These are sold skinned; are always in season, but best from April to November.
Lobsters.
This shell-fish is in the market all the year, but is best in May and June. If the tail, when straightened, springs back into position, it indicates that the fish is fresh. The time of boiling live lobsters depends upon the size. If boiled too much they will be tough and dry.
They are generally boiled by the fishermen. This is certainly the best plan, as these people know from practice, just how long to cook them.
Besides, as the lobsters must be alive when put into the pot, they are ugly things to handle. The medium-sized are the tenderest and sweetest. A good one will be heavy for its size. In the parts of the country where fresh lobsters cannot be obtained, the canned will be found convenient for making salads, soups, stews, etc.
Hard-Shell Crabs.
These are in the market all the year. They are sold alive and, also, like the lobster, boiled. Near the coast of the Southern and Middle States they are plenty and cheap, but in the interior and in the Eastern States they are quite expensive. They are not used as much as the lobster, because it is a great deal of trouble to take the meat from the shell.
Soft-Shell Crabs.
As the crab grows, a new, soft shell forms, and the old, hard one is shed. Thus comes the soft-shelled crab. In about three days the shell begins to harden again. In Maryland there are ponds for raising these crabs, so that now the supply is surer than in former years. Crabs are a great luxury, and very expensive. In the Eastern States they are found only in warm weather. They must always be cooked while alive.
Frying and broiling are the modes of preparing.
Shrimp.
These are found on the Southern coasts; are much the shape of a lobster, but very small. They are used mostly for sauces to serve with fish. Their season is through the spring, summer and fall. There is a larger kind called big shrimp or prawns, sold boiled in the Southern markets. These are good for sauces or stews, and, in fact, can be used, in most cases, the same as lobster. But few shrimp are found in the Eastern or Western markets. The canned goods are, however, convenient and nice for sauces.
Terrapin.
This shell-fish comes from the South, Baltimore being the great terrapin market. It belongs to the turtle family. It is always sold alive, and is a very expensive fish, the diamond backs costing from one to two dollars apiece. Three varieties are found in the market, the diamond backs, little bulls and red fenders. The first named are considered marketable when they measure six inches across the back.
They are then about three years old. The little bulls, or male fish, hardly ever measure more than five inches across the back. They are cheaper than diamond backs, but not so well flavored. The red fenders grow larger than the others, and are much cheaper, but their meat is coarse and of an inferior flavor. Terrapin are in the market all the year, but the best time to buy them is from November to February.
Oysters.
No other shell-fish is as highly prized as this. The oyster usually takes the name of the place where it is grown, because the quality and flavor depend very much upon the feeding grounds. The Blue-point, a small, round oyster from Long Island, is considered the finest in the market, and it costs about twice as much as the common oyster. Next comes the Wareham, thought by many quite equal to the Blue-point. It is a salt water oyster, and is, therefore, particularly good for serving raw. The Providence River oyster is large and well flavored, yet costs only about half as much as the Blue-point. The very large ones, however, sell at the same price. Oysters are found all along; the coast from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico. Those taken from the cool Northern waters are the best. The sooner this shell-fish is used after being opened, the better. In the months of May, June, July and August, the oyster becomes soft and milky. It is not then very healthful or well flavored. The common-sized oysters are good for all purposes of cooking except broiling and frying, when the large are preferable. The very large ones are not served as frequently on the half shell as in former years, the Blue-point, or the small Wareham, having supplanted them.
Clams.
There are two kinds of this shell-fish, the common thin-shelled clam and the quahaug. The first is the most abundant. It is sold by the peck or bushel in the shell, or by the quart when shelled. Clams are in season all the year, but in summer a black substance is found in the body, which must be pressed from it before using. The shell of the quahaug is thick and round.
Scollops.
This shell-fish is used about the same as the clam, but is not so popular, owing to a peculiarly sweet flavor. It is in season from September to March, and is sold shelled, as only the muscular part of the fish is used.
VEGETABLES.
Every good housekeeper will supply her table with a variety of vegetables all the year round. One can hardly think of a vegetable, either fresh or canned, that cannot be had in our markets at any season. The railroads and steamers connect the climes so closely that one hardly knows whether he is eating fruits and vegetables in or out of season. The provider, however, realizes that it takes a long purse to buy fresh produce at the North while the ground is yet frozen.
Still, there are so many winter vegetables that keep well in the cellar through cold weather that if we did not have the new ones from the South, there would be, nevertheless, a variety from which to choose. It is late in the spring, when the old vegetables begin to shrink and grow rank, that we appreciate what comes from the South.
Buying Vegetables.
If one has a good, dry cellar, it is economy to procure in the fall vegetables enough for all winter, but if the cellar is too warm the vegetables will sprout and decay before half the cold months have passed. Those to be bought are onions, squashes, turnips, beets, carrots, parsnips, cabbages, potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes, all of which, except the first two, should be bedded in sand and in a cool place, yet where they will not freeze. Squashes and onions should be kept in a very dry room. The price of all depends upon the supply.
WHEN IN SEASON.
Bermuda sends new potatoes into Northern markets about the last of March or first of April. Florida soon follows, and one Southern State after another continues the supply until June, when the Northern and Eastern districts begin. It is only the rich, however, who can afford new potatoes before July; but the old are good up to that time, if they have been well kept and are properly cooked. Cabbage is in season all the year. Beets, carrots, turnips and onions are received from the South in April and May, so that we have them young and fresh for at least five months. After this period they are not particularly tender, and require much cooking. Squashes come from the South until about May, and we then have the summer squash till the last of August, when the winter squash is first used. This is not as delicate as the summer squash, but is generally liked better. Green peas are found in the market in February, though they are very expensive up to the time of the home supply, which is the middle of June, in an ordinary season, in the Eastern States. They last until the latter part of August, but begin to grow poor before that time. There is a great variety, some being quite large, others very small. The smaller are the more desirable, being much like French peas. When peas are not really in season it is more satisfactory to use French canned peas, costing forty cents a can. One can is enough for six persons. When buying peas, see that the pods are green, dry and cool. If they have turned light they have been picked either a long time or when old.
SPINACH.
Spinach is always in season, but is valued most during the winter and spring, as it is one of the few green vegetables that we get then, and is not expensive. It should be green and crisp.
Asparagus.
Asparagus, from hot houses and the South, begins to come into the market in March and April. It is then costly, but in May and June is abundant and quite cheap. About the last of June it grows poor, and no matter how low the price, it will be an expensive article to buy as it has then become very "woody." The heads should be full and green; if light and not full, the asparagus will not spend well.
Dandelions.
The cultivated dandelion is found in the market in March, April and a part of May. It is larger, tenderer and less bitter than the wild plant, which begins to get into the market--in April. By the last of May the dandelion is too rank and tough to make a good dish.
Cauliflower.
This vegetable is generally quite expensive. It is found in the market a greater part of the year, being now grown in hot houses in winter.
It is in perfection from the first of May to November or December. The leaves should be green and fresh and the heads a creamy white. When the leaves are wilted, or when there are dark spots on the head, the cauliflower is not good.
Tomatoes.
The fresh tomato comes to the market from the South in April and sometimes in March. On account of the high price it is then used only where the canned tomato will not answer. In July, August and September it is cheap. It comes next to the potato in the variety of forms in which it may be served. By most physicians it is considered a very healthful vegetable. The time to buy ripe tomatoes for canning is about the last of August, when they are abundant and cheap. About the middle or last of September green ones should be secured for pickling, etc. As the vines still bear a great many that cannot ripen before the frost comes, these are sold for this purpose.
Beans.
There are two kinds of green beans in the market, the string or snap bean and the shell bean. String beans come from the South about the first of April. They are picked in Northern gardens about the first of June, and they last until about the middle of July. They should be green, the beans just beginning to form, and should snap crisply. If wilted or yellow they have been picked too long.
Shell Beans.
Shell beans come in May, but are not picked at the North before June.
They are good until the last of September. There is a great variety of shell beans, but the Lima is considered the best When fresh, shell beans are dry and smooth; but if old, they look dull and sticky.