THE CHEMISTRY OF COOKERY. 229 



greatest of all piscine delicacies. The John Dory is commonly stuffed 

 and cooked in an oven by those who understand his merits. 



The excellence of Sir Henry Thompson's idea consists in its breadth 

 as applicable to all fish, on the basis of that fundamental principle of 

 scientific cookery on which I have so continually and variously in- 

 sisted, viz., the retention of the natural juices of the viands. 



He recommends the placing of the fish entire, if of moderate size, 

 in a tin or plated copper dish adapted to the form and size of the fish, 

 but a little deeper than its thickness, so as to retain all the juices, 

 which by exposure to the heat will flow out ; the surface to be lightly 

 spread with butter and a morsel or two added, and the dish placed 

 before the fire in a Dutch or American oven, or the special appa- 

 ratus made by Burton, of Oxford Street, which was exhibited at the 

 lecture. 



To this I may add that, if a closed oven be used, Rumf ord's device 

 of a false bottom, shown in Fig. 3, of No. 11 of this series, should be 

 adopted, which may be easily done by simply standing the above- 

 described fish-dish, with any kind of support to raise it a little, in a 

 larger tin tray or baking-dish, containing some water. The evapora- 

 tion of the water will prevent the drying up of the fish or of its natural 

 gravy ; and, if the oven ventilation is treated with the contempt I have 

 recommended, the fish, if thick, will be better cooked and more juicy 

 . than in an open-faced oven in front of the fire. 



This reminds me of a method of cooking fish which, in the course 

 of my pedestrian travels in Italy, I have seen practiced in the rudest 

 of osterias, where my fellow-guests were carbonari (charcoal-burners) 

 wagoners, road-making navvies, etc. Their staple magro, or fast-day 

 material, is split and dried codfish imported from Norway, which in 

 appearance resembles the hides that are imported to the Bermondsey 

 tanneries. A piece is hacked out from one these, soaked for a while 

 in water, and carefully rolled in a piece of paper saturated with olive- 

 oil. A hole is then made in the white embers of the charcoal fire, the 

 paper parcel of fish inserted and carefully buried in ashes of se- 

 lected temperature. It comes out wonderfully well cooked, consider- 

 ing the nature of the raw material. Luxurious cookery en papillote is 

 conducted on the same principle, and especially applied to red mullets, 

 the paper being buttered and the sauce enveloped with the fish. In 

 all these cases the retention of the natural juices is the primary object. 



I should say that Sir Henry Thompson directs, as a matter of 

 course, that the roasted fish should be served in the dish wherein it 

 was cooked. He suggests that " portions of fish, such as fillets, may 

 be treated as well as entire fish ; garnishes of all kinds, as shell-fish, 

 etc., may be added, flavoring also with fine herbs and condiments ac- 

 cording to taste." " Fillets of plaice or skate, with a slice or two of 

 bacon the dish to be filled or garnished with some previously-boiled 

 haricots " is wisely recommended as a savory meal for a poor man, 



