On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 451

Happily,dehydrationalsointensifiesand
altersflavorbydisruptingcellularstructure
andsopromotingenzymeaction,andby
concentratingflavorsomemoleculestothe
pointthattheybegintoreactwitheachother
toformadditionallayersofflavor.Verylean
fishandshellfisharetheusualchoice,since
air-dryingwillinevitablycausefatoxidation
andsomedevelopmentofrancidflavors.Fatty
fishareusuallysmoked,orsalt-curedin
closedcontainerstominimizerancidity.Often
dryingisprecededbysaltingand/orcooking,
whichdrawmoisturefromthefishandmake
theirsurfaceslesshospitabletospoilage
microbesduringthedryingproper.
ChinaandSoutheastAsiaarethelargest
producersandconsumersofdriedfishand
shellfish.Cooksthereusedriedshrimpasis,
eitherwholeorground,toseasonvarious
dishes;theysteamandshreddriedscallops
beforeaddingthemtosoups;theyreconstitute
toughabalone,octopus,squid,jellyfish,and


seacucumberbysoakinginwater,then
simmerthemuntiltender.Theydothesame
withsharkfins,whichgiveagelatinous
thicknesstosoups.
Stockfish Perhaps the best known dried fish
in the West is the Scandinavian stockfish,
whichtraditionallyhasbeencod,ling,ortheir

relatives, freeze-dried for several weeks on
rockybeachesalongthecold,windycoastsof
Norway,Iceland,andSweden.Theresultisa
hard, light slab that’s nearly all protein and
has a pronounced, almost gamy flavor when
cooked.Today,stockfishismechanicallyairdried for two to three months at 40–50ºF/5–
10ºC. Stockfish fanciers in Scandinavia and
the Mediterranean region reconstitute the
woody mass in water for from one to several
days, with frequent changes to prevent
bacterial growth. The skin is then removed
and the fish gently simmered, then served in
pieces, in boneless flakes, or else pounded