The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-31
YANKEE SARDINES
A Maine Init ation That Has Almost sup
plant ed the Genuine Article.

at is n fact that can't he denied, sald
wholesale grocer, "that there are COM
paratively few imported sardines, and
consequently few sardines at all, sold in
this country nowadays, and yet not one
consumer in thousand knows the differ
ence, 50 nearly do the fish sold for sardines
approach the genuine. both in appearance
and taste
"Nine-tenths Of our sardines come from
Maine. There are III Eastport, Me-, alone,
, two dozen OF more places where the mock
sardlne is prepared and boxed, and there
are many other at Lubec, Jones?ort ana
other towns of the Maine coast.
THE business began as long ago as 1915.
1t was the conception of couple OF sharp
and far-seeng New Workers. They began
at Eastport, not IA sardine packers-that
was an after-thought in packing small
herring in odd shaped little wooden kegs.
the pickle that preserved them being high
with spices These herring were placed
on the market as Russian herring, and Tor
a long time their cheap and fraudulent
fish was on the bills Of fare of the swell
restaurants Of this city and elsewhere as
the highest-priced relish they served.
"The enterprising New Workers made
money fast in their venture. but they got
the idea that there was more money still
in M odelling the herring after the sardines
put up in France, although some shrewd
Yankees had experimental extensively
and used up no little capital years before
in efforts to work out a similar idea to
practical results but without success.
They had found II easy to cook the
oallow Maine herring. pack it IN olive
oil in imitation sardine boxes with French
labels in imitation of tho labels on the i'm.
ported sardines, and give them every APP
pearance of the genuine imported article;
but when this Yankee sardine went to the
table, its fraudulent character became at
once apparent, The soft rich flavor OF the
imported sardine was not there, but only
the unmistakable taste OF the native her.
ring u.,. o.-;,,o,,,,. Gould mt die.
cover any means by which the herring flavor
could be replaced by that of the sardine,
and the business ended in failure; but the
smart New Workers after few experiments
OF their own, hit upon mixture or blend
of spices and oils for packing sauce that
made a sardine Of herring in twinkling.
and gigantic industry has sprung from
that simple discovery. Not only, are sar-
dimes made from common. herring now,
but from young sea trout, little fish called
the moranee, and several other species or
varieties Of fish, all, perhaps, herring of q
lesser or greater growth.
The herring. OF which the Yankee sar-
dimes are made are never more than four
inches long, and the catching OF them
keeps hundreds of people busy along the
coast of Maine and New Brunswick.
The way they are handled at the fac
tories is a sight worth going all the way
to Maine to wee. The fish are taken from
the fisheries Immediately to the factories.
There they are piled in heaps on long tables.
have heard many New York rustic boast
of the facility with which he can skin
catfish but If he could see some OF the boys
and girls who work in those sardine fac
tories clean these herring he would never
mention his sknning fish again. watched
a seven year-old girl go through this
operation one day, and timed her. She
beheaded and Quilted seventy-five herring
every minute for ten minutes, without
miss or halt and they told me there were
hundreds more who could do the same
thing and keep it up all day.
New York is the great wholesale centre
for these Yankee sardine4. Some idea
Of the magnitude Of the business may be
had when tell you that one factory alone
in J.ubec-and there are other fact
doing quite az large trade-has made and
sold as high as 2,C0) 900 boxes OF sartiines
in year, besides the large quantities OF
sea trout and other brands OF transformed
herrinv IL dSDose1 Df