On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 455

between 60 and 86ºF/15–30ºC. The fish can
then be sold as is, or the fillets repacked in
cansorbottles,orgroundandmixedwithoil
or butter into a paste. Enzymes from the
muscle, skin, blood cells, and bacteria
generate many flavor components; and their
concentration, together with the warm curing
temperature, encourages early stages of the
browning reactions, which generate another
range of aromatic molecules. The result is a
remarkably full flavor that includes fruity,
fatty,fried,cucumbery,floral,sweet,buttery,
meaty, popcorn, mushroom, and malty notes.
This concentrated complexity, together with
the way that the cured flesh readily
disintegratesinadish,hasledcooksfromthe
16thcenturyontouseanchoviesasageneral
flavorenhancerinsaucesandotherdishes.
Gravlax and Lox Gravlax originated in
medieval Scandinavia as a lightly salted,
pressedformofsalmonthatwaspreservedby


fermentation(p.235)andhadastrongsmell.
By the 18th century, it had evolved into a
lightly salted and pressed but unfermented
dish. This new gravlax had a subtle flavor, a
dense,silkentexturethatmakesitpossibleto
cut very thin slices, and a glistening,
translucent appearance. This refined version
of gravlax has become popular in many

countries.
Modernrecipesforgravlaxcallforwidely
varyingamountsofsalt,sugar,andtime.
Freshdillisnowthestandardflavoring,
probablyadomesticreplacementforthe
originalpineneedles,whichareadelightful
alternative.Thesalt,sugar,andflavoringare
sprinkledevenlyoverallsurfacesofsalmon
fillets,thefilletsareweighteddown,andthe
containerrefrigeratedforonetofourdays.
Theweightingprovidesintimatecontact
betweenfleshandflavorings,pressesexcess
fluidfromthefish,andcompactstheflesh.
Saltdissolvesthemajorcontractingprotein