Fry

“ Why, these, are all mild and saintly in comparison with a fish! What a bitter fright must the smaller fry live in! They crowd to the shallows, lie hid among the weeds, and dare not say the river is their own. ”

“ In giving moist food such as pounded [Pg 48] shrimps, liver, meat, or the yolks of eggs, a good plan while the fry are very small is to put the food in a small net made of fine muslin mounted on a wire ring, and dipping the end of this net into the water, allow small particles to escape through the muslin. This ensures no large pieces getting into the rearing boxes. As the fry grow larger, these precautions are of course modified, as the little fish are capable of swallowing larger pieces of food. ”

“ To take away the dread of the sea from young boys, they mix into their food small fishes which have been devoured by larger ones and taken from their stomachs—the underlying idea being that these half-digested fry are thoroughly familiar with the storms and perils of the deep, and will communicate these virtues to the boys who eat them. ”

“ The appearing of the Spectrum (when in her own shape) in the same cloaths, to seeming, which Mrs. Furze her daughter-in-law has on. The intangling of Fry's face and legs, about his neck, and about the frame of the chairs, so as they have been with great difficulty disengaged.
But the most remarkable of all happened in that day that I passed by the door in my return hither, which was Easter-eve, when Fry returning from work (that little he can do) he was caught by the woman spectre by the skirts of his doublet, and carried into the air ”

“ Cut in middling-sized pieces about 1lb. of lamb’s fry, fairly mixed; put one quart of water in a stew-pan; when boiling, add in the fry, boil fast for ten minutes, lay the fry on a cloth, dry it well, have some fine bread-crumbs ready made, to which you add a teaspoonful of salt, two of chopped parsley, a little grated nutmeg, break and beat one or two eggs well, dip the fry in by pieces, roll them in the breadcrumbs, and slightly beat with a knife, to make the breadcrumbs adhere to the fry ”

“ Fry. Liked the first part, sir, where he walked into thieving. Don't like his telling 'em he loves 'em. 'Tisn't to be supposed a gentleman could really love such rubbish as that. Sounds like palaver.
Hawes. Now I liked it all, though it spoiled my nap.
Fry. Well, sir, it is very good of you to like it, for I don't think you like the man.
Hawes. The man is all very well in his place. He ought to be bottled up in one of the dark cells all the week, and then brought up and uncorked in chapel o' Sundays. It is as good as a romance is a sermon of his.
Fry. That it is, sir. ”

“ Ingredients.—A pig's fry, which consists of the heart, lights, liver and sweetbread, frying-fat, flour, salt and pepper, sage.
Method.—Wash the fry well, cover it with water, add a little salt, and cook gently for 1⁄2 an hour. Drain and dry well, cut into thin slices, and coat them lightly with flour seasoned with salt, pepper and a little sage. Fry in hot fat until nicely browned, then remove and keep hot. Sprinkle a little flour on the bottom of the frying-pan, let it brown, then pour in a little boiling water, and add seasoning to taste. ”

“ The small fry come to an excited and enthusiastic market. Slim, silvery kingfish, grey sharks, and blue bonito, harry the shoals, ripping through them with steel-like flashes, and as the little fish ruffle the surface of sea or emerge therefrom in living silvery spray, in frantic efforts to escape, the terns take all they want, screaming with satisfaction. Then, too, the blacks join in the work of destruction. When the frill of fish lies limp on the beach, they fabricate a seine net, cheap, but admirably suited for the purpose. ”

“ Nature has endowed the young fry with so much instinct of self-preservation, that for many days they keep under the gravel, and it is curious to see the shoal hiding together under large stones to protect themselves from danger: this they continue to do until the eggshell, in which they remain partially enveloped, falls off from their delicate frames. ”

“ If alive, its head should be cut off, and it should bleed as much as possible; but if dead, the pieces should be put into lukewarm water to disgorge previous to being cooked. The young fry are exceedingly good, and may be dressed like fresh-water eels. The large ones may be made into soup ”

“ The fry are found in sheltered and marshy districts, when after a spell of fine weather the ground is getting warmer, as, for instance, in the neighbourhood of Athens, at Salamis and near the tomb of Themistocles and at Marathon ”

“ The butler said, "I'll see if Mr. Fry is in," and started to close the door. Before the latch clicked, I said, "Tell him I don't want to borrow any money!" He disappeared into the interior darkness without making any sign of having heard. After what seemed a long time, he returned and said, "Mr. Fry will see you."
I followed the butler through a long, gloomy hall that was draped and carpetted in dark red and gold. ”

“ The eggs lie dormant until the warmth of next years' sun hatches them out. The small fry has then the clear water to commence its life in. It feeds, grows and runs down to the sea thereafter to do and die as its progenitors have been doing since the race began. ”

“ The infant fry are of course very helpless, and are seldom seen during the first week or two of their existence, when they carry about with them, as a provision for food, a portion of the egg from whence they emanated. At that time the fish is about half an inch in size, and presents such a singular appearance that no person seeing it would ever believe that it would grow into a fine grilse or salmon. ”

“ After a time, and that soon, the little crustacean seems at ease and swims slowly about, when the young fry leave her and swarm around her in a perfect cloud; they never leave her for more than half or three-quarters of an inch, and as she slowly moves about they accompany her. ”

“ To know when the fat is of a proper heat, according to what you are to fry, is the great secret in frying.
To fry fish, parsley, potatoes, or any thing that is watery, your fire must be very clear, and the fat quite hot; which you may be pretty sure of, when it has done hissing, and is still. We cannot insist too strongly on this point: if the fat is not very hot, you cannot fry fish either to a good colour, or firm and crisp.
To be quite certain, throw a little bit of bread into the pan; if it fries crisp, the fat is ready; if it burns the bread, it is too hot. ”

“ It is difficult to lay down any certain rule as to what is the best time at which to take the next step—that of turning the fry out into the rearing ponds. When the fry have got into more or less regular habits, and showing no fear of whoever it is who feeds them, come up readily and seize the food boldly, is probably the best time to let them out into the larger space of the pond. I do not mean to say that when a certain [Pg 52] proportion of the fish have got over their natural shyness, and feed boldly and without hesitation, the whole of them should be set free. ”

“ Like those birds, it is nocturnal, its principal feeding time being from near sunset until daylight. In procuring its food it wades into the water, immerses its immense bill in the soft mud, with the head, and even the whole neck, beneath the surface, moving its partially opened mouth to and fro, munching the small fry—insects or shell-fish—before it swallows them. Where many are together, one usually acts as a sentinel. ”

“ This fry is incapable of growth and of propagating its kind; after living for a while it dies away and another creature takes its place, and so, with short intervals excepted, it may be said to last the whole year through. ”

“ And so Lizzie ran for John Fry at once, and we gave him full directions, how he was to slip out of the barley in the confusion of the breakfast, so that none might miss him; and to run back to the black combe bottom, and there he would find the very same pony which Uncle Ben had been tied upon, and there is no faster upon the farm. ”

“ Fry died after a few days' illness on 29 March 1787, aged 59, having retired from business a short time before. Like his father and grandfather he was a member of the Society of Friends, and was buried in their burial-ground at the Friars, Bristol. After his death the chocolate and cocoa manufactory was carried on by his widow under the style of Anna Fry & Son. The previous title had been Fry, Vaughan, & Co. In 1795 the works were removed from Newgate Street to Union Street, where a Watt's steam engine was erected, the first in Bristol. ”

“ The smaller fry remain in the pond until, as it has been said in higher circles of society, their beards are grown, or, in their case, until their scales are grown, to fit them for the rough and tumble of salt-water life. ”

“ If finely divided food is given in such small quantities that practically none of it sinks to the bottom without their having a fair chance at it, I believe that in a box containing only a couple of thousand fry, it would be found that they never stopped feeding during the whole day. If, however, too large pieces of food are offered to the little fish, many of them are likely to be choked and to die, from trying to swallow a piece a little too big for them. ”

“ Herbert. "To-day we shall be quite sufficiently busy preparing the fat for frying. Can you, Mary, tell me what it is to fry food? If you had to fry the fritters, for instance, how would you set about it?"
"Please, ma'am, let me think," said Mary. "When we fried the pancakes, we put a little fat in the frying-pan, and let it melt, and then put in the batter. So I suppose we should do the same with fritters."
"That is exactly what we must not do," said Mrs. Herbert. "There are a few things which we must fry in a shallow pan, with very little fat. Pancakes and omelettes are amongst them. ”

“ It is quite as easy to cook a fry properly as to flour and fry it hard and over-brown, as is too frequently done. Trim the sweetbreads neatly, and simmer them for a quarter of an hour in good white stock with an onion. When they are done take them up and put the brains in the gravy, allowing them to boil as fast as possible in order to harden them; let them get cold, then cut into slices, egg and bread-crumb them, and fry with the sweetbread in a little butter. After the brains are taken out of the gravy, put the slices of heart and melt in, and let them stew slowly until tender. ”

“ All large fish make nice fricassee. Cut the fish into slices and lay it in a gravy made of fried onions, parsley, tomatoes and a little garlic; fry in butter and serve. Add catsup if liked.
TO FRY FISH
The fat from bacon, or salt pork, is much nicer to fry fish in, than lard. After the fish is cleaned, wash it and wipe it dry, and let it lie on a cloth till all the moisture is absorbed; then roll it in flour. No salt is required if fried in bacon or pork fat. There must be fat enough to float the fish or they will not fry nicely, but instead soak fat and be soft to the touch. ”

“ Since then I have caught many spent fish, both cock and hen, showing that the ova, at any rate, have been duly deposited; but so far I have not been able to identify the fry. A large quantity of fry of sorts I have secured this season, but they proved to be the fry of stickleback. The "Trinity" two-year-old fish I restocked with seem to be growing admirably. This form of rainbow trout have the [63] reputation of being, if possible, freer risers, quicker growers, and harder fighters than the ordinary kind; so far they seem to act up to their reputation. ”

“ Frying is, in fact, boiling in fat. Before you begin to fry, rub the inside of the Frying-pan with a little fat, warm it and wipe it out with a cloth, quite clean.—To fry fish, half fill the pan with fat, olive oil, nice fresh lard, clarified drippings, or beef or mutton suet;—but [206] whatever fat be used let it be perfectly sweet, free from salt, and nice and clean. Keep a brisk fire, and make the fat very hot, which may be known by its having done hissing. ”

“ Francis Fry, F.S.A., of Bristol, whose name is as well known among biblists and connoisseurs in china for his fine collection of old bibles and choice porcelain as the firm to which he belongs is to the general public for the “Fry’s Chocolate” which they manufacture to so large an extent. Mr. Joseph Fry, the friend of Champion, died in 1786, about nine years after the works had been closed on their removal into Staffordshire ”

“ You will be surprised how mealy and palatable the yolk will be. Some people have the water boiling furiously, then set off the fire, drop in the eggs, cover and let them set 6 minutes.
Fried Eggs:—Grease the fry pan, as if for cooking flapjacks. Have it hissing hot; break the eggs into a cup, one by one, so as to be sure that they are fresh; turn into the fry pan, and when the white, which has run out, is congealed, turn it in toward the center. Cook till it is of the desired consistency. The egg may be turned over, if it is desired that the yolk be hard. ”

“ They were pink and tiny; as feet, however, they belonged anywhere in the world but in Anthony Fry's bachelor home, and he turned suddenly from them and looked at their owner, who smiled faintly.
"You look a lot saner when you're scared," she mused. ”

“ At a given signal the poisonous stuff is baled into the river, and very soon afterwards a scene of wild excitement begins, for the fish are speared or captured with handnets as they rise, stupefied, to the surface. The women scoop up the small fry in their nets. ”