104 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
fish to be handled easily and stored in a small space until the most 
convenient time for packing arrives. 
The tough skins and firm fish produced by the process permit 
relatively rough handling, thus facilitating their being packed in cans. 
A most important consideration is the rapid and efficient way in 
which water is removed from the fish by the hot oil. Equipment 
for frying is relatively inexpensive and does not take up excessive 
floor space. Frying tends to make the fat content of the canned 
product uniform. It adds oil to lean fish and removes some oil 
from fat fish. 
Disadvantages.—The most serious objection to cooking in oil is 
the bad effect it has upon quality. If new oil could always be used 
this objection would not be serious. Where cottonseed oil or some 
similar oil has been used it has been economically impossible to 
change the oil frequently. Consequently, when “old” frying oil 
finds its way into the can it imparts its characteristic disagreeable 
taste and odor to the fish, darkening them and the oil and sauce in 
the can. Evidence indicates that such a pack is not digested as 
easily as one in which the ‘‘old”’ oil is absent. 
Cooking large quantities of fish in oil and subsequently handling 
them and caring for the oil and equipment are at best very dis- 
agreeable undertakings. The fumes that come from cooking vats, 
especially as the oil gets ‘‘old,”’ are unpleasant to most people. 
Considerable labor must be expended in handling the fried fish. 
The baskets of cooked fish are stacked and moved to the cooling 
room. Next day they are moved to the packing tables, unstacked, 
emptied, stacked again, moved once or twice, unstacked, and filled 
with fish for frying. 
Oil for cooking purposes amounts, in the long run, to a considerable 
item of expense. Upon inquiry several canners stated what their 
cost for cottonseed oil was per case of pound-oval fish cooked. Some 
claimed a cost as low as 5 cents and others as much as 15 cents. 
One packer of fancy quarter-oil sardines said it cost him 30 cents a 
case, and yet he was not changing his oil as often as is desirable. 
The expense of caring for the oil and equipment is considerable. 
The oil and extractives removed from the fish are excellent food and 
should go into the can. 
COOKING IN BRINE 
In October, 1920, E. B. Gross, then of Field & Gross (Inc.), Monte- 
rey, told me that at some time in the past he accidently had cooked 
fish in a hot salt solution instead of the customary hot oil. The 
fish appeared to him to be better and more palatable than fried 
fish. When packed with tomato sauce they produced an excellent 
product. Although some of his customers also considered the fish 
better, he did not continue preparing his product in this way because 
of the general demand for fried-in-oil sardines. Later, however, 
during the 1922-23 season Mr. Gross began to prepare fish by this 
process and has continued to do so since then. 
In December, 1920, Arthur W. Wells and I packed some sardines 
that were prepared by cooking them in brine. Later in the season 
Mr. Wells prepared other packs in a similar manner with very 
good results. The next season (1921-22) I made a study of this 

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