![]() ![]() However, our cod will not be that far gone, and it will be perfect for recipes calling upon it. Cod that had been preserved in this way, which had lasted years in storage, was so dry and tough that it had to be soaked, beaten, soaked, and beaten many times to make it edible. Now this might seem totally counter-productive, but we cannot replicate the taste or texture of a dish calling for salted cod unless we actually do the salting and drying process first. Note On Eating Salt Cod: After all the trouble of salting and drying our cod, when we actually come to eating salt cod, either on its own, or used as an ingredient, we must first soak it for two days in clean water (replacing the water at least twice) to re-hydrate it and wash out some of the excess salt. What we get at the end of the process is a fish that has shrunk in size and weight (with the loss of water) and has become slightly hard and inflexible. Note On Preparing Salt Cod: We can do it in the traditional way, it does not take a great deal more effort, (this is the way we do it) or we can use modern equipment, and leave the cod in the oven for 36 hours on a very low heat setting to dry it out – note we are not cooking the fish, just replicating the drying out process. A report from the English parliament, dated 1415, states that English vessels had by that time been sailing to the Icelandic fishing grounds for six or seven years, and on that basis, English fishermen could therefore claim a traditional ‘title’ to them English merchants and fisherman began sailing to Iceland in great numbers to catch or buy cod from the late 1300’s. Many British fishermen would salt cod, to have food in the winter months, when fishing became too dangerous, and to sell to places in land, where the demand for it was high. The reasons why it was so popular as a food source was because Salt cod had three main merits for the people 1) it is a very simple and cost effective way of preserving the fish 2) it was capable of long-term storage, for seasonal hard times when fresh food was scarce and 3) when the Christian Church gained in influence it was an acceptable food for the many fasting days decreed by the Church, days when the flesh of animals (meat) was forbidden. ![]() ![]() ![]() It could then be sold inland or exported. While cod, caught and preserved right by the coast, was prepared and then just hung up to dry over a longer period, the salt in the air was enough to preserve the fish. The most traditional method of salting the cod was to cover it in salt for a few days, and then it was dried outdoors by the wind and sun, either on rocks, or on a wooden rack, and then it was stored in wooden barrels – cod can be kept for many years this way – before being soaked to regain moisture, washed to remove the salt, and then used as an ingredient in stews etc. It is a great way of keeping a stock of nutritious food as a supply through the lean times, and most people, unless living by the coast, would only experience fish in their diet through this preserved process fresh fish being unable to be kept long enough for it to be transported any great distance in land. Salt cod, (or salted cod) had been a mainstay of the British and Irish diet from before the Dark Ages to the Georgian period. ![]()
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