The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-03-03

taken quite without effort and are
abundant all along the Atlantic shores
of the United States and the adjacent
ocean bottom. To the consumer,
they would constitute a cheap and
very wholesome food.
In Europe the goosefsh is highly
valued. 1t abounds in the North Sea
and other waters of western Europe,
and is caught incidentally in the otter
trawl and line fisheries. In former
years it was discarded as worthless,
but now it is always saved. and the
annual consumption amounts to mil
lions of pounds. AS brought in by
the North Sea fishermen and exposed
for sale in the British and continent
tai markets. the fish is beheaded, evils
cerated. and skinned, the fine being
trimmed off. In 1911, the fisher
men of England landed and sold
over 100000 pounds, and the fisher
mem of Scotland more than 100000
pounds. Large quantities are caught
and sold by the fishermen of Ger
many and other countries on the
eastern side of the North Sea.
The fish appears to be held in high
est esteem in the larger cities of Ger
many, where, Notwithstanding it is
commonly known under the repellant
name of see teufel (sea devi0, it
meets with very ready sale. The
catch of the German North Sea traw-
demand and large quantities have
been imported from Great Britain.
Some idea of the high rank held by
the goosefish among the food fishes
Of Germany may be gained from the
fact that at the public wholesale fish
market at Cuxhaven, Germany, fresh
trawl-caught mackerel Of medium
size bring 2 IA cents a pound, large
haddock 6 Ia cents, and goosefish
8 cents.
Among the persons who have tested
the goosefsh, there is a remarkable
concensus of opinion as to its food
qualities. A former Commissioner of
Fisheries, DIR. George Brown Goode,
in his Natural History of Aquatic
Animals (1884), noted that Its flesh
is very palatable''; that Sin Italy it is
much esteemed; and that Sin parts
of Great Britain it is also eaten, and
steaks from the neighborhood of the
tail being preferred"
According to analysis made for the
Bureau of Fisheries by the Bureau of
Chemistry, based on samples of goose
fish obtained in Boston, the nutritive
value of the goosefsh is high. The
edible portions contain considerably
more protein (f1esh- building materially
than the founders, slightly more than
the cod a, little less than the halibut,
and considerably less than sfrloin
steak. In fat constituents, the fish
is very little below the average of
cod and founders and considerably in
ferior to the halfbut. One pound
of fresh goosefish, with the head
viscera and skin removed, would con
tain protein about equal in quantity
to that in one pound of sirloin steak
as purchased. The flesh of the sir
Ioin contains a higher proportion of
protein than the fish, but only IS per
cent of the meat as purchased is edi-
hill s,iI7 Of h
| butchered goosefish is edible. The
stead contains a, high percentage of
| fat and the goosefsh very little AS
obtainable in the markets, the goose
fish is equal to beefsteak in protein,
! the expensive food ingredient
The goosefish has an average of 3
feet, but fish feet or more in length
are not uncommon. It is of rather
/ ugly appearance, and this has doubt
/ less accounted for the lack of appre-
i citation of it's food qualities. The
! body is very broad and depressed, the
| head is large, and the mouth is wide
| and of enormous capacity The pow
i erfuI jaws are provided with a double
| row of strong teeth.
The fish are most Voracious, eating
almost every kind of animal of suita-
BILE size living in the sea. In addi-
ton to fishes. it feeds regularly on
/ worms, starf1shes, gastropod and vi
valve rno11usks, squids, Holsters, crabs.
and various waterfowl, including
| ducks and geese. Great variety of diet
is accompanied by excessive ,greedi-
ness, that a single meal may weigh
half as much as the fish itself. This
fish is, therefore, very destructive,
and it's utilization would have a bene-
| fetal effect on the abundance of vari-
Gus fishes, crustaceans, ETC.. of eco
| nomic Importance.
/ "Goosefsh amt new said Aunt
/ Jane, 'sbut although they've been
swimming around for centuries, a lot
of folks have failed to get acquaint-
ed with 'em.
Charles Doucot, who cooks in one
of those New York city hotels, wrote
a book on how to cook goosefish for
! the United States government once.
I've got the book here.
ITO boil, it says, take about 2 1-2
pounds of goosefish. Place in a. ket-
tie, cover with cold water, little
vinegar, a tablespoonful of salt, and
a few grains of white pepper Place
/ on the fire and when boiling set on
the side and let it boil slowly about
| twenty minutes. Drain and set on a
dish. Garnish with lemon and
parsley. Serve with cream sauce
| separately or over, as desired. Make
| cream cause as follows: Melt three
| ounces of butter in a, saucepan, add
two ounces of -four; stir we'll, but
do not let it get brown. Add L IL
| pints of boiling milk. and cook slow
ly for about twenty-five to thirty
minutes. HoIlandaise, caper, lob
| ster, clam or any other sauce unusually
| served with boiled fish can be served
with goosefish.'
Fried flet of goosefsh sounds
good" said Aunt Jane. Cut 1-2