Skip to content

Tench, Baked

From Mrs. Beeton's household management (1907).

No ratings yet

A historical recipe

Mrs. Beeton's household management, by Mrs. (Isabella Mary) Beeton (1907).

United Kingdom

Known as a British recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards. Printed in United Kingdom: that says where the book was made, not where the dish comes from.

Ingredients 2 ingredients

  1. a pint of white sauce
  2. a tablespoonful of lemon-juice

Possible health benefits

General information, not medical advice.

  1. Lemon juice High in vitamin C

    High in vitamin C · 39 mg per 100 g, 48% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of blood vessels.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of bones.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage.
    11 more authorised claims
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of gums.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of teeth.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal psychological function.
    • Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Vitamin C contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
    • Vitamin C contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
    • Vitamin C contributes to the regeneration of the reduced form of vitamin E.
    • Vitamin C increases iron absorption.

    Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble nutrient found in some foods. In the body, it acts as an antioxidant, helping to protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals. NIH fact sheet

    Nutrients per 100 g of “Lemon juice, raw”, USDA FoodData Central.

Claims: EU Register of health claims (Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, © European Union, CC BY 4.0), shown only where the ingredient meets the claim's conditions (Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006). Nutrients: USDA FoodData Central (CC0). Facts: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (public domain).

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Oven and hot trays. Use dry oven gloves for trays and dishes: a hot tray looks just like a cold one. Open the oven door away from your face and let the first rush of heat out.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. Ingredients.
  2. — i tench, 3 ozs.
  3. of butter or fat, 2 shallots finely-chopped, 2 lemons, £ a pint of white sauce, i tables poonful of coarsely-chopped gherkin, salt and pepper.
  4. Method.
  5. — Scale and clean the fish thoroughly, remove the gills, which arc always muddy, then sprinkle the fish liberally with lemon- and put it aside for i hour.
  6. Melt the butter in a baking-dish, put in the fish, and bash prinkle with salt and pepper, and add the shallots.
  7. Cover the fish with a greased paper, and bake gently from 25 to 35 minutes, according to size.
  8. Make the sauce as directed, he gherkin and a tablespoonful of lemon-juice, and season to taste.
  9. Serve the fish with the sauce poured over.
  10. Time.
  11. — About $ an hour.
  12. Average Cost, uncertain, tench being seldom offered for sale.
  13. Sufficient for 2 or 3 persons.
  14. Seasonable from inber to March.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Saucepan
  • Chef's knife
  • Cutting board
Source public domain per archive.org metadata; unverified
Credit

From Mrs. Beeton's household management (1907), printed page 395, digitised by the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/mrsbeetonshouse00beetuoft

What was changed: Read by machine from the book's scanned text into ingredients and method. The title's capitals were tidied; spelling and scanning errors are left as they are.