By Harvey W. Wiley, M. D.

COMMONLY, we discriminate in our ideas of animal products between fish, fowl, and flesh. From a nutritional point of view, there is, however, little difference between them. They all are composed essentially of two principal ingredients, namely, protein, which is the ideal tissue builder, and fat, which is the ideal source of heat and energy. But although from a chemical point of view they are of about equal value nutritionally, they appeal in quite a different way to the taste of the consumer. Fish, as a continued diet, would soon pall upon the appetite. It, therefore, should not be used at every dinner. This statement may be modified, however, when we include with fish the shellfish, such as the oyster, the crab, the clam, and the lobster. By reason of the different properties of these foods, it is entirely possible to serve one of them every day at some one of the meals without overstepping the bounds of gustatory propriety. As foods, fish are quite the equal, weight for weight, with meats, with the exception, of course, of the oyster and the clam, which contain a great deal more moisture than the ordinary fish, the crab, or the lobster. From a nutritional point of view, fish is an unbalanced diet; that is, it consists largely of protein. It is, therefore, proper to eat with fish a highly starchy adjuvant, such as rice, potatoes, or bread. I do not mean by this that these should necessarily be a part of the fish course. In my opinion, the best way to eat fish is to eat nothing with it but the sauce, and very little of that. The vegetables and other adjuvants of the meal are best served separately. One important thing about a fish diet is that there are many varieties, such as the herring and the cod and the salmon, which occur in such large quantities as to render them relatively cheap sources of protein. It is true that fish are often sold at a high price through the manipulations of the market at or near the source of supply, but they are the cheapest form of animal food available. Fish, when fresh, should be distinctly fresh, and when cured should be well cured. The intermediate conditions are dangerous. Those who live near the source of supply can well afford, economically and dietetically, to increase their rations of fish, and all could profitably increase the amounts of dried fish used. Dried herring, salmon, haddock, and cod, offer a most palatable and economic method of increasing the proteins in the ration, a lesson that our European brothers have learned and applied to their profit. Our American cooks show a painful lack of ingenuity in adapting the less palatable and less expensive fish and meats by skillful cooking and the use of sauces as is done abroad. In Germany classes were established to teach the art of cooking fish and thus extend and improve the menu at small cost. The fish recipes offered have, therefore, an economic value as well as an interest from the gustatory and nutritional point of view.