You were generous with your salmon loaf recipes. The most interesting thing about them was how varied they were. Points of agreement were that one should use canned salmon, plus bread, milk, eggs, salt and pepper. The quantities were pretty variable, though, which means this recipe has a high tinkerability quotient, my favorite sort; besides, it means you can’t mess up too terribly.

Some of your salmon loaf recipes have been around quite awhile. Evelyn Stinson from West Enfield got hers from a dear friend, Carolyn Burton of Detroit, who has passed away. A recipe is a lovely way to remember a friend. Emily Anderson of Holden uses the one she got from her mother, Cathy. Nancy Tracy of Brewer has one from her husband’s aunt, Elizabeth Tracy Copperthwaite of Winter Harbor. Patricia Reynolds, who lives in Hermon, has her mom, Madaline Roberts Leathers’ recipe, one that had been in the Roberts family for years, she says. Minnie McCormick in Dover-Foxcroft has her family’s old recipe. She wrote: “Mother used to make it often when salmon was thirty-nine cents a can. Imagine!” Imagine indeed.

Susan White in Bangor picked up her recipe from her Columbia Gas Co. bill back in the 1970s. Even though the recipe says to bake it in a gas oven, she said, “my electric one does the job, too!” Too bad for the gas company.

Gina Doyle from Corinna adapted the Shanty Fish Loaf recipe in Cooking Down East, substituting salmon for “flaked cooked fish” a perfectly good idea, because she and her husband are watching their egg intake.

We live in the age of the incredible shrinking can-fulls. Some of you will remember when a can of coffee held a pound and now we are down to 12 ounces. The same thing happened with salmon. The average can now is around 14 ounces so some recipes need two cans in order to make the correct amount. One approach, if you have an old recipe and one can of salmon, is to scant the other ingredients just a bit. A couple of you recommended red salmon, more expensive than the pink stuff. And really, I don’t know why you couldn’t use 2 cups of leftover poached or baked fresh salmon, flaked up. One can makes a small loaf, so if you have more than three to feed, double the recipe below.

Several of the recipes said to remove the bones and skin. Several recommended using the juice from the can and adding milk to it to make sufficient liquid. Some call for bread crumbs, others for cracker crumbs. With cracker crumbs you need more liquid. I made mine with fresh bread crumbs and needed only an additional quarter-cup of liquid.

The most common seasonings were chopped onion, a bit of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Paprika showed up a couple times. Emily Anderson’s recipe called for pimentos, dill, chives, lemon zest, a few drops of Tabasco, and salt and pepper, so I think there is scope here for creativity and cooking to taste.

Phyllis Whittier from Dover-Foxcroft added an egg sauce recipe to her loaf instructions, and I was glad to see it because I really like egg sauce, and the loaf is nice plain but better with a little sauce on the side.

Looking for …

An applesauce bread pudding. Sally Enman of Bangor wrote saying, “I’m hoping you can help me find a recipe my mother used to make. I’m thinking it had 8 slices of white bread (crust removed), applesauce and butter spread on the top layers of bread, baked in the oven. She put whipped cream on top. There were not many ingredients and it was inexpensive to make. I can remember we used to have this for a dessert when I was younger, right around 1955. If you have heard of this, a reply would be greatly appreciated.” It sounds lovely! Anyone?

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.

Salmon Loaf

Makes 2 to 3 servings.

1 can salmon

1/4 cup liquid (more if you use dried crumbs) juice from can and-or milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

1 small onion, finely chopped

Juice of half a lemon or 1 tablespoon

Salt and pepper to taste

A sprinkle of dill, parsley, or chives (optional)

Paprika

Drain salmon, reserving liquid. Remove bones and skin, and flake the fish. Combine all ingredients mixing until they are evenly distributed. Grease a loaf pan (I used 7×3 1/2 x 2) or a square baking pan. Put the mixture into pan and shape it into a loaf. Bake 50-60 minutes until it is solid and slightly golden on top.

Phyllis Whittier’s Egg Sauce

Makes 2 cups.

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cup milk

2 hardboiled eggs, diced

Melt butter in heavy pan, stir in flour, salt and pepper, and cook until it is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, and let boil a minute. Stir in the eggs.