68 



universally consumed especially in the preparation now under descrip- 

 tion ; it is obviously capable, as will be seen, of considerable variation 

 by the addition of condiments —salt, pepper, turmeric, etc.— which 

 would also improve its keeping capacity. The flesh of the shark— or 

 other white-fleshed fish— having been freed from bones and skin, is 

 cut rapidly into shreds which are then pounded in a wooden or stone 

 mortar with a wooden pestle till the whole is reduced to paste ; during 

 this pounding a little salt is usually added, and when inspecting 

 the process I was told that no other condiments are added; Dr. 

 Kishinouiye, however, mentions flour, sweet wine, white of egg, and 

 a solution of sacchariferous algae, but this may refer to the paste 

 of white-fleshed fish other than shark or to the practice of other 

 ocalities. 



The paste is then made into semi- cylindrical or other conveniently 

 shaped rolls upon slips of wood, like rolls of butter or curd-cheese ; 

 these are then steamed for 20 minutes in a close stove over boiling 

 water ; the result is a pure white product which will keep for several 

 days even in summer. This paste is not a delicacy for the rich but is 

 cheap and in general use, and may be seen in all the fish shops of a 

 town; slices of it seemed— exp^r^o crede— to be invariable additions 

 to the broth served at meals in Japanese inns. 



147. Dried and smoked honito {Thynnus pelamys) and tunny 

 {Thynnus sill), etc. — This excellent product (katsu-bushi) might well 

 be introduced into India as it is economical in use and will keep good 

 for years; the above fish ara those generally prepared by this method 

 but other large dark- fleshed fish such as salmon, are, it is said, so 

 treated. The fish is opened and boned and the flesh cut longitudinally 

 into strips or wedges ; these are boiled * (or steamed over boiling 

 water, when the fat drops into the water and is collected), and then 

 placed in trays for drying in the open air; the trays are of wood with 

 open-work bamboo bottoms so that air can freely pass under and 

 around the wedges. t When partly dry they are removed on the trays 

 to the smoking furnace ; that which I saw was a simple open slow- 

 combustion furnace burning various woods and saw-dust so as to 

 produce plenty of smoke ; above the open top are piled a dozen or so 



* The boning and boiling are often done on board the boats when far out nt sea. 



t In ray West Coast Report I alluded (paragraphs 24 and 25) to the defective mode 

 of drying fish and suggested barbecues or, rather, drying tables or " flakes. " It is well- 

 known that fish laid on a hard surface, eueh as a plank or earth, so that the air cannot get 

 at the underside, readily taints on that side while of eourfe it retains its moisture for the 

 same reason. Hence in all Western countries fish are either hung on scaffolds (Norway, 

 etc.) freely exposed to complete perflation of air, or placed on " flakes " which are rough 

 tables of which the tops are of wire-netting or of some open wood work which allows the 

 air to play over and dry the lower as well as the upper surfaces of tlie fish. The tables 

 need not in this country be high, nnl the cost may he trifling. This reform in drying is 

 properly one of the essentials of a good product. 



