IELTS-Advantage-Reading-Test - Passage 1 - COOKING FISH

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by Rowan

Practice Reading Test passage 1 explains techniques for cooking fish, contrasting grilling, baking in buttered paper, boiling, and frying. It emphasizes controlling heat sources and tools for grilling, preserving flavor when using paper, and avoiding common boiling mistakes such as insufficient salt. It also provides detailed proportions for court-bouillon and guidance for successful frying with enough fat to form a crust. The text concludes with notes on “au gratin” preparation and includes question prompts focused on comprehension and word selection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Passage 1: COOKING FISH

Grilling

Baking in buttered paper

Boiling fish

Frying fish

Au gratin and salted fish

Questions 1-4

Questions 5-8

IELTS Advantage Practice Reading Test Passage 1 COOKING FISH Perhaps the only ways of properly cooking fish are baking and grilling, yet these are precisely the ways least practised. Boiling and frying have previously held too great a monopoly in our methods. When grilling, a perfectly clear fire is absolutely indispensable; more so in the case of fish than when intending to cook steak or chops. A shovel-full of good cinders, slightly wetted, and given sufficient time to become red-hot, will generally ensure a good surface heat, but a charcoal "braisière" is, by far, the best fire for this purpose. A special gridiron should be kept for fish only. After using, let it be thoroughly washed and dried, and before using again rub the bars over with a little oil; fish is more easily marked, and apt to stick sooner than meat. If the gridiron is not a double one, use a pair of tongs with which to turn the fish over; beware of sticking a fork into it. There can be no doubt that grilling brings out a flavour which nothing else will. What can surpass a fresh mackerel, grilled after being split open and boned? An important point to bear in mind in this method of cookery is, to keep in the flavour. A slice of grilled salmon will taste far nicer if the slice has been wrapped in buttered paper; but cooking anything in paper requires the greatest care, as should there be the slightest flare, the paper will catch fire. When baking fish that is wrapped in buttered paper, the chief thing to bear in mind is not to spare the butter. This, one of the most delicate and delicious ways of cooking fish, is apt to be entirely spoilt, because only a little dab of butter is allowed. When fish has been cooked in paper it should be sent to the table just as it is, paper and all. Always use plain white note paper, never printed. When boiling fish, a very common fault is omitting to put sufficient salt into the water. In the case of large fish, salt should be added in the proportion of half a pound to a gallon of water; for smaller fish, a proportion of a quarter-pound to the gallon is sufficient. It is now generally thought best to place fish in nearly boiling water, then allow it to come gently to the boiling point again, this keeps in the flavour on the same principle as the boiling of meat. The time allowed depends entirely on the size of the fish, but when the flesh shows signs of being just able to be separated from the bone, it is amply done. To preserve the whiteness of white fish, it is wise to rub them over with lemon-juice before boiling. One method of boiling fish, when it is intended for eating cold, is to do it in"court-bouillon," and if fresh-water fish is cooked this way it is relieved of much of its insipidity. One part of vinegar, one part of red wine, to four parts of water, for the "bouillon. " To two quarts of the liquor put an ounce of salt, half an ounce of pepper, a bunch of savoury herbs, a sliced onion and a carrot. Sometimes a small piece of bacon is also added. Let these all boil together for some time, then strain the liquor and keep in a stone jar. It will keep a long time if occasionally re-boiled. The fish should be well covered with the liquid when laid in the fish-kettle and allowed to boil gradually. To fry fish successfully it should be literally boiled in fat. This cannot be done over a slow or smoky fire, neither can it be done unless an abundance of fat is allowed. It is not an extravagant method, even if the pan is a large one, and it takes two or three pounds to fill it. If carefully poured into a basin containing boiling water after the fish has been cooked, the loose breadcrumbs and other particles will fall to the bottom, and the fat form a clear white crust. When due care is exercised there is no reason why the same fat should not be used fifty times over. Let it be quite boiling when Note: This is not a real IELTS test. This practice test is to give you an opportunity to practise implementing the stra

FAQs

Which utensil is recommended for grilling fish?

A special gridiron should be kept for fish only.

What is the main purpose of wrapping grilled fish in buttered paper?

It helps keep the flavor.

Where should “au-gratin” dishes be cooked and served from?

They must come to the table in the dish in which they were cooked, so a gratin-dish is required.

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by Rowan