U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services Historic document – Content may not reflect current scientific research, policies or practices. FISH PROCESSING HANDBOOK FOR THE PHILIPPINES By ARTHUR C. A VERY Techno/ogist Drawings by PIO MEDEL RESEARCH REPORT 26 fish and Wildlife Service Albert M. Day, Director United States Department of the Interior Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary U N IT E D ST ATE S G 0 VE R N M E N T P R I NT I N G 0 FF I CE : 1 9 5 0 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. : Price 50 cents ABSTRACT Fish is second only to rice as a food in the Philippines. This handbook, intended for both home and commercial processors of Philippine fishes, covers the handling of fresh fish, the various methods of preserving fish-freezing, salting, drying, smoking, canning, and miscellaneous methods such as pickling-and the spoilage of fish and fish products. It gives a step-by-step de­ scription of Philippine fish-preserving methods with suggestions on improving them, and of methods used in other parts of the world which have been adapted for Philippine use by the Philip­ pine Fishery Program of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Tables of useful data for fish processors and of drawings of common species of Philippine fish are included. PREFACE Fish is second only to rice as the most important food in the Philippines. As such it merits as much attention or more than other foods. Through the past years the former Philippine Bureau of Science did much work on methods of preserving fish, but no deter­ mined effort was made to organize this experimental material, together with methods used in other parts of the world, to make a handbook that Philippine fish processors could consult to make new products or improve the old ones. I have tried to combine what I know about fish preservation with what has been published by scientists in the United States, to make a handbook suitable for use in the Philippines. I have borrowed freely from the works of Norman D. Jarvis, Technologist, Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior; Augustin F. Umali, Ichthyologist, Philippine Fishery Program of the Fish and Wildlife Service; and others of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the former Philippine Bureau of Science. Dominador Calvez was my assistant throughout the experimental work, and the value this handbook may have for the processors of fish will be a reflection of his efforts. William S. Hamm was initially in charge of the Fish Preservation Section of the Philippine Fishery Program and did much to establish the experimental work and the writing of the handbook. The work was under the general supervision of John A. Clague, head of the Technological Section of the Philippine Fishery Program. Leroy Christey and Clara Paltenghi did a great amount of work in reading and correcting the manuscript. To all those who helped produce this handbook, heartfelt thanks are extended. II CONTENTS Page Preface . ... ....... ......... .. ... .. .... .. ....... II Introduction . 1 Handling fresh fish. 2 Freezing . 12 Salting ... ... ........ .. ............ .. .. ... .. .. 18 Drying ... ... .. .. .. .. .... ........ .... .. .. .. ... 33 Smoking.... ........ .. ... .. ......... ....... .... .... 46 Miscellaneous preserving methods. 54 Canning .... ..... ....... ........ ... ... ....... .. ... 61 Home canning of species that are seldom canned. 100 Spoilage of fish and fish products . 105 Reference data for fish processors . 114 Bibliography . 139 Ill Transporting bagoong in Northern Luzon. FISH PROCESSING HANDBOOK FOR THE PHILIPPINES The Philippine Fishery Pro­ Processes used successfully in gram 1 of the Fish and Wildlife other parts of the world are pre­ Service has cooperated with the sented, as well as those used in the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries in Philippines which are known to the preparing this handbook on fish author. It is understood that many preservation. of the local processes vary from one The purpose of the book is to section of the country to the next, present, under one cover, as many hut it is beyond the scope of this as possible of the fish-preservation book to describe all variants. methods that may be of use to Fili­ Not all of the procedures de­ pinos interested in home or com­ scribed have been tried in the Philippine Fishery Program lab­ mercial fish processing. It is not oratory, nor can all of them be rec­ a textbook for the student or an ommended. Some of the met.hods exhaustive treatise for the scientist, are included merely because they but presents various useful pro­ happen to be in use. Anyone who cedures in a step-by-step form that does fish-processing work will have it is hoped can be followed easily. to adapt the methods that he uses to his own particular circumstances. 'Part ot the Philippine Rehabilitation Pro· gram authorized by the Philippine Rehablllta· It is hoped that the information tlon Act of 1946, title 50, App. U. S. Code, sec. 1789. will prove interesting and helpful. HANDLING FRESH FISH The proper handling of fresh fish this simple beginning the preserva­ is important from the moment it tion procedure for fresh fish is one lands in the fisherman's boat till it of taking additional steps to keep reaches the housewife's cooking pan. the fish at as low a temperature as The quality of a fish starts to de­ possible. teriorate when it leaves the water. The methods of cooling fish are No way has yet been devised to many, and they vary greatly in effi­ keep fish absolutely fresh. All that ciency. They include damp burlap can be done is to slow down the stal­ covering, leaves, cracked or shaved ing process. ice, refrigerated water or brine, re­ To approach the problem of keep­ frigerated containers, dry ice, and ing fish fairly fresh it is necessary others. Th:lciding which one will to know, in general, what causes fish satisfy each handler's situation de­ to "go bad". It is usually conceded pends on the factors of size of fish, that the flesh of the live fish is prac­ kind of fish, condition of fish, dis­ tically sterile so far as bacteria are tance to be transported, use to be concerned; it is not until the fish made of the fish, and facilities avail­ dies that the invasion occurs. From able. The fisherman, the middle­ the outside, the skin and fish slime man, and the retailer will each have have some protective action, so that to approach the problem by the way bacteria usually get a foothold from that will best fit his own circum­ the infested internal organs of the stances. fish. But bacteria alone are not re­ sponsible for the spoilage of fish; SMALL-BOAT FISHERMAN there are enzymes present in the The solitary fisherman in his flesh and organs of fish that have banca cannot make any great out­ the power to act on fish tissue and lay for ice or mechanical refriger­ lower its quality, and fish fats have ation, so the means of keeping his a tendency to oxidize and turn ran­ catch cool must be simple and inex­ cid. pensive. If the fish are small, un­ Fish deteriorate very rapidly injured, and can stand being en­ when exposed to high temperatures closed, the live well is the best means and the sun; when the temperature of keeping the fish fresh. The well of the fish is lowered, disintegration should be a shaded container made is slower. Thus, keeping fish in the of slats, netting, or screening, set shade is the first step toward in­ down in the water in such a way creasing their storage life. From that constant water circulation is 2 SMALL-BOAT FISHERMAN Figure 1 .-Live wells that can be used on banca1. available and the fish will not likely to keep well than fish that thrash around so as to bruise or struggle in an otter traw 1 or gill kill themselves. net for a considerable time. Strug­ Another method is to place the gling causes a premature rigor fish in a shallow layer on a coarse mortis or muscle stiffening that does screen in a shaded place, exposed to not persist as long as in fish killed the breezes. If two or three pieces quickly; consequently the fish that of very wet burlap are placed over struggle do not keep as well. The them, the rapid evaporation of the fisherman must also remember not water from the burlap will lower to bruise fish by knocking them the temperature of the fish below about or stepping on them, as that of the air and will aid preserva­ bruises become focal points of spoil­ tion. A similar procedure uses an age. Another way to keep the qual­ openwork cabinet covered by wet ity high is to avoid leaving a fish burlap. in the water after it is dead, as the There are other things that the water leaches away some of the fisherman should know about the goodness. A final note to remember preservation of his catch. Fish is that eviscerating fish immediately caught with a minimum of struggle, after they die helps prevent auto­ , such as by fish trap, purse seine, lytic changes from the feed they and handline, are generally more have been eating, and invasion of 3 HANDLING FRESH FISH the flesh by the bacteria present in must be put between some of the the internal organs. Fish thus evis­ layers of fish to distribute the cerated must be washed and kept weight. If small fish are being clean afterwards or they will pick handled the ice has to be broken up np other spoilage organisms at the finer than for large fish; egg-size places where the skin has been cut.