fish ('fish) n. an aquatic animal used as food
shellfish ('shel fish) n. an edible mollusk or crustacean

Fish by its very nature spoils more quickly then meat. In medieval England, laws were passed which required that fish could not be sold to the general public after 11:00am or before 2:00pm, the heat of the day being sufficient to spoil the fish. Between those hours fish was sold only to taverns, inns and hospitals.

There are a variety of ways to keep fish from spoiling: salting, pickling, smoking and packing in oil. One recipe for keeping lobsters is contained in Robert May's The Accomplished Cook. Because it is an interesting way to preserve lobsters, I have copied it down in it's original form:

To Keep Lobsters a Quarter of a Year

Take them being boil'd as aforesaid, wrap them in course rags having ben steeped in brine and bury them in a cellar barrell or other container in some sea-sand pretty deep.

Galerie de Paris © Copyright 2002 TRG Creations