Cod and salt cod

[Timenspace]

Am trying to find out how the salt cod got to Croatia in the first place, since it is not a Mediterranean sea fish... found an interesting article, related to Venice and our long joint history... MypinchofItaly ...if it makes sense, will write a short version of the story...

 

[Timenspace]

Well, not that complicated, but interesting, at least the legend says so: in 15th century a Venetian merchant got in a sea storm near Norway, he and his crew survived, were accepted by the local fishermen, who showed him the salt cod.

He brought many salt cod to sell back to Venice. And that is where we got it and brought it to the other side of the sea.

Pietro Querini was his name. This is described in a book written by Flavio Birri and Carle Coco

 

[Timenspace]

KAKO JE BAKALAR POSTAO DELICIJA

The article also states the importance of Basque fishermen. As early as the 9 th century.

Author Mark Kurlansky writes about it. Amazon.com

This might be the book referred to.

 

[LissaC]

Bacalau seems to be the name heritage of how we call the salt cod - bakalar. Amazing things !
Bacalau are an important part in Basque and Spanish cuisine, so I read, please correct me if I am wrong Tasteofspain_uk and Bacalhau in Portuguese cuisine LissaC ...
Top Spanish Bacalao Main Course Recipes for Lent
Bacalhau à Brás (Salt Cod, Eggs and Potatoes) Recipe

Yes, bacalhau (cod fish) is a staple in portuguese cuisine. There's probably hundreds of different cod fish recipes in Portugal.

 

[Timenspace]

There's probably hundreds of different cod fish recipes in Portugal.

Oh wow fantastic!

 

[Yorky]

There's probably hundreds of different cod fish recipes in Portugal.

Any battered cod fish burgers?

 

[LissaC]

Any battered cod fish burgers?

There are, I just don't like burger bans

 

[Yorky]

There are, I just don't like burger bans

Many years ago (mid 60s) my Friday lunch at the office consisted of a buttered dustbin lid (a 250 mm diameter bread cake) in which was sandwiched 2 battered cod fillets and a portion of chips.

A dustbin lid.....

 

[LissaC]

The hake fish fillets I did here are inspired on a very traditional cod fish recipe, called Bacalhau à Lagareiro.

It's a super easy recipe, it's just codfished cooked in the oven with potatoes, onions and a lot of olive oil.

 

[caseydog]

Any battered cod fish burgers?

Somebody VERY close to me is planning to make one for the burger bun challenge.

CD

 

[PabloLerntKochen]

I thought preserved cod fish is older than the 15th century.

 

[Morning Glory]

I thought preserved cod fish is older than the 15th century.

It seems that preserved cod probably existed as early as the 8th or 9th century but at this stage it wasn't salted. It became known as 'stockfish'

Most likely, it began in the late eighth or early ninth century, when Viking shipbuilders began constructing the first craft with keels. Graceful, elegant and able to cut through rough swells with ease, these early longships allowed the Vikings to roam further than they had ever done before. But if they were going to make the most of this opportunity, they needed some way of feeding themselves during their long journeys. Cod offered the ideal solution. Though the Vikings were happy enough to catch it en route when they could, they preferred to preserve it before they set out and lay it in store, to be safe. After hauling the cod out of the water, they would slice it open, remove its spine and innards and dry it in the open air

But it seems that the practice of salting came later:

​

It was only with John Cabot’s (re-)discovery of Newfoundland in 1497 that salt cod made its appearance. On reaching the coast of North America, Cabot gained access to the richest and most plentiful supply of Atlantic cod on the planet. Given the huge popularity of stockfish in Europe, he and his contemporaries quickly realised the enormous profits to be made from exploiting this resource. There was only one problem: while it was easy enough to dry cod in the arid air of Scandinavia, the muggy climate of Newfoundland made such a practice impossible. The only solution was to salt it before drying it.

Source: A History of Salt Cod | History Today

 

[Morning Glory]

Am trying to find out how the salt cod got to Croatia in the first place,

This is a continuation of the last quote in the post above (my bold):

After a catch was made, ships would put into shore and prepare the fish in much the same way as before. Once the cod had been gutted, slices of flesh were packed between layers of salt in barrels. This reduced the water content to around 60 per cent. After a suitable period, the fish was then removed and dried as much as possible, to bring the water content down even further, to about 40 per cent. This was enough to last a long Atlantic voyage and it produced a more versatile product, lapped up by European markets. It was especially popular in the Iberian peninsula, where its name bacalhau (in Portuguese) or bacalao (in Spanish) was taken from the Dutch kabeljauw, itself derived – somewhat awkwardly – from the French word for fresh cod (cabaillaud). But it was also eagerly consumed by the Italians and the Dalmatians, some of whom – rather confusingly – used the same word (baccalà) for both salt-cod and stockfish.\

Source: A History of Salt Cod | History Today

 

[PabloLerntKochen]

It still amazes me why we are doing all of this and thank you for the lesson Morning Glory .
Stay healthy

 

[Morning Glory]

It still amazes me why we are doing all of this and thank you for the lesson Morning Glory .
Stay healthy

Oh dear! Do I sound like a teacher?

I was just interested (especially as I have some salt cod at the moment) and happened to find that website. In fact, I bookmarked it as there are a number of interesting articles there about the history of certain dishes/foods.