Ketch

“ You dreamt you had a second pair of keys, Ketch, and couldn’t get rid of the impression on awaking. Mr. Ketch, D.H., Dreamer-in-chief to Helstonleigh!”
Bywater commenced an aggravating dance. Ketch was aggravated sufficiently without it. “What d’ye call me?” he asked, in a state of concentrated temper that turned his face livid. “‘D?’ What d’ye mean by ‘D?’ D stands for that bad sperit as is too near to you college boys; he’s among you always, like a ranging lion. ”

“ That’s Jim Ed’ards; he loves cat-fish, some! Well, he does! Don’t do nothin’ but ketch ’em. Some of the boys says he’s got slimy all over, like unto a cat—don’t know about that; all I know is, we ketcht one in the seine, that weighed over forty pounds. Thar was a mocassin tuk out of it longer than my arm. ”

“ Jenkins, with an amount of scorn so great that it exasperated Ketch as much as the words themselves. “You’ll be wanting a lunatic asylum next. Tripe and onions! If Jenkins was to hint at such a thing as a plate of tripe coming inside my house, I’d tripe him. There’s nothing I have such a hatred to as tripe; and he knows it.”
“Is this the way to treat a man?” foamed Ketch, disappointment and hunger driving him almost into the state hinted at by Mrs. Jenkins. “Joe Jenkins sends me down a note an hour ago, to come here to supper with his old father, and it was to be tripe and onions! ”

“ Ketch?” demanded Stephen Bywater. “I’d advise you to get rid of that, before the next time you go on duty; it might be in your way, you know. Never was such a thing heard of, as for the chief toppler-off of the three kingdoms to be disabled in his limbs! What would you do? I’m afraid you’d be obliged to resign your post, and sink into private life.”
“Now I just vow to goodness, as I’ll do all I can to get these cloisters took from you boys,” shrieked old Ketch, clasping his hands together. “There’s insults as flesh and blood can’t stand; and, as sure as I’m living, I’ll pay you out for it.” ”

“ Mother Ketch," said Captain Lingo. "I wager thou didst not expect us so soon. What's in the larder? We are famished."
Old Mother Ketch looked at her son, the Practitioner, and nodded her head at him once or twice, blinking her eyes. Then she fixed her eyes on Aunt Amanda, and seemed to forget everybody else.
"Well? well?" said Captain Lingo, impatiently. "Art going to keep us here all night? ”

“ Moss, you wouldn’t mind my trying to ketch one of them little bits o’ brown fellows, would you, that hops around under them pine-trees? They ain’t no account to nobody. Oh my! but wouldn’t I like to have him! May I bring my trap some time, and will you help me to ketch one o’ them little bits o’ brown ones? You can beat me ketchin’ ’em!” Several times to-night I have gone across and listened under Georgiana’s window. The servant must have set the cage in her room, for, as I listened, I am sure I heard the red-bird beating his head and breast against the wires. ”

“ Ketch in his impromptu evening visit! He shuffled along at the very top of his speed, his mouth watering, while the delicious odour of tripe and onions appeared to be borne on the air to his olfactory nerves: so strong is the force of fancy. Arrived at his destination, he found the shop closed. It was Mrs. Jenkins’s custom to close at seven from October to April; and the shutters had now just been put up. Mr. Ketch seized the knocker on the shop-door—there was no other entrance to the house—and brought it down with a force that shook the first-floor sitting-room, and startled Mr. ”

“ On an average, the ketch had been out to the reef three days out of every four, and a considerable area at the southern end of the reef had been cleared of shell. But the results had been extremely poor. A quantity of seed pearls had been taken, small enough objects in themselves, but not without commercial value if found in sufficient quantity. They do not realize a very high price, however, for they can only be used, after being calcined, for certain trade purposes. They are reduced to powder for chuman, and used with betel nut as a masticatory in some parts of the world. ”

“ Leopold, with the Trinity House buttons on his pilot coat.
"He's the third hand on the Bishop now," said Mrs. Garstin. "You are surprised?" She sent Leopold into Hugh Town upon an errand, and as we walked back up the hill she said: "Did you notice a grave underneath John's tablet?"
"No," said I.
"I told you there was a mention in the log of a ketch."
"Yes."
"The ketch went ashore on the Crebinachs at half-past four on that Christmas Eve. One man jumped for the rocks when the ketch struck, and was drowned. The rest were brought off by the lugger. But one man was drowned." ”

“ A fictitious ‘Autobiography’ of Ketch, with illustrations from designs by Meadows, was published in 1836, and a ‘Life of Jack Ketch with Cuts of his own Execution’ was among the humorous titles furnished by Tom Hood for the Duke of Devonshire's library at Chatsworth. ”

“ With one stroke of a cutlass, he is able to slice off a head as neatly as you could do it with a broadaxe; there are very few who can do it with a cutlass, let me tell you that. Many men have become famous by being operated on by Ketch. ”

“ The juices of various fruits, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and especially green walnuts, are used as a basis of ketchup, and shell-fish ketchup, from oysters, mussels and cockles, is also made; but in general the term is restricted to sauces having the juice of edible fungi as their basis. ”

“ Growing old with age or with lumbago, he found early rest congenial to his bones, as he informed his friends: so he supped at seven, and retired betimes. Since the trick played him in the summer, he had taken to have his pint of ale brought to him; deeming it more prudent not to leave his lodge and the keys, to fetch it. This was known to the boys, and it rendered their plans a little more difficult.
Mr. Ketch, I say, sat in his lodge, having locked up the cloisters about an hour before, sneezing and wheezing, for he was suffering from a cold, caught the previous day in the wet. ”

“ Haven’t you no ears? haven’t you no clock at your place? D’ye think I shall take it in now?”
“Well, it just comes to this,” said the man, who was the brewer at the public-house, and made himself useful at odd jobs in his spare time: “if you don’t like to take it in now, you can’t have it at all, of my bringing. I’m going up to t’other end of the town, and shan’t be back this side of ten.”
Mr. Ketch, with much groaning and grumbling, took the ale and poured it into a jug of his own—a handsome jug, that had been in the wars and lost its spout and handle—giving back the other jug to the man. ”

“ This line of experiments gives promise of practical results in producing a ketchup which will not only keep while in the bottle, but will also keep longer after it is opened. Each manufacturer must work out the quantities that could be used with his formula and still retain the character of his goods. ”

“ THE MANUFACTURE OF TOMATO KETCHUP It is but natural that a product of this kind should vary greatly in flavor due to the selection and quantity of spices, salt, sugar, and vinegar used, and in consistency due to the degree of concentration and fineness with which the base has been comminuted. Most of the recipes for home-made ketchup call for rather liberal spicing and long cooking so that they have a fairly heavy body. These insure good keeping quality, but impart a dark color to the product. ”

“ The conditions under which ketchup is made and the care with which the work is done at some of the better factories is equal to that used in the manufacture of any food product. Whole selected fruit is used, cleanliness is maintained at every point, the best grades of spices, vinegar, granulated sugar, and salt are added for flavoring, and the bottles are carefully washed. ”

“ The making of tomato ketchup consists essentially in reducing tomatoes to pulp, removing the skins, seeds, hard parts, and stems, adding salt, sugar, condiments, and vinegar to suit the taste, and cooking to a proper consistency. The methods and practices of the various manufacturers differ, and the difference between the best and the poorest procedure corresponds to that between the best and the worst ketchup. No single factory has all of the best methods at every step of manufacture. ”

“ On this year’s ketchup the labels make fewer claims, generally merely stating that it is “tomato ketchup,” which is true whether made from whole tomatoes or refuse. The brand is in most cases the guaranty for good quality. It is not safe to judge the quality by the price, for, though usually good quality can not be expected unless the higher price is paid, some of the high-priced ketchup when placed under the microscope has proven to be a very inferior product. ”

“ Add four cloves, and two blades of mace, slightly bruised, and half a tea-spoonful of black pepper. When the onion is quite tender, chop it small with two anchovies, and set the whole on the fire to boil for a few minutes, with a spoonful of ketchup. Prepare in the mean time the yolks of three fresh eggs, well beaten and strained, and mix the liquor with them by degrees. When all are well mixed, set the saucepan over a gentle fire, keeping a bason in one hand, to toss the sauce to and fro in, and shake the saucepan over the fire, that the eggs may not curdle. ”

“ It is a risky procedure for mild or thin ketchup. It is a common occurrence to have the stock keep apparently while in the bottle, but spoil shortly after opening. The spoilage after opening is most often due to forms which have been present since manufacture and only need the presence of air to start growth, and are not due to infection from the air. A ketchup will inhibit the growth of organisms which gain entrance from without, while those which are present but held in abeyance through exclusion of air, will sometimes grow. ”

“ The writer has samples of ketchup put up in 1906 which apparently are sterile, but which will show spoilage within a few days after opening, though done under sterile conditions, and the spoilage be identical in kind with that observed soon after manufacture. How long these organisms will remain alive is not known. In canning, no foods are considered safe without processing, and the same principle is a good one to follow with ketchup. ”

“ When conidia are first formed on the ketchup, they are a delicate blue in color; they then become bluish green, then green, and finally olive. The development of the color of mold growing on ketchup is practically the same as when grown in wort, tomato bouillon, pea bouillon, or gelatin made with these solutions as a basis. In ketchup containing sodium benzoate, the blue color appearing first remains for a long time, and in old cultures the mold is a dull drab, not olive, as in normal development. ”

“ A pint of new milk, the yolk of two eggs, well beaten, two ounces of butter, well mixed with flour; mix it all together in a saucepan, and, when it boils, add two spoonfuls of mushroom ketchup; it must be stirred all the time, or it will not do. If used for cold veal or lamb, the meat must be cut as thin as possible, the sauce made first to boil, and then the meat put into it, till it is hot enough for table. ”

“ If no broth, a little water will do: add a bunch of herbs, a blade or two of mace, some pepper, and an anchovy. Stew till the meat be tender, thicken with flour and butter, and add a little ketchup. Serve the sweetbread whole upon it, which may either be stewed or parboiled, and then covered with crumbs, herbs, pepper and salt, and browned in a Dutch oven. The whole breast may be stewed in the same way, after cutting off the two ends. A boiled breast of veal, smothered with onion sauce, is also an excellent dish, if not old nor too fat. ”

“ Furthermore, when low temperature is used, it requires a very long time to heat the contents of a bottle in pasteurizing. A ketchup is a very poor conductor of heat and the heavier the body, the longer the time that is required. ”

“ After a decent day’s sport with the tricksome Mayfly, the quarter of an hour just before dinner may profitably be employed in concocting it. Half a pint of cream, or milk, but cream is better, two tablespoons of walnut ketchup, home made for choice, and one tablespoon of anchovy sauce. Boil these up for five minutes, and just before serving add a small walnut of butter, a teaspoon of flour, a squeeze of lemon, and a pinch of cayenne. Stir up all together, and serve very hot. It is the best fresh-water fish-sauce going. ”

“ Ketchup is made in the home with very simple apparatus; a colander or sieve for breaking and straining the pulp, and a copper, porcelain, or earthen kettle for cooking, being all that is necessary. The cooking of the tomatoes with the spices, sugar, vinegar, etc., is generally done slowly, until a heavy body is obtained, which results in a dark color, but insures sterility of the product when it goes into the container, and also contributes to keeping quality after it is opened. ”

“ Ketchup is defined in the Federal food standards as the clean, sound product made from properly prepared pulp of clean, sound, fresh, ripe tomatoes, with spices, and with or without sugar and vinegar.
The solid matter, or total solids, in ketchup varies from less than 12 per cent to over 37 per cent. This means that the product varies from a substance having barely sufficient tomato added to give color and taste, to a rich, heavy tomato ketchup. The variation of total solids in any one brand is, of course, less, but large differences are not unusual. ”

“ If the ketchup is to have the brightest, cleanest color, the removal of the stem is advantageous and, furthermore, if the tomatoes are raised on sandy ground, there may be enough sand held around the stem to make appreciable grit. ”