Sardines

The kind and quality of oil used depend upon the commercial grade of the pack ing. For the finest qualities, native olive oil, from fairly good to the very best,- is employed, either plain or blended with or into various sauces, except for a limited quantity prepared in melted butter for special French trade. The methods of putting up the lesser grades vary in different canneries. In some, arachide or peanut oil- is used in both cooking and canning; in others, the cooking may be done' in oil and the cans filled with olive oil—or vice versa. It is stated that cottonseed oil is largely used in some establishments for the cheapest grades. In many cases, the flavor is enhanced by adding special ingredients to the oil or by packing in various sauces—in Tomato sauce, Bordelaise, Bouillon, etc.—cut truffles and pickles, and spices such as cloves, laurel leaves, thyme, fresh tarragon leaves, etc., being- frequently added.

Some of the finer qualities are canned without bones, the extraction being usually made after semi-cooking so as to avoid tearing the flesh. Boneless sardines are further marked by the fact that they lose their tails in the operation.

In the south of France, part of the product is put up in red wine, being there known as Sardines anehoisees or "Anchovied Sardines." The French sardine is a handsome little fish, and its-beauty is not entirely lost_ in canning. In the water, the back is of a greenish color, but out of it- the upper -parts are rich dark-bluish, contrasting strongly with the silver and white of the sides and abdomen. The scales are very easily detached, but ;their loss does not detract seriously from the appearance of the fish, as the skin is thick and has -a uniformly bril liant silvery color.

French sardines, as a rule, improve with age after packing, and are at their best at from four to six years in the can. Many particular establishments will not sell stock less

than a year old, as that time is considered necessary for the proper blending of the fish, oil, flavoring, etc.

American Sardines.

The canning of domestic sardines, in oil, mustard, etc., is an important industry and large quantities are consumed. On the Atlantic coast the small herring is used, and on the Pacific, young fish which closely resemble the Mediter ranean sardine in character and flavor. In some canneries, special machinery does much of the work performed in Europe by hand.

The fact that domestic sardines fail to obtain the high prices and favor of the French sardine is not due so much to any differences in the fish themselves, for they are in many cases equally delicate, but to the extraordinary care exercised by the lead ing French canneries to produce the finest possible result. Only those caught at the season when they are plumpest and best are used; they are removed from the meshes of the nets by hand, special pains being taken to avoid crowding or bruising on the boats; counted by hand into small baskets, taken direct to the factories, and imme diately put through the processes described—processes in which each tiny fish has individual attention! With similar care, there seems no reason why the American sar dine should not be rated just as highly as the French.

Smoked Sardines, both of American catch and imported from Norway and else where, put up in oil or other manner, are gaining in favor.

The West Indies, Chile, India, Japan and New Zealand and other parts of the world, also engage to some extent in the industry, using small fish of various kinds.