On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 460

Thesmokingoffishmayhavebegunwith
fishermendryingtheircatchoverafirewhen
sun,wind,andsaltwereinadequate.Certainly
manyfamiliarsmokedfishescomefromcool
northernnations:smokedherringfrom
Germany,Holland,andBritain,codand
haddockfromBritain,sturgeonfromRussia,
salmonfromNorway,Scotland,andNova
Scotia(theoriginofthe“Nova”salmonfound
indelicatessens),andsmokedskipjackfrom
Japan.Itturnedoutthatsmokeimpartsa
flavorthatcanmaskstalefishiness,andit
helpspreserveboththefishanditsown
flavor;themanychemicalsgeneratedby
burningwoodhavebothantimicrobialand
antioxidantproperties(p.449).Traditional
smokingtreatmentswereextreme;the
medievalYarmouthredherringwasleft
ungutted,saturatedwithsaltandthensmoked
forseveralweeks,leavingitcapableoflasting
aslongasayear,butalsoodiferousenoughto
becomeabywordforestablishing—or


coveringup—ascenttrail.Whenrail
transportreducedthetimefromproductionto
marketinthe19thcentury,bothsaltand
smokecuresbecamemuchmilder.Todaysalt
contentsarekeptaroundorunder3%,the
salinityofseawater,andsmokingislimitedto
afewhours,contributingflavorandextending

theshelflifeofrefrigeratedfishforamatter
ofdaysorweeks.Muchmodernsmokedfish
andshellfishispreservedincans!
Garum:TheOriginalAnchovyPaste
One of the defining flavors of the ancient
worldwasafermentedfishsaucevariously
calledgaros(Greece),garum,andliquamen
(Rome). According to the Roman natural
historianPliny,“garumconsistsoftheguts
offishandotherpartsthatwouldotherwise
be considered refuse, so that garum is
really the liquor from putrefaction.”
Despite its origins and no doubt powerful
aroma,Plinynotedthat“scarcelyanyother