Evening journal., 1899-11-17
SHARKS NOW A FOOD
BUT NOT MANY WILL CARE TO EAT
THEM.

TO Waste.
The notion Of making meat extracts
on a commercial scale from the flesh Of
sharks and whales is so extremely
novel that exceptional interest at
taches TO a study which the United
States Fish Commission has been maxi
ing Of this subject. Several factories
have recently been established in Eu-
rope for this purpose and already their
products are coming on the market in
an appetlzing shape. Indeed, IL is as.
serted that in taste they closely resem-
BILE the well-knOwn beef preparations,
have no favor of fish whatever and
they afford an excellent basis for soups.
In Aberdeen the Normal Company is
utilizing in this way large quantities
of whale meat which hitherto has gone
to waste.
In Sweden they are making nutri-
tious extracts from sharks flesh. which
is chopped up into very smai, pieces
and stirred in a vat with distilled wa
ter, the mixture having the consistency
of thin Cruel. From IL the liquor Is
drawn off. and the oil which the latter
contains is removed by passing it
through n centrifugal apparatus, after
which it is boiled and filtered, the clear
nuid thus obtained being evaporated in
vacuum until it reaches the consist
ency of molasses. salt for hayoring
and sugar for preserving are added,
the product being put up finally in
sealed jars.
Similar methods are employed in the
manufacture OF whalemeat extracts,
which are said to be indistinguishable
from those OF Liebig. or course a
whale is as much q mammal as IN OK,
which may be supposed to modify the
problem, but there does not seem to be
any great difference between flesh and
! fish in respect to chemical composition,
and the concentrated essence OF shark
packed in porcelain pots is to all in
tents and purposes meatstun. 1t has
all the aromtic flavor Of meat extract
and can be made much more cheaply.
At a certain point in the process Of ex-
/ traction all fishy flavor disappears.
Shark extract is available for all pur-
poses that beef extract is good for and
It will keep" indefinitely.
It has been ascertained that valuable
extracts can be obtained also from
crabs and shellhsh, in the manufacture
of which special effort is made not to
get rid of the natural flavors, but TO
retain them. Already there are on the
market of this country quite a number
of such preparations from clans and
oysters. highly recommended by nhysi-
clans for their medicinal and rrstora-
tive powers, which render them inYalu-
able for invalids and couyalcsceafs
These extracts are produced by reduc.
ing the molIusks to q fine hash and
! Lea -. "
! LIQUID thus separated being evannrated
to a semisolid. rich in nutriment. cas-
ily digested. and a valuable tonic fol
a weak stomach.
The Juice Of oysters and clans which
I'm the "shucking houses" is usually
!, drained Off and thrown away. is PIT NJ
: in similar fashion. after being concen
/, trated by evaporation. Sometimes 1
is reduced to a solid form and nresses
into cakes. 2 two ounce tablet contain
ing the nutritive ingredients Of fOu
quarts OF fresh oyster Juice. Such :
, tablet. with the addition OF four quarti
! OF boiling water. is guaranteed to yiel,
q gallon Of real oyster soup. to 7vhich
y lif desired. few OF the natural mol
y lusks fresh from the shell may be add
ed for yerissmilitude.
Extracts in large quantities arc mad
"A from solft clans at several points oi
+ .he Massachusetts coast. the surDlu
3 iiquor from shucking houses furnishin
T. The raw material. One use to wnicl
these preparations are put is in tn
making Of instantaneous" hot elan
roths by dispensers Of intemnerat
e drinks
8 other brands Of clam extracts aTe Of
"a talned from Ground" or hard clam'
l. which are prepared as n by-proGaat II
l. Cidentally to the canning of these mo
d ilslzs The latter are opened with
IS Inife and the "meats" are mixed wit
h 'he disks of white potatoes, onions an
le other vegetables. to make chowdor. III
rs product being put up in cans. HfeaI
D. while the waste liquor. condensed b
ye evaporation. is poured into glass far
which are Theoretically sealed, and
this shape it comes TO market 4 tabl'
spoonful is sufficient, with hos w9tg
J., sdded, TO make a cup Of broth.
The greatest value Of these new iIes
i les in the fact that they make use {
~ .ood materials hitherto regarded z
~ waste Until very recently the eggs I
= fish were mostly thrown away. bl
- now they are utilized in q variety
10 valuable ways Sturgeon eggs arc sal
fN IN nllDes 10 ne cOlu lilltI tut VAN
ar caviare. and it will probably asto
ish most persons 70 learn that Soe0i
pounds Of this product, worth S'SG.c0
Mt are put m annually in the Unit,
s. States. Mullet roes are sa,ted
"a picked all along the Atlantic sho
'ic from North Carolina to Florida. NJ
IS, he Indians of the northwest coast d
n isrge quantities of eggs of varlo,
to fishes. the product being held over IN
winter, when it is pounded betUel
stones and beaten with water &c
nm cream. or else boiled with dried bcrrl
sip and nodded IN wooden frames In
ID cakes foot square and an inch ihiC
~. Caviare is made from sturgeon cgs
salted in brine. 1t Is the most cost
product Of the fisheries OF this countl
and while largely relished by epicuri
. taste for Ii must naturally be ;
- quIred. Until recently its manufaetU
- was monopolized by the Russians, mt
~ Of il being prepared on the Vol
~ River and Caspian Sea. and at
", present time about S.000,000 pounds
&C. ii are exported annually from the {
minions Of the Car. Tho abundar
Of sturgeon IN the United States
Ity. 70 the preparation Of the caviare
per the Hudson River as early as is
sh Nruch secrecy attached in those da