CONGER EEL

5th May 2024

Photo Credit: veliferum (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

DOLL: Hang yourself, you muddy conger, hang yourself!

HOSTESS: By my troth, this is the old fashion. You two never

meet but fall to some discord.

DOLL & HOSTESS: Henry IV, Part 2, Act 2, Scene 4

CONGER EEL (Conger conger)

Doll uses Conger as a insult to Falstaff, and later in the same play Falstaff refers to eating Conger and Fennel. Conger Eel was an important food in the period. The Good Huswife’s Handmaide for the Kitchin (1594) includes recipes for powdered and fresh Conger.

Conger Eels are found around the southern and western coasts of the UK and Ireland. They live in holes in the day and are active at night. They are blue black with a white belly and can grow up to 2.75 meters in length. They can look similar to the Common Eel (Anguilla anguilla) but the upper jaw of the Conger Eel overhangs the lower jaw. The Good Fish Guide of the Marine Conservation Society advises avoid eating Conger Eels because of concerns about the sustainability of the population. Conger Eels only spawn once in their life, in the mid Atlantic and then die.

More Information

Folger Shakespeare: Search Shakespeare’s Works

Foods of England: A Good Huswife’s Handmaide for the Kitchin (1594)

IUCN Red List: Conger Eel

Marine Conservation Society, Good Fish Guide: Conger Eel

MARLIN Marine Life Information Network: Conger Eel