom, became the
property of Giuseppe, to have, to hold
and dispose of at the highest market
rates. Tuesdays catch went to Felip.
The pompano corner" on Wednesday
became the property of Luigi. Thurs
day Antoine had his innings, and so on,
each fisherman in time being entitled
to the entire catch of all the fish. This
system served double purpose. Each
fisherman, when his day came, had
enough pompano to insure good pro-
fit on the sale and it kept prices at one
figure, as it did away with competition.
All that is past now. Every one
catches enough fish to market for him
self, and pompano can be had for 37s
cents pound.
Although the pompano supply still
comes from Monterey and Santa Cruz,
the toothsome little fish is caught at
other points, but these are either too
remote or the supply not sufficient to
make 1t pay to market them. From
Santa Barbara and Santa Monica the
good news comes that down there, too,
the price of pompano is steadily fall
ing and the supply is increasing. At
Santa Monica the new wharf that the
railroad has thrust half mile ol
more out to sea seems to have pene
trated into the stamping ground OF
the pompano. They swarm arounc
the end of the wharf, and the Santa
Monica summer girl abandoned every
thing, even flirting, for the fascinating
sport of pompano fishing. They bite
readily and there is not only the fun
of catching them, but the subsequent
and greater JOY of eating them after.
ward.
Pompano should be cooked in three
ways-broiled, in the pan or en- papil,
lote. Done the first way they are de.
licious. After the second fashion they
are better still. But en- papillote-
well, words fail to convey any adequate
idea of the epicurean JOY OF eating
pompano en- papillote. The latter
method of preparing the fish is sim.
plicity itself. The pompano should
be placed in the pan and cooked as
usual until they lack but few briet
moments of being done. Then remove
them from the pan and wrap then
quickly in white paper thoroughly
buttered, each fish in separate sheet,
place on the fire for n moment more,
and then-well, if any one doesn't
know what to do then, Goldfish balls
would be too rich for him. San Fran.
cisco Examiner.