618 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Keuter. 84 The Dutch workers, Fortuyn and Van Driest, also car- 

 ried out tests reported by Bottemanne. Sj 



The conclusions from Plank's, Ehrenbaunrs, and Renter's experi- 

 ments on loss of weight and on defrosting and cooking frozen fish 

 may be summarized "as follows : Fish that have been frozen for a 

 week may be brought back to their original condition by either slow 

 or rapid defrosting. In fish that have been kept frozen for a longer 

 time the juice that has separated from the muscle substance is not 

 reabsorbed. 



The defrosting method followed (in cold water, ice, or air at room 

 temperature) has, according to their experiments, no influence on 

 the taste or keeping quality of the defrosted fish. Simple, quick, 

 and convenient thawing in ice water seems preferable, while in air 

 thawing some loss of weight may occur. 



As soon as possible after the fish are defrosted they should be 

 gutted. They will then keep as long as or longer than fresh fish 

 held under the same conditions. Frozen fish, especially during 

 defrosting, must be carefully protected from handling, bending, 

 squeezing, or other mechanical disturbance that will press out any 

 of the juice. 



These conclusions seem sensible and practicable. Fortuyn and 

 Van Driest, after some experimental work, recommended embedding 

 the fish in cracked ice for defrosting. This is an extremely slow 

 method, unnecessarily expensive, and not likely to be adopted 

 generally. 



COOKING FROZEN FISH 



If the fish have been defrosted in accordance with the methods 

 outlined, they may be treated as fresh fish in the kitchen. Joseph 

 Bruna, 86 a French chef, recommends that frozen salmon be cooked 

 without previous defrosting. His experience with frozen fish ob- 

 viously is limited, for he says that salmon is the only fish suitable for 

 freezing. Fish frozen in brine, or by any of the rapid-freezing 

 processes, may be thawed before cooking, or they may be put in the 

 oven or frying pan while still frozen. They will require a little 

 longer to cook. 



RATES CHARGED FOR FREEZING AND COLD-STORAGE 



OF FISH 



The rates charged by fish freezers that do a public warehousing 

 business vary, of course, with many conditions, such as the location 

 of and investment in the plant, cost of power, water, and labor, kind 

 of goods to be frozen, and volume and distribution of the business 

 over the seasons of the year. Obviously, it would be unfair to make 

 a comparison of the rates charged by various freezers without taking 

 these factors into consideration. There are given here the published 

 rates charged by three freezers separated by considerable distances 

 geographically, which will give the reader a general idea of the rates 

 charged in the United States and Canada. 



84 See footnote 15, p. 518. 



85 See footnote 15, p. 518. 



88 Joseph Bruna, La cuisine des aliments f rigorifies. 40 pp. Association Franchise du 

 Froid, Paris, 1919. 



