EDIBLE SHELLFISH

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 December 1942, Page 4

EDIBLE SHELLFISH

VALUE OF COCKLES AND PIPIS. A NEW ZEALAND FOOD SUPPLY. There is plenty of food in New Zealand, to be had for the taking, more especially in the holiday season. Let us consider first of all the shell-fish. Many New Zealanders scorn such plebian fare as mussels, pipis, and cockles. There is no need to emphasise the value of these foods, says a writer in a recent issue of the New Zealand Women’s Food League, yet how many New Zealanders, apart from the Maoris, eat them? And how many, know how to cook them? To put them > in a pot of cold water and boil them! is not the way. If these shellfish are cooked properly they are a very good substitute for the much more expensive oyster. They are gathered when the tide is ebbing, but care must be taken not to take them where there is danger from sewage pollution. There are still many places from which they can be gathered without this risk. All shellfish must be thoroughly washed in cold water to remove the sand. With cockles and pipis heat is applied simply to open the shell and to free the fish from it —that is as a wholesale means of opening them, since they are too small to open individually. The container is brought to the boil and then the shellfish put. in. As the pot goes off the boil raise it instantly and pour off the water, which can be used for soup after straining to remove any sand. Mussels should be treated in the same way, except that after they have been put into the pot the water should just be allowed to come to the boil again be-, fore pouring off. Serve in half shells, four or five in a shell, with lemon and any seasoning desired. For children shellfish can be minced and added to white sauce, etc. They will not be indigestible if cooked as explained above. There are, of course, other shellfish such as scallops, toheroas, pauas, etc., obtainable from various parts of our shore. Practically every fish is edible, and many of those not eaten by New Zealanders have the highest food value. Skate should be placed on the damp grass and covered with sods for a day or two. If eaten fresh they are tough, but seasoned for just the right time they are excellent. There is nothing better than smoked eel. A knife is run just behind the head and the skin is rolled off like a stocking. The flesh is pickled and smoked, cut into little golden fillets and fried. There is no longer a serpent-like resemblance and it is a beautiful table fish.