Enquire within upon everything: The great Victorian-era domestic standby — Page 11
Mackerel
Maquereau
must be perfectly fresh, or it is a very indifferent fish; it will neither bear carriage, nor being kept many hours out of the water.
doit être parfaitement frais, sinon c'est un poisson de très médiocre qualité ; il ne supporte ni le transport, ni d'être gardé plusieurs heures hors de l'eau.
The firmness of the flesh and the clearness of the eyes must be the criteria of fresh mackerel, as they are of all other fish.
La fermeté de la chair et la clarté des yeux doivent être les critères du maquereau frais, comme ils le sont pour tous les autres poissons.
3. Turbot, and all flat white fish,
3. Le turbot, et tous les poissons plats à chair blanche,
are rigid and firm when fresh; the under side should be of a rich cream colour.
sont rigides et fermes lorsqu'ils sont frais ; le côté inférieur doit être d'une belle couleur crème.
When out of season, or too long kept, this becomes a bluish white, and the flesh soft and flaccid.
Hors saison, ou gardés trop longtemps, cette couleur devient d'un blanc bleuâtre, et la chair devient molle et flasque.
A clear bright eye in any fish is also a mark of its being fresh and good.
Un œil clair et brillant chez n'importe quel poisson est également le signe qu'il est frais et de bonne qualité.
4. Cod
4. La morue
is known to be fresh by the rigidity of the muscles (or flesh), the redness of the gills, and clearness of the eyes.
est reconnue fraîche à la rigidité des muscles (ou de la chair), à la rougeur des branchies et à la clarté des yeux.
Crimping much improves this fish.
L'incision améliore grandement ce poisson.
5. Salmon.
5. Le saumon.
The flavour and excellence of this fish depend upon its freshness and the shortness of time since it was caught; for no method can completely preserve the delicate flavour that salmon has when just taken out of the water.
La saveur et la qualité de ce poisson dépendent de sa fraîcheur et du peu de temps écoulé depuis sa capture ; car aucune méthode ne peut conserver entièrement la délicate saveur que possède le saumon lorsqu'il vient tout juste d'être sorti de l'eau.
A great deal of what is brought to London has been packed in ice, and comes from the Scotch and Irish rivers, and, though perfectly fresh, is not quite equal to salmon from English streams.
Une grande partie de ce qui est apporté à Londres a été emballée dans de la glace et provient des rivières d'Écosse et d'Irlande ; bien que parfaitement frais, ce saumon n'est pas tout à fait l'égal du saumon des cours d'eau anglais.
6. Herrings
6. Les harengs
should be eaten when very fresh; and, like mackerel, will not remain good many hours after they are caught.
doivent être consommés lorsqu'ils sont très frais ; et, comme le maquereau, ne restent pas bons plusieurs heures après leur capture.
Vocabulary
- Maquereau
- A type of oily saltwater fish; mackerel
- doit
- Must; third person singular of devoir
- être
- To be; fundamental French auxiliary verb
- parfaitement
- Perfectly; in a complete or flawless manner
- frais
- Fresh; recently caught or not yet spoiled
- sinon
- Otherwise; if not; or else
- c'
- Contraction of ce; it or this before est
- est
- Is; third person singular of être
- un
- A, an; indefinite masculine singular article
- poisson
- Fish; aquatic animal used as food
- de
- Of, from; common French preposition
- très
- Very; intensifying adverb modifying adjectives
- médiocre
- Mediocre; of poor or below average quality
- qualité
- Quality; degree of excellence of something
- il
- He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun
- ne
- Not; first part of French negation construction
- supporte
- Tolerates, withstands; third person singular of supporter
- ni
- Neither, nor; used in negative constructions
- le
- The; definite masculine singular article
- transport
- Transport; act of moving goods from place to place
- d'
- Of, from; elided form of de before vowel
- gardé
- Kept, stored; past participle of garder
- plusieurs
- Several; more than two but not very many
- heures
- Hours; units of time equal to sixty minutes
- hors
- Outside of, beyond; preposition indicating exclusion
- l'
- The; elided definite article before a vowel
- eau
- Water; clear liquid essential for life
- La
- The; definite feminine singular article
- fermeté
- Firmness; quality of being solid or firm
- la
- The; definite feminine singular article
- chair
- Flesh, meat; soft tissue of an animal or fish
- et
- And; coordinating conjunction joining elements
- clarté
- Clarity, clearness; quality of being clear or bright
- des
- Of the; partitive or plural indefinite article
- yeux
- Eyes; plural of œil, organs of sight
- doivent
- Must; third person plural of devoir
- les
- The; definite plural article for all genders
- critères
- Criteria; standards used for judging or evaluating
- du
- Of the; contracted form of de le
- maquereau
- Mackerel; common oily fish found in the sea
- comme
- As, like; comparison conjunction or adverb
- ils
- They; third person masculine plural pronoun
- sont
- Are; third person plural of être
- pour
- For; preposition indicating purpose or destination
- tous
- All; masculine plural form of tout
- autres
- Other; remaining or different ones
- poissons
- Fish; plural of poisson, aquatic animals
- Le
- The; definite masculine singular article
- turbot
- Turbot; a highly prized flat white-fleshed fish
- plats
- Flat; adjective describing flatfish body shape
- à
- At, to; common French preposition
- blanche
- White; feminine adjective describing a pale color
- rigides
- Rigid, stiff; not flexible, indicating freshness
- fermes
- Firm; solid and not soft, plural adjective
- lorsqu'
- When; conjunction introducing a time clause
- côté
- Side; one of the two surfaces of a flat object
- inférieur
- Lower, inferior; situated below or of lesser rank
- une
- A, an; indefinite feminine singular article
- belle
- Beautiful, fine; feminine adjective for belle
- couleur
- Color; visual property perceived by the eye
- crème
- Cream; pale yellowish-white color like dairy cream
- Hors
- Outside; preposition meaning beyond or out of season
- saison
- Season; one of four annual periods; peak harvest time
- ou
- Or; disjunctive conjunction presenting alternatives
- gardés
- Kept, stored; masculine plural past participle of garder
- trop
- Too, too much; adverb indicating excess
- longtemps
- A long time; adverb indicating extended duration
- cette
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- devient
- Becomes; third person singular of devenir
- blanc
- White; masculine adjective for the color white
- bleuâtre
- Bluish; somewhat blue in tint or hue
- molle
- Soft, limp; feminine form of mou, lacking firmness
- flasque
- Flabby, flaccid; soft and lacking normal firmness
- Un
- A, an; indefinite masculine singular article
- œil
- Eye; organ of sight in animals and fish
- clair
- Clear, bright; transparent or luminous in appearance
- brillant
- Bright, shiny; reflecting light vividly
- chez
- In, at; preposition indicating location or belonging
- n'
- Not; elided form of ne before vowel
- importe
- Matters; used in n'importe quel meaning any
- quel
- Which, what, any; interrogative or indefinite adjective
- également
- Also, equally; adverb meaning in the same way
- signe
- Sign, indicator; something showing a condition or state
- qu'
- That; elided form of que before vowel
- bonne
- Good; feminine adjective indicating quality or freshness
- morue
- Cod; a popular white saltwater fish
- reconnue
- Recognized; feminine past participle of reconnaître
- fraîche
- Fresh; feminine adjective for recently caught fish
- rigidité
- Rigidity, stiffness; quality of being firm or stiff
- muscles
- Muscles; fibrous tissue indicating freshness in fish
- rougeur
- Redness; red coloration indicating freshness of gills
- branchies
- Gills; respiratory organs of fish used to breathe
- L'
- The; elided definite article before a vowel
- incision
- Incision; a cut made to inspect fish freshness
- améliore
- Improves; third person singular of améliorer
- grandement
- Greatly; to a large or significant degree
- ce
- This, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- saumon
- Salmon; a prized pink-fleshed migratory fish
- saveur
- Flavor, taste; sensory quality of food
- dépendent
- Depend; third person plural of dépendre
- sa
- His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- fraîcheur
- Freshness; quality of being newly caught or fresh
- peu
- Little, few; small amount or degree
- temps
- Time; duration or period that has elapsed
- écoulé
- Elapsed, passed; time that has gone by
- depuis
- Since, for; preposition indicating time elapsed from a point
- capture
- Catch, capture; act of catching fish
- car
- Because, for; causal conjunction explaining a reason
- aucune
- No, none; feminine negative adjective or pronoun
- méthode
- Method; a procedure or technique for doing something
- peut
- Can; third person singular of pouvoir
- conserver
- To preserve, keep; to maintain quality over time
- entièrement
- Entirely, completely; to the full extent
- délicate
- Delicate; subtle and refined, fragile in nature
- que
- That, which; relative pronoun or conjunction
- possède
- Possesses, has; third person singular of posséder
- vient
- Comes; third person singular of venir
- tout
- Just, all; adverb or adjective meaning completely
- juste
- Just, right; immediately or exactly
- sorti
- Come out; past participle of sortir, emerged from
- Une
- A, an; indefinite feminine singular article
- grande
- Large, great; feminine adjective indicating large quantity
- partie
- Part, portion; a section of a whole
- qui
- Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- apporté
- Brought; past participle of apporter
- Londres
- London; capital city of England and the UK
- a
- Has; third person singular of avoir
- été
- Been; past participle of être
- emballée
- Packed, wrapped; feminine past participle of emballer
- dans
- In, inside; preposition indicating location within
- glace
- Ice; frozen water used to preserve food freshness
- provient
- Comes from, originates; third person singular of provenir
- rivières
- Rivers; freshwater streams flowing to sea or lakes
- Écosse
- Scotland; a country in the northern part of Britain
- Irlande
- Ireland; an island nation west of Great Britain
- bien
- Well; adverb meaning in a good or proper manner
- pas
- Not; second element of French negation with ne
- fait
- Made, done; past participle of faire
- égal
- Equal; the same in quality, value, or degree
- cours
- Course, stream; flow of a river or waterway
- anglais
- English; relating to England or the English language
- Les
- The; definite plural article for all genders
- harengs
- Herrings; small oily schooling saltwater fish
- consommés
- Consumed, eaten; masculine plural past participle of consommer
- restent
- Remain, stay; third person plural of rester
- bons
- Good; masculine plural adjective indicating quality
- après
- After; preposition indicating something following in time
- leur
- Their; third person plural possessive adjective
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