On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 452

intoapaste,andwithavarietyofenrichments
and flavorings: in the north, often butter and
mustard; in the Mediterranean, olive oil and
garlic.
SaltedFish

Preservationbynaturaldryingworkswellin
coldandhotclimates.TemperateEurope,
wherefishgenerallyspoilbeforetheycandry
sufficiently,developedthehabitofsalting
fishfirst,orinstead.Aday’ssaltingwould
preservemanyfishforseveraldaysmore,
longenoughtobecarriedinland,while
saturatingthefishwitharound25%saltkeeps
itstableforayear.Leancodandrelatives
weresaltedandthenair-dried,whilefatty
herringandtheirilkwereguardedfromairinducedranciditybyimmersingthemin
barrelsofbrine,orbysubsequentsmoking.
Thebestofthesearethepiscatoryequivalent
ofsalt-curedhams.Inboth,saltbuystimefor


transformation:itpreservesthemlongand
gentlyenoughforenzymesofbothfishand
harmlesssalt-tolerantbacteriatobreakdown
flavorlessproteinsandfatsintosavory
fragments,whichthenreactfurthertocreate
flavorsofgreatcomplexity.
AlkalineFish:Lutefisk
Distinctlyalkalinefoodsarerareandhave
aslippery,soapyqualitythattakesgetting

used to. (Alkalinity is the chemical
oppositeofacidity.)Eggwhiteisonesuch
food, and another islutefisk, a peculiar
Norwegian and Swedish way of preparing
stockfish that probably began in late
medieval times, and that gives it a jiggly,
jelly-like consistency.Lutefisk is made by
soakingthepartlyreconstituteddrycodfor
a day or more in a water solution that is
strongly alkaline, originally from the
addition of potash (the carbonate- and
mineral-rich ashes from a wood fire),