128 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XIII, 



and the product reduced to a granular powder. It appears, 

 however, that if this powder were strongly compressed by a 

 machine like that used for stamping tesserse, so as to form hard 

 tablets, it would be a preferable method of preservation. 



In one or two methods only the juice or natural liquor from the 

 clams is utilized for extract and not the meat of the clam. In these 

 processes the liquor which is contained in the shells is separated 

 from the meats, filtered, and sterilized (boiled), and while one part 

 may be used in canning the whole clams (either alone or more 

 usually with mixed vegetables to form a stew or "chowder"), the 

 other and chief portion is concentrated, if possible in vacuo, and 

 canned in hermetically sealed glass jars ; probably inside lacquered 

 tin cans would also suit, since the clam meats, etc., are put up in 

 such cans, and one recipe expressly mentions cans. 



A Scotch recipe converts the extract of clams or other shell fish 

 into a jelly by combining it with a vegetable gelatinizer (from sea- 

 weed) such as Irish moss (carrageen) ; agar-agar from Japanese 

 sea weed would equally suit. The method is that of opening the 

 shell fish by steam or by boiling in a very small quantity of water 

 in a closed vessel (autoclave), removing and pulping the meats, and 

 straining off the resultant liquor, presumably using some pressure. 

 To this are added salt and condiments and the liquor is then boiled 

 with the necessary quantity of carrageen. The product is strained 

 while hot and at once put up in sealed receptacles. 



These methods may be adopted by canners (and others) in 

 India ; presumably, in this climate, all such products should be 

 " canned " either in properly lacquered cans or, preferably, in glass 

 bottles or jars. 



It may be possible to utilize ordinary fish for fish extracts: no 

 information is given in any text-book, but no reason exists why the 

 experiment should not be tried. For such purposes there are many 

 fish too coarse or big for ordinary canning. 



