Dried salted cod

What it is

Dried salted cod is a split white fish that has been salted and dried until hard. It keeps far longer than the fresh fish, and it must be soaked out of its salt before cooking. Salt cod and unsalted stockfish are often confused, but they are different products: stockfish is air-dried without salt.

The product belongs to the wider family of salted and dried fish, in which salt and drying work together. Neither step is enough alone for the same portability.

Trade and history

Salting followed by extensive drying made salt cod portable, and it moved through European, Asian and African trade networks. The record names Norway, Portugal and Newfoundland among the places associated with the material. Norway is the source of unsalted stockfish, which is a distinct product.

The sources do not give a first date for the Newfoundland form, so the period is left unknown.

How salt and drying preserve

Salt draws water out of the fish and reduces the moisture that spoilage needs. Drying then removes more water, so the fish becomes hard and stable. Partial drying or light salting gives a shorter-keeping food.

The salting is the first stage of the preservation. Drying on flakes completes it. The fish is then rehydrated before cooking, which is why rehydrated fish is far more perishable.

Using and storing

Before cooking, the dried fish is desalted and rehydrated. The rehydrated fish is far more perishable than the dried product, and the sources give no durations or temperatures for soaking or for storage.