Il6 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XI 11, 



representative of this class, which has been successful with seer 

 and pomfret. It is found that black pomfret, packed with the skin, 

 gives a natural jelly at Nilgiri temperatures ; in order to ensure 

 this jelly in the low country a little isinglass, gelatine, or agar-agar 

 may be used. In various text books it is recommended to jell the 

 contents of any can of plain sliced fish by the use of these agents. 



178. Packing in oil. — The Mediterranean tunny is perhaps the 

 representative of this class of packing; the method has been 

 successfully tried with seer, pomfret, etc., in the Beypore Cannery, 

 but the individual canner can invent and try various recipes. 



179. If possible the fresh seer, pomfret, bamin, etc., should be 

 beheaded, gutted, and washed in salt water while on the caiiors : this 

 can be done by a slight organization of supplies. The French 

 canner (in France) whose process is chiefly followed below, insists 

 on an innocuous preservative such as neutraline (sodium sulphite) 

 or boric acid being added to the salt water bath while in the boats ; 

 this was similarly shown to be useful by experiments in the United 

 States of America (see " Preservation and Curing of Fish," Madras 

 Fisheries Bulletin). The fish need not be soaked or kept in such a 

 bath, but thoroughly cleaned and bathed for a few minutes ; the 

 operation is mainly detergent. 



180. The fish when received are beheaded, gutted and washed 

 as above if not already so treated in the boats ; then cut into slices 

 with a guillotine or other machine slicer, and placed in saturated 

 brine for such time as is desirable. It may be noted that the time 

 given for Mediterranean practice is 20 minutes or longer; this 

 coupled with 20 minutes subsequent simmering (see immediately 

 below) would seem to render cut slices unduly saline; doubtless it 

 is a matter for the canner to decide, because the subsequent drying 

 process is slow and may continue for days ; in Beypore practice 

 this considerable period in saturated brine is not given for cut 

 slices, but they have always been canned on the same day. If 

 however conditions (e.g., lateness of hour, press of work) show that 

 the fish must stand over (see below) till next day, the brining (with 

 a little preservative added) should be longer than if the fish are 

 canned at once. Thence, in French practice, the slices are removed 

 into a shallow cooking vessel with similar brine and allowed to 

 simmer — not boil — for about 20 minutes ; if allowed to boil the 

 slices become hard and dry. It is not clear why the fish, after 

 cleaning should not be placed at once in this bath of brine and 



