82 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XITI, 



expense; hence the need for watchful care and judgment on the 

 part of both the superintendent and workman. It is better to be 

 somewhat lavish in the changes of oil rather than the reverse, for 

 the used oil can be sold at a fair price to boatmen, etc., for caulking 

 boats, especially if the oil is fish oil; while a batch of fish 

 flavoured or coloured by scorched oil is necessarily bad or inferior 

 and detracts from the reputation of the cannery. 



The oil generally used in India is one of the vegetable oils 

 especially cotton-seed and ground-nut ; these ought to be, but at 

 present are not easily or cheaply procurable. The Tanur A-l 

 sardine oil is very good for frying and in no way injures but rather 

 improves the flavour of the sardine or other fish; private factory 

 oil of similar quality is now procurable and may be used if perfectly 

 clear of impurities and not rancid. 



When frying fish the oil should not be allowed to pass beyond 

 a moderate brown colour as viewed on pouring it from the ladle ; it 

 should not be opaque, dirty, or scorched. 



96. It is also obvious that the method of heating the oil is highly 

 important. If heated by the flames of an open fire or powerful oil 

 stove, scorching may result from undue forcing of the fire even for 

 a short period. Hence various modes of heating have been adopted, 

 for which see ' plant,' paragraphs 59—63 supra. Where open fire is 

 a necessity the sand bath is fairly successful in minimising scorch- 

 ing, but the fire should be maintained at a very equal and regular 

 heat, and charcoal or coke may usefully be burned ; dry wood 

 flames rapidly and rapidly dies out. Gas, which can be turned to 

 a particular height and kept precisely at such height, gives the 

 most favourable form of open heat ; oil stoves of the " Primus " or 

 other pressure system supply a fairly regular heat, especially if the 

 reservoir is large and pressure considerable, so that the flame can 

 readily be regulated and then kept for long periods at the desired 

 height. 



97. On placing the grilles in the oil, there is considerable foam- 

 ing due to the rapid vaporisation into steam at 212° F. of the 

 moisture in the fish by the great heat of the oil at 300° F. ; there 

 must therefore be a certain margin between the surface of the oil 

 and the rim of the pan. The grilles are kept for about a minute in 

 the hot oil ; a little more if the fish are large ; as soon as the fish 

 begin to rise in the oil they are sufficiently cooked, because this 

 means that so much moisture has been driven out of the fish that 



