Dried and salted cod facts for kids
Dried and salted cod is a type of cod fish that has been preserved by first salting it and then drying it. If cod is dried without adding salt, it's called stockfish. For over 500 years, salt cod has been a very important product from places like Newfoundland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. It's especially famous in Norway, where it's known as klippfisk, which means "cliff-fish." This is because it was traditionally dried outdoors by the wind and sun, often on cliffs. Today, klippfisk is usually dried indoors using electric heaters.
Salt cod became a popular ingredient in many dishes around the Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea.
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How Salt Cod Became Popular
People have been making salt cod for at least 1,000 years, going back to the time of the Vikings. When explorer Jacques Cartier found the Saint Lawrence River in Canada, he saw many boats fishing for cod.
Salt cod was a very important item traded between the New World (like the Americas) and the Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa). It was part of a trading route called the triangular trade. This helped salt cod become a common food not just in Northern Europe, but also in places like the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Caribbean, and Brazil.
Drying food is the oldest way to preserve it, and dried fish can last for several years. In the past, salt cod was dried only by the wind and sun. It would hang on wooden racks or lie on clean rocks near the sea.
Drying helps keep many nutrients in the fish. Adding salt and drying the codfish is also said to make it taste better. Salting became easier and cheaper in the 1600s when salt from southern Europe became available to countries in northern Europe. This method was inexpensive, and fishermen or their families could do the work. The finished product was easy to transport to markets. Salt cod became a main food for people in Catholic countries, especially on Fridays when they didn't eat meat, and during Lent.
Different Names for Salt Cod
In old English, dried and salted cod was called haberdine. Today, dried cod and the dishes made from it have many names around the world. Many of these names come from the word bacal-, which has an unknown origin. Explorer John Cabot said that the people of Newfoundland used this name.
Some of the names for salt cod include:
- bacalhau (salgado) (Portuguese)
- bacalao salado (Spanish)
- bakailao (Basque)
- bacallà salat i assecat or bacallà salat (Catalan)
- μπακαλιάρος, bakaliáros (Greek)
- Klippfisch (German)
- cabillaud (French)
- baccalà (Italian)
- bakalar (Croatian)
- bakkeljauw (Suriname)
- bakaljaw (Maltese)
- makayabu (Central and East Africa)
- kapakala (Finnish)
- ráktoguolli/goikeguolli (Sami)
- klipfisk (Scandinavian, Russian)
- klippfisk/kabeljo (Swedish)
- stokvis/klipvis (Dutch)
- saltfiskur (Icelandic)
- morue (French)
- saltfish (Caribbean English)
How Salt Cod is Made
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First, the fish is prepared. Its head is removed, its insides are taken out, and the spine is cut away to flatten it. This is often done right on the fishing boat. Then, the fish is salted and dried on land. In the past, fish was dried in the sun on rocks or wooden frames. But today, most salt cod is dried indoors using electric heat. You can buy it whole or in pieces, with or without bones.
Types of Fish Used
For a long time, salt cod was made only from Atlantic cod. However, because of too much fishing, the number of Atlantic cod in places like the Grand Banks of Newfoundland dropped a lot. Now, salt cod can also be made from other white fish, such as pollock, haddock, blue whiting, ling, and tusk. In South America, some types of catfish are used to make a salted, dried, and frozen product, especially sold around Lent.
Different Quality Grades
In Norway, there used to be five different quality levels for salt cod. The best was called "superior extra," followed by "superior," "imperial," "universal," and "popular." These names are not used as much anymore, but some companies still make the "superior" products.
The very best klippfisk, the "superior extra," is made only from cod caught with a line. This fish is always the skrei, which is a special type of cod caught once a year during its spawning season. The fish is bled while it's still alive before its head is cut off. Then it's cleaned, filleted, and salted. Fishermen and experts believe it's important that the fish is caught with a line because fish caught in a net might die before being brought in, which can bruise the fillets. Bleeding the fish while it's alive is also thought to be important for the same reason. The best klippfisk is salted fresh, while cheaper kinds might be frozen first.
Lower quality grades are salted by injecting a salt-water solution into the fish. However, the higher quality grades are salted with dry salt. The "superior extra" is dried twice, similar to how Parma ham is made. Between the two drying times, the fish rests, and its flavor gets better.
How Salt Cod is Used in Cooking
Before you can eat salt cod, you need to prepare it. It must be soaked in cold water for one to three days to rehydrate it and remove the extra salt. You should change the water two or three times a day.
In Europe, salt cod is cooked in many different ways. It's often made into a casserole with potatoes and onions, or as croquettes (small fried rolls), or as battered and deep-fried pieces. In France, brandade de morue is a popular baked dish made from mashed potatoes mixed with rehydrated salted cod, garlic, and olive oil. Some recipes from Southern France don't use potatoes at all, instead blending the salted cod with seasonings into a paste. There are many different salt cod dishes in Portuguese cuisine. In Greece, fried cod is often served with a garlic sauce called skordalia.
Salt cod is also part of many European Christmas celebrations, especially the southern Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes.
In some islands of the West Indies, it's the main ingredient in a common dish called saltfish. In Jamaica, the national dish is ackee and saltfish. In Bermuda, it's served with potatoes, avocado, banana, and boiled egg as part of a traditional breakfast. In some parts of Mexico, it's fried with an egg batter, then cooked in a red sauce and served for Christmas dinner.
In Liverpool, England, before many old houses were torn down after the war, especially near the docks, salt fish was a popular traditional Sunday morning breakfast.
Images for kids
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Cod preparation, French fishing station in Cape Rouge, Newfoundland, around 1857-1859.
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Drying of salt cod in 19th century Iceland.
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Strips of dried and salted Russian cod.
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Morue for sale at a market in Nice.
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Bacalao for sale at a market in Valencia.
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Salt-dried cod for sale in Porto, Portugal.
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Piles of salt dry cod in Alta, Norway, 1907.
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See also
In Spanish: Bacalao en salazón para niños
