The Portland daily press., 1899-07-21
SHARK MEAT NOW A FOOD.


Meat Extracts Made from the Flesh of
Sharks and whales.
Correspondence Of the Boston Tran
script.)
Washington, July 14.--The notion of
making "meat extracts on a'commeroial
scale from the flesh Of sharks and whales
is so extremely novel that exceptional In
terest attaches to a study which the
United States Fish Commission has been
making of this subject Several factories
have recently been established In Europe
for this purpose, and already their pro-
ducts are coming en- the market in an
appetising shape. Indeed, 1t Is asserted
that In taste they closely resemble the
well-known beef preparations, have no
flavor Of fish whatever and that they
afford on excellent tasis for soups. In
Aberdeen, tho Normal Company Is utiiiz-
Ing In this way large Quantities Of whale
meat. which hitherto has gone to.waste.
In Sweden they are making nutritious
extracts from sharks flesh, which Is
chopped up into very small pieces and
stirred In a vat with distilled water, the
mixture having the constituency Of thin
grueL From 1t the liquor is drawn of.
andithe oil which the latter contains is
removed by passing 1t through centri-
fugai apparatus, after which 1t Is boiled
and filtered. the clear fluid thus obtained
being evaporated in a vacuum until 1t
reaches the consistency Of molasses. Salt
for fiavoring and sugar for preserving are
added, the producs being put up finally
Ia sealed lara
Similar methods ara employed In the
manufacture OF whale meat extracts.
which are said to be indistinguishnble
from those of Liebig. OF course, q whale
Is ms much mammal as an OK, which
might be supposed to modify the problem
but there does not seem to be any great
difference between flesh and fish In re-
spect to chemical composition and the
concentrated essence Of shark, packed In
porcelain pots, Is to all intents and pur-
ross meat-stuif. 1t has all the aromatic
flavor Of meat extract, and can be made
much more cheaply. At q certain point
In the process of extraction all fshy favor
disappears. Shark extract Is available
for all the purposes that beef extract is
good for, and it will keep indefinitely.
1t has been ascertained that valuable
extracts can be obtained also from GRATIS
and sbelltsh, in the manufacture of which
special efforts are made not to get rid of
the natural fiavors. hut 10 retain them
Already there are on tho market in this
country quite a number OF such prepara-
tons from CLANS and oysters, highly
recommended by physicians for their
medicinal and restorative powers, which
render them Invaluable for inyalids and
eonyalescents. These ext racts are pro-
hash and subjecting the latter to pressure,
the liquid thus separated being evaporat-
ed to a seini-solid, rich in nutrimsnt
easily digested. and valuable stonic for
wenk stomache.
The juice of oysters and clans, which
In the .shucking houses is usually
drained OF and thrown away. is put up
in similar fashion, after being concen-
tratod by evaporation. Sometimes 1t is
reduced to solid form and pressed into
cakes, a two-ounce tablet containing the
nutsitive ingredients of four quarts Of
fresh oyster-juice. Such tablet. with
the addition of four quarts OF boiling
water, is guaranteed to yield gallon of
real oyster soup, to which, II desired, a
few Of the natural moilusks fresh from
the shell may be added for yerisimilitude.
Extracts In large quantities are made
from soft CLAIMS at several points on the
Massaoh usetts coast. The surplus liquor
from shucking houses Iusnishes TIM raw
material. One use to which these prep
arations are put Is In the making of "in-
Simultaneous" hot clam broths by dispen-
water or milk Is added, with Iepper aud
salt the result being q very nutritious
and palatable drink. Although the pro.
duct is Of recent introductions, sales have
already reached several thousand cases
per year, and the demand is steadily In
creasing. 1t is u new food, and the price
OF IL Ia very reasonable. not exceeding
81. 30 per gallon in tins.
Other brands OF clam extra cts are OBJ
tanned from ''round'' OF hard CLAIMS,
which are prepared as by-product incl
dentally to the canning OF these mollusks.
The latter are opened with knife. aud
the meats" are mixed with disks OF
white potatoes, onions and other vegeta-
bles. to make ohowder, the product being
put up in cans. Meanwhile the waste
liquor, condensed by evaporation, is
poured into glass jars. which are sealed
Theoretically, and In this shape 1t comes
to m8rket. A tablespoonful is sufficient
with hot water added, 60 make cup of
broth.
The greatest vaiue of these new ideas
lies In the fact that they make uss of
food materials hitherto regarded as waste.
Until very recently the eggs OF fishes were
mostly thrown away, but now they are
utilized In a variety OF valuable ways
Sturgeon eggs are sailed in brine, to be
sold under the name OF caviare, and Dit
will probably astonish most persons to
learn that 300. 600 pounds Of this product,
worth $3.50, 900, are put up annuallyin the
United States. Mullet roes are y-salted
or picked all along the Atlantic shore
from North Carolina to Florida, and the
Indians of the Northwest coast dry large
quantities OF eggs of various fishes. the
product being held over until winter
when 1t Is pounded between stones and
beaten with winter to a cream, or else
boiled with dried berries anu moulded In
wooden frames into cakes o foot square
and an inch thick.
Cavinre 10 made from sturgeon eggs,
falted in brine. 1t Is the most COSTLY
pro1uot af fha fiehoxfas - &hEa