h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Jellied Eels - A4893834
Author: jhutcher - U1822618

Couldn't find anything on the fantastic dish that is Jellied Eels so here it is.

Be nice, i'm new!

Very good first article, though no doubt itl be ripped to shreds in the kindest possible manner.

First line you repeat of "East End of of London"

Pie and Mash shouldn't be capitalised

Take away the space in ( 1/2 Oz) also, there is some GML that will make the 1 and 2 go super and sub script, respectively, anyone know it?

Under Method "bring to he boil" > the

Otherwise good with just that dash of humour

Hey J,

This is a great entry.

Apart from a mis-spelling of "vinegar" I can't find any excuse not to be nice.

No actual comments, just here to say that when I clicked on the Entry it had been posted to PR 42 minutes previously... that has to be a sign!

We don't 'rip entries to shreds' - nicely or otherwise - in PR Tony, we review them, which I'm about to do with this one, being an east London boy an' all

"East End of of London"
One too many ofs there.

It's not true to say that being born within the sound of St Mary le Bow is what's required to make a Cockney is common knowledge, and the bit about the toothless old geezer is a nice touch, but that needs to be presented as a bit of humour rather than alluded to as fact.

"Few Fresh herbs, chopped"
That really leaves interpretation of the recipe wide open to the reader - herbs could be anything from basil to mint to tarragon to rosemary, and using one herb ainstead of another will radically change the flavour. All the jellied eels I've tried taste pretty much the same. Is there more research you could do about this? You've also got a bouquet garni in the recipe - is it herbed twice?

"Skin and bone the eels"
Jellied eels always have the bones in, don't they? All the ones I've eaten have. Indeed you say at the end of the entry that there are bones in jellied eels.

"Cut the fish into pieces about 4 inches long. Roll up each piece and tie with strong cotton or fine string"
Hmmm, this is beginning to sound like rollmops. I've eaten jellied eels at plenty of places around east London, including Cookes's and Manze's as well as a little pie and eel shop in East Ham, the name of which escapes me, and they're always cut up into pieces about an inch long, bone in.

"Measure the stock and make up to 450 ml with water"
When you measure the stock, how much do you need?

Does lemon juice dissolve gelatin? I believe that's usually done in hot liquid.

You *could* serve eels with a salad I guess, but mash and liquor would be more traditional, and I can see that you're going for tradition in this entry.

"the Royal London at Mile End"
The Royal London what?

I really would like to see this get into the Edited Guide, but there's a good deal of work to be done on it yet.

"It's not true to say that being born within the sound of St Mary le Bow is what's required to make a Cockney is common knowledge"

I worded that very badly didn't I

It's not accurate to say that 'being born within the sound of St Mary le Bow is what's required to be a Cockney' is common knowledge - plenty of people don't know that, or they may know about 'being born within the sound of Bow Bells', but not that the bells refer to that church.

I have made all the alterations suggested except the capitalising of 'Pie and Mash' which i would suggest is a title and not the desciption of the dish.

Hi, jhutcher!

This entry is a great idea--I love finding out about traditional foods of all sorts.

One thing which I think is worth mentioning is why this became an East End tradition in the first place. The muddy waters of the Thames Esturary seem to be a good habitat for eels, so that they were easy to catch locally. It was also easy to keep them alive in barrels for long enough to bring them to market, so the supply was easier than that of other kinds of fish.


Azara

Isn't the Royal London in Whitechapel?

The Royal London might be in whitechapel but i think the road is still called MILE END ROAD at the point... i'll investigate.

Interesting idea for the reason for the tradition... excuse me if i just strip and re-word what your've said.

Justin

http://www.bartsandthelondon.org.uk/aboutus/the_royal_london_hospital_aboutus.asp

The Royal London Hospital
Whitechapel Road
Whitechapel

This is good to see, by the way - as a vegetarian with London roots, my dad always used to wax lyrical about how I'd never get to eat jellied eel or pie and mash - so I've always been quite curious. Thanks!

lol i appologise and edit my post to 'whitechapel'

Very fine Entry. I am afraid I will not like this dish, however.

Comments (purely optional, but which I felt could be mentioned). I'll be succint, OK?

The paragraph about being born a cockney seems superfluous to me. I understand Jellied Eel is a cockney(?) delicacy, but that paragraph makes the point too heavy.

Grammes don't need to be capitalized (right?)

"Cut the eel into pieces about 1 inches thick" Although the metric system should be used, you could write it like "into pieces the size of a thumb" so you don't have people cutting the eel with a ruler.

"[...]choking fit and a trip to the Royal London Hospital Whitechapel." If I eat it where I live I will not be taken to that Hospital. That passage might be better off as a footnote perhaps?


HELL

About eels.
They are 'bottom' feeders. If caught in the Thames, who knows what the hell they've been eating!
I remember catching one when fishing in the gravel pits at Branston, Burton- on -Trent about 50 years ago. I stabbed it in the neck, as the standard humane procedure to avoid suffering. It wriggled on for another 4 hours before dying. It was my turn to feel a (h)eel.

Cruel sod! I hear you all exclaim.

f.

<>

*Childish sniggering*

You know exactly what I mean, Dready!

(Snort of indignation!)

f,

Yes, I do... err... frontiersy, but I couldn't resist!

Umm the cockney element is staying because its supposed to be a cultural as well as a food recipe entry. Attempting to understand why anyone would want to preserve such as dish comes form fist understanding where the dish finds its roots.

The comment on the Royal London chocking fit etc is supposed to read as a warning, which is why it is in bold and at the bottom. putting it as a footnote makes it read like a witty observation as opposed to a real danger.

Indeed it should be metric *slaps himself* and is.

Grams is uncapitalised as from now.

I will not add information about eels as i am sure they can be done more justice form an entry on there own! yay

thanks

Justin

As a child, I used to visit Epsom Races with my parents, and jellied eels were always on sale there - almost the only place I've ever seen them. Like Hell, I don't think I could bring myself to eat them!