The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-02-08
FISH IN THEIR SEASON.
The Wonderful Variety Of Edible Fish

year, and tina lay mind has very little idea
Of tie problems and mysteries OF the
Z fish market All fish look alike on ashotel
menu, and it is only an epdcure who knows
whether fiiet OF sole IS fluke or founder,
and whether a blueiisF1 has been frozen
since October or swan UP the river TO
marke, Yesterday. Still the lover of fish
not in their natural, but in their, cooked
state would come nearer attaining earthly
bliss II he would only TAX. the trouble 10
find out something about the seasons
at which the codlings peep up from the
deep and wag their tales about. w nat
is the use in ordering bluefish in January
when 1t is sure to be frozen, and "ulen
slad-delectable fresh shad ara coming
up every day from the ST. Johns river,
Fla. And who wants frozen s7nelts from
Canada when green smelts from Maine
and Massachusetts are in the market!
One can find almost any variety OF flsh
in market just now, thanks TO mouern
! improvements dn refrigeration; put A.
is a noteworthy fact that the average
1isl,monGer is a truthful character. II PIN
ned down to fact he will not lie, about the
quality of his goods. Fish taken at second
hand do not seem to have the same de4eN
terious influence that they haNe' upon
the veracity of the angler.
faro those fresh smelts?" asked a stern
looking young woman DIN Washington
Market while a Sun reporter STOOD eye
ing the piles of f1abby slipperiness.
well, num-" said the genial market
man, IF you wuz to mean is them smelts
spoiled. I'd say no num- but II YOU wuz
to mean, would them smells spoil II theS
had a good chance, Id say l hate 10
trust them, mum.
,shad is probably the best fish in the
market to-day: and bought OF a reliaoie
dealer will keep in good condition aor
several days: but shad is fish much
abused by incompetent cooks. It would
embitter the life Of any self-respecting
shad to foresee his probable finish at the
hands of q culinary bungler. In prl-
waite house shad has the propens ty which
1T shares with trire, of tasting IKE
rubber doormat. There should be compul-
sorry education for all cooks In the arr
of bonng shad and basting 1t thoroughly
with fine olive oil. A few pompano come
UP from Florida with the shad: put
they will be better next month, when they
and the Spanish mackercl will troop
along Eaily. hand in hand. or to be more
accurate-fn in fin. The two are the
creme de la creme of fishy society and
enjoy the distinction Of being, all the
year round, about the most expensive
fish on the general market. Rainbow
trout outclass them by long odds. selling
for s15O a pound. where Spanish mack
bow trout are phenomena1ly scarce, and
are hardly to be judged by the ordinary
standards Sole is as good now as at any
season, for the reason that at any
scson it exists here only on the hotel
menu.
1t is sad to think how many fiukeS ana
founders go to the frying pan, in order
that the great American public may eat
filet of sole Fiu41es make the best sole.
. 1,a r,pr
founders are cheaper and the difference
in flavor between the two is perceptibc
only to an epicure There are other nSh
besides the sole which an EngliShman
misses here The same fshmonger who
refuses to pcriure his soul in order to
sell smelts. opened his heart to an Eng
lshwoman who stopped at his stan.
.Too YOU ever have whitinE-the klnd
of fish one cooks with their tails in their
mouths?"
The first man was English himself.
Tho familiar accent warmed the cookies
OF his heart. and he leaned forward con-
fidentially He picked a long Hopping
fish from the pile and held it up scorn-
fully Would you look at that, mum
Isn't it enough to make decent whit
ing swallow its tail entirely to know that
that's what We call whiting over here?
And as for the whitehall, mum, it's min
nows. nothing more or less"
Columbia river fresh salmon and Res-
tigouche frozen salmon are i'll the mar
lset all through the winter, bu. the deilc-
;ous Kennebec and Pellobscot salmon do
not put in an appearances until April.
although they are said to be on sale much
earlier. June is the great month 1or
salmon Canada and Maine varieties be-
ing then in prime condition and SO Dlen-
t;ful that the price falls from 50 TO 10
cents a pound. Southern red snapper,
halibut, Nova Scotia herring, pickered
pike frozen. white-fish and live Goldfish
are all good this month. In February
comes the finest smelts of the season.
They are caught about Long Island. and
far suprass the New England smets in
size and flavor With March comes the
sof;-shcu crabs and Holsters begin to be
worth buying. and terrapn makes Its
farewell bows to discriminating eaters OF
fish The next fayorite to retire for the
summer are smeltS and red snapper,
which quit the footlghts in April, but
are scarcely missed, because bluefish
and brook trout are making their debut.
and the ever-fckle public is glad to be
off with the, old love and on with the
new Then too, oysters are Frightening
up as they take their flight. and must
be made much of. Oysters are at their
best in April With the first of May, how
ever, the season practically ends.
In MAY fresh nackerel are the cheap
est and most popular fish: cod and had
dock should be Stunned. bluefish are be-
colnrning better. But the fish of fishes
for May is tho Connecticut river shad
1t surpasses all other shad. as cloth of
gold SURPRISES homespun. 1t IS adored
of eqicures. and, although fairly plenti-
full, always brings fancy prices. In May,
too. one gets wild brook trout from Long
Island, considered the finest brook trout
that find their way to New York mar
ketS.
Cultivated brook trout are the kind most
commonly sold, but their education has
ruined them. Doubtless the food given the
cultivated brook trout is what spoils Its
flavor: but, whatever the reason. it Is
as different from the wild trout as the
Washington Post-March on a street
organ from a Chopin nocturne played by
Pederewski.
One fish which is growing in popularity
hut is still sealed book to the ordinary
New York buyer. Is carp 1t was intro
duced into this country only a compare
lively short time ago. but has multiplied
and waXed great in wonderful fashion.
and an American carp meeting one of his
German forbears could wipe up the pond
with the foreign member of the family.
The finest variety is found in the Poto-
mac river, and brings high prices in
Washir gton markets.