{"id":101778,"date":"2025-02-04T11:31:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T16:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=101778"},"modified":"2025-02-04T11:31:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T16:31:37","slug":"foods-our-ancestors-ate-eel-anyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/foods-our-ancestors-ate-eel-anyone.html","title":{"rendered":"Foods Our Ancestors Ate: Eel Anyone?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers to find eel recipes that our ancestors enjoyed. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What types of seafood do you enjoy? What we eat and what we collectively find appealing changes over time. Although I do know a few people who\u2019ve had eel, it\u2019s definitely not everyone\u2019s cup of tea. And for the most part, it\u2019s a food we find in the past and not a regular ingredient in the present. But that wasn\u2019t always how it was in the United States.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: an eel in the waters of Maui defending its territory. Credit: Daniel Ortega, a dive instructor and the author\u2019s son.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eel has been enjoyed for centuries. In some places outside of the United States it is more common today, such as in Spain where you might order a tapa of \u201cangulas [baby eels] drenched in hot olive oil pungent with garlic\u201d (1) or in England where you might have a side of jellied eels with a savory meat pie. There are popular eel dishes in many Asian countries. In the United States you might not find eel gracing family dinner tables, but it can be found in places like sushi restaurants.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: plate of jellied eel from Reading, England. Credit: JanesDaddy; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But eel was enjoyed in the United States in centuries past \u2013 our ancestors ate a lot of eel. \u201cEarly Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries loved eel\u2026 so much that they harvested them everywhere from Cape Cod to local streams. Back then, eels were such a hot commodity, lobsters served as bait.\u201d (2) Can you imagine a time when lobsters were used as bait to catch eels?<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: grilled eel (Kabayaki) served over rice, Japan. Credit: Naotake Murayama; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If eels were once such an important food in America, why don\u2019t we eat eel today? Declining eel supply, and Americans\u2019 disinterest in eating foods that look like their \u201cnatural form,\u201d are two of the reasons. (3)<\/p>\n

Like with any food, newspapers printed eel recipes for their readers \u2013 sometimes as a marketing ploy by an industry looking to sell Americans on a particular food, or by those genuinely interested in introducing readers to a food they love. Either way, historical newspapers provide a look at various recipes for eel.<\/p>\n

Preparing the Eel<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although they look like underwater snakes, eels are actually elongated fish. Before you cook an eel, you must first prepare it. As you can probably imagine, getting the eel ready to cook is a lot like preparing snake.<\/p>\n

This 1954 newspaper article explains some of the steps needed to prepare an eel for cooking once you purchase it from the local fish market. These steps include skinning the eel, cutting it into three-inch sections, and then soaking the meat in salted water.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, California), 18 February 1954, page 31<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fried<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1977, New York Times<\/em> food writer and cookbook author Craig Claiborne described an eel cookbook in his article \u201cInteresting Ideas About Eels,\u201d and provided one recipe from it: Fried Eel with Tartar Sauce. He introduced the recipe by stating: \u201cWe happen to enjoy properly cooked eel in almost any of its versatile forms.\u201d Frying the eel was probably one way to get even the most disinterested to at least try it.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 6 January 1977, page 28<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pie<\/strong><\/p>\n

One dish you may have heard of is Eel Pie, and there are numerous historical recipes for this dish including this one from a 1938 column that promises to provide \u201cunusual recipes for four different kinds of fish.\u201d The author describes eels as the \u201csweetest, finest of all fish meat and very excellent when made into [a] pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Schenectady Gazette (Schenectady, New York), 18 February 1938, page 24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chowder<\/strong><\/p>\n

This 1941 Eel Chowder recipe provided by Miss Florence Walkman of Long Island was used for \u201cthe annual dinner of the Long Island fishermen and boatmen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Texas), 23 February 1941, page 73<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Miss Walkman isn\u2019t the first to publish an Eel Chowder recipe. In a 1914 column titled \u201cRecipes Worth Trying,\u201d all kinds of recipes for ocean creatures are featured including shad and quahaug (a type of clam). The Eel Chowder recipe is simple and calls for potatoes, pork fat, and eel.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Norwich Morning Bulletin (Norwich, Connecticut), 27 June 1914, page 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Creative Interpretations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some home cooks are pretty creative in their interpretations of how to serve eel \u2013 as is this contest winner, Mrs. George Degel. Found in an August 1937 recipe contest for chilled fish combinations, her winning recipe, Sliced Chilled Rolled Eel with Anchovy Caper Stuffing, is said to \u201ctempt the home fisherman\u2019s appetite.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana), 28 August 1937, page 18<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Have You Eaten an Eel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty sure I have had a thin slice of eel in a sushi roll, but to be honest I don\u2019t remember the taste. My sister-in-law, who enjoyed eel as a child but lost interest in the taste as an adult, described a family recipe for a fried eel which was first marinated in wine, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika. She described it as tasting \u201cfatty and slimy.\u201d Probably not the best recommendation for the unusual meat.<\/p>\n

Have you ever eaten eel? Do you have a family recipe for it? Let us know in the comments below.<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> the European conger, heaviest of all eels. Credit: \u201cLes Poisson\u201d by Gervais et Boulart, 1877; Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n

__________________<\/p>\n

(1) O\u2019Connell, Libby H. \u201cThe American Plate. A Culinary History in 100 Bites\u201d (Illinois: Sourcebooks, 2015). pp. 46-47.
\n(2) \u201cThe Foods Americans Once Loved to Eat\u201d Smithsonian (https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/arts-culture\/foods-americans-once-loved-eat-180955683\/<\/a>: accessed 21 December 2022).
\n(3) Ibid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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