Coconut

preserving Techniques.

Fish Cooked With

Keeps For Months

FISH cooked with coconut will keep for six months, says Mr. Hubertus van Pel, Fisheries lofficer of the South Pacific Com-

Imlssion.

t A good example of fish-preserving without any need for modern equip i ment is to cook it in coconut water, without salt.

I Clean any small drum, such as an oil drum, and fill it with coconut water. (If there is not enough coconut water available, grated coconut can be added). Fill small oblong or round baskets made of bamboo, leaves, etc., with fish, and pack as many baskets as possible into the drum. Take care that the top baskets are fully covered.

I Light a fire under the drum and Cook until the water has been boil ing for about half an hour. Re move the baskets, draining off the water. Separate the flesh of the fish from the bones, pound it, and dry it thoroughly on mats in the sun. The result is an excellent coconut-flavoured meal which will keep for six months, and can be ’eaten as it is, or dried as fish cakes.

Fish-pickling in brine, or “wet salting” is another cheap and easy preserving method. The only equipment needed is a water tight container —such as a tin, drum, canoe or barrel—clean water (either fresh or sea-water) and salt. The salt can be bought in a shop, pre pared on the spot from sea-water, or extracted from salty earth — according to local possibilities.

F Mr. van Pel describes the method as follows: .

I If the salt is coarse, first grmd or pound it, then dissolve one part of salt in four parts of water by stirring with a piece of wood. To be good, the brine must float a fish.

Next, prepare the fish. It is best first to cut off the head, and gut and clean the fish, though small fish san also be salted whole. Large fish must be cut open, and it is pre ferable to take out the backbone.

Fish with a heavy armour of scales must be scaled. In places where the flesh is thick, slash it so that the salted brine can penetrate the Besh. Very large fish should be cut in thin fillets. f Immerse the fish completely in the brine by covering it with a plank or matting weighted with rocks. This wet-salted fish can be sept for a long time in a dark or it least a shady place. The remain ng brine can be used three times, 3ut water and salt must be added ivery time until a fish can again loat on the liquid. In any case, fresh brine is always best.

A VALUABLE alternative method, especially when there are no containers available, is “dry salting.” This can be done in an old canoe, or on mats, leaves, boxes, etc. In this case, the brine formed by the fish juice and the salt must be allowed to drain away.

For two parts of fish, allow one part of salt then simply separate the layers of fish with layers of salt Flying fish are salted down S S k fl e S p h t m |ho b l°e atS If fish are not oily, they can be kept m good condition for two or three months, or even longer, by “long smoking.” This consists of smoking the fish on racks in a shed,

over very slow heat-preferably with slow-burning coconut husks for about 48 hours, . „ . . A small closed shed, not less than ? lx teet h i?h, is made from palm leaves 9f, °ther local material. Racks f- re , khfit from a height of three are hung on spits 11 slung l between

the rack! Alternatively the* fifh

can be laid on loosely-w6ven mats which are stretched across thSS bUt thiS iS IeSS

methods of“foh“ rental

is invited to write to the aSS?

Pacific Commission, Noumel SSatS

details of conditions in his’orTS particular area 0 ner