546 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
The tishermeii of the Dardanelles prepare a kind of cheese from the roe of several 
species of fish by drying it in the air and then pressing it. By dipping it in melted 
wax, a crust is formed over it which prevents its being affected by the air. Inside 
this crust the roe undergoes a sort of fermentation, giving it so piquant a flavor that 
one can eat but little of it at a time. It is said to taste like a mixture of flue sardines, 
caviar, and old cheese. Before it is eaten, the crust of wax is taken off, and if it has 
become moldy, which frequently happens, it is soaked in strong vinegar,* 
In Germany a form of caviar is made from the eggs of the pike, in the following 
manner. The fresh eggs on removal from the fish are rinsed in cold water and rubbed 
through a coarse sieve to separate them from the membranous tissues enveloping 
them. On completion of this, they are rinsed two or three times and are placed in a 
finer-meshed sieve to drain. Next, they are well mixed with fine salt and flavoring 
ingredients, there being added to each 100 pounds of eggs about 3^ pounds of flue salt, 
ounces of citric acid, and a small quantity of lemon oil. After being thoroughly 
mixed with these ingredients the eggs are put in a cool place, and after remaining 
undisturbed for eight days the jars or tubs containing them are tightly sealed. 
MULLET ROES. 
Mullet roes are considered great delicacies in nearly all countries in which this 
fish abounds, and large quantities are prepared along the southern coast of the United 
States and in countries bordering the Mediterranean. At maturity, which occurs in 
September and October, the roe of the Southern Atlantic mullet is from 5 to 8 inches 
long and to 2^ inches in diameter. These are saved in nearly all the mullet fisheries 
of the United States, and are sold either fresh or dried, about 300,000 ijounds, worth 
$20,000, being salted annually on the west coast of Florida. 
Dried mullet roes are pre^jared along the southern coast from North Carolina to 
Florida, inclusive, in a manner quite similar to the drying of mullet. The roes utilized 
are from the matured females which have not begun spawning, for as the spawning- 
time approaches the eggs soften and burst the surrounding membranes or roe bags, 
when they are useless for salting or drying. Nothing but firm roes should be used 
for salting, and soft roes, roes from fish which have been caught some hours, as well 
as roes from roe bags half emptied should, if used at all, be salted separately. 
In removing them care should be taken to avoid breaking the roe bags or injuring 
or bruising the eggs, but they should be free from portions of the surrounding viscera. 
If the tubs in which the roes are gathered have holes through which the water can 
run off, some salt is saved and a better product is secured, the water making the roes 
soft and less liable to keep. The roes still in the roe bags are then i^laced in boxes or 
barrels with salt si)riukled auioug them, or in some cases they are placed in brine, 
where they remain for ten or twelve hours, but the former method is preferred. An 
excess of salting must be avoided, since it causes the egg-sacs to break and the eggs 
are mined on exposure to the sun and to pressure, or they become dark and brittle. 
If i^roperly treated a good article can be made of roes that have become somewhat 
soft by salting it immediately on removal from the fish, by using more salt than for the 
firm roe, or by resalting it. Medium grain salt is preferred for salting. Coarse salt 
should be avoided, since it is liable to become imbedded in the roe membrane and give 
* Norsk Fiskeritidende, vol. v, No. 2, Bergen, April, 1886. 
