Evening journal., 1899-11-28
SHARKS NOW A FOOT
BUT NOT MANY WILL CARE TO EA1
THEM


The notion Of making "meat extracts
on n commercial scale from the flesh OF
sharks and whales is so extremely
novel that exceptional interest at
inches TO a study which the United
States Fish Commission has been max
ing of this subject. Several factories
have recently been established In Eu.
rope for this purpose and already theif
products are coming on the market in
an appetizing shape. Indeed, Il Is as
serted that in taste they closely resem'
bic the well-known beef preparations,
have no flavor 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 smal, pieces
and stirred in a vat with distilled wa
ter the mixture having the consistency
of thin Cruel From it the liquor is
drawn Off, and the oil which the latter
contains IS removed by passing il
through a centrifugal apparatus. after
which It is boiled and filtered. TIE clear
fluid thus obtained being evaporated in
n vacuum until it reaches the consist.
ency of molasses salt for fiavoring
and sugar for preserving are added,
the product being put mp finally in
sealed jars.
Similar methods are employed In the
manufacture OF whalemeat extracts,
which are said to be indlstinguishable
from those OF Liebig. OF course a
whale is as much n 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 conn Osition.
and the concentrated essence on shark
packed in porcelain pots is TO al in
tents and purposes meatstuH. II has
all the arOmtic flavor of meat extract
and can be made much more cheaply.
At certain point i'm the process Of ex-
traction all fishy flavor disappears.
| Shark extract is available for al pur-
poses that beef extract is good for and
1t viii keep indefinitely.
1t has been ascertained that valuable
| extracts can he obtained also from
crabs and shellfish. in the manufacture
of which special effort is made not to
get rid Of the natural favors. 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 bv nhysi-
clans for their medicinal and rstOra-
tive powers. which render them invalu'
able for invalids and convalescents
! These extracts are produced by reduc-
! ing the molluslxs to a fine hash and
subiecting the latter TO pressure. the
liquid thus separated being evanorated
1 -. L.. 81 4a
fly digested, and n valuable tonic fol
q weak stomach.
The Juice Of oysters and clans which
t, I'm the "shuclSing houses" is usually
drained Off and thrown away. Is put NJ
in similar fashion, after being concen
trated by evaporation. Sometimes i
is reduced 70 n solid form and pressed
into cakes. two ounce tablet contain
ing the nutritivc ingredients Of fOu
quarts of fresh oyster juice. Such ;
tablet. with the addition of four quartz
of boiling water, IS guaranteed 10 yiel,
q gallon of real oyster soup. to which
: If desired. few Of the natural mol
b lusks fresh from the she'll may 70 add
cd for verissmilitude.
Extracts in large quantities are made
from sOlft CLANS at several points ol
rhe Massachusetts coast. the surplu
e liquor from shucking houses furnishing
lhe raw material One use to vnicl
D these preparations are put is IN tn
s making of instantaneous" hot elan
lroths by dispensers Of intempcrat
. drinks
I Other brands OF clam extracts are OF
k tanned from "rOund" or hard ciams
= which are prepared as a by-prod1at in
S cidentally to the canning Of these mol
Il ilsks. The latter are opened with
t lnife and the "meats" are mixed wit
q 'he disks Of white potatoes. onions an
e other vegetables. TO make chowdcr n
!. product being put up in cans. Mear
d While the waste liquor. condensed b
a evaporation. is poured into glass Jar
which are hermeticaliy sealed. and +
n this shape il comes to market. \ table
q spoonful IS sufficient. with no waite
. added, 10 make a cup of broth.
The greatest value OF these new nea
! les I'M the fact that they make usc q
= sood materials hitherto regarded q
waste Until very recently the eggs {
fish were mostly thrown away. bJ
row they are utilized in n variety {
+ valuable ways. Sturgeon eggs arc sal
ID In brine, 70 be sold under the uam
= ~ cavlare. and Ii will probably astoi
ish most persons to learn that SOcOC
10 pounds Of this product worth $500
n are put ND annually i'm the Unite
=, States AIullct roes are saltad
y picked all along the Atlantic shol
from North Carolina to Florida. an
= he Indians Of the northwest coast IN
~ lsrge quantities Of eggs OF v1riol
y fishes. the product being held over rni
"a winter when IL Is pounded bctw ee
ID stones and beaten with water to
Us cream. or else boiled with dried hcrril
IN and nodded i'm wooden frames in
lg cakes foot square and an inch ihic
as Caviare is made from sturgeon egg
ut salted in brine. II is the most cost
~ product of the fisheries Of this countr
ig and while largely relished by epicure
he "A taste for 1t must naturally be a
quired. Until recently its manufactu
re. was monopolized by the Russians. mo
er Of it being prepared on the Noll
~ River and Caspian Sea. and at Il
lie present time about 100000 pounds
all it are exported annually from the d
ms minions Of the Czar. The abundan
di of sturgeon in the United States L
err 10 the preparation OF the caviarc
On the Hudson River as early as Is.
ON Much secrecy attached ln those ia