NO. 2(l92l) REMARKS ON CANNING I05 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE Canning of Specific Fish. 



145. It remain to describe the canning of particular fish and to 

 mention recipes ordinary, special, or novel. 



146. Sardines. — The fish most generally canned is perhaps the 

 sardine, whether the true sardine (young pilchard) of the French 

 and Portuguese coasts, or the young herring of the United States of 

 America (specially in Maine), or the sprat and brisling of Norway 

 (largely brought from English coasts), or the Indian sardine, or 

 that of Japan. They are thus all of the clupeid family, but 

 their character differs considerably ; e.g., the true sardine (Clupea 

 pilchardus) is an immature pilchard, while the Clupea longiceps 

 or Indian West Coast ' oil sardine ' or ' Nalla mathi ' is, when 

 best fitted for canning, a mature fish ; the Clupea fimbriata (chala- 

 mathi) is usually too hard, lean, and bony, for good canning. 

 The difference is important, for in the mature Clupea longiceps 

 the bones and scales are more strongly developed than in the true 

 sardine or young pilchard, so that the Indian goods have certain 

 initial disadvantages such as the hardness of the bones and the 

 surface plating of scales. 



147. The sardine is generally canned in oil but also to a great 

 extent in various sauces, tomato, mustard, curry, etc. ; sometimes 

 they are canned in butter and are boned ; sometimes (Beypore) 

 they are canned plain, without oil or spices except black pepper. 

 The main difference in all these rests in the condiments. 



148. On the Indian coast the fish are caught either by the 

 odam (paithu) net or by the gill net ; the former is more advantage- 

 ous in that it may obtain large quantities at a haul and brings the 

 fish alive into the boat, but has the disadvantage of catching 

 large and small alike; the gill net catches fish of uniform size, viz., 

 those that can just get their heads and gills into the meshes, but 

 makes comparatively small catches under ordinary circumstances 

 and kills the fish in catching them. The fish are sometimes 

 caught within a few hundred yards of the shore, but may be 

 several miles out ; it is advisable therefore to have fast canoes in 

 attendance as carriers which can buy the fish from the canoes 

 immediately on capture and bring them rapidly to shore, for the 



