Bacalhau is cod dried in a special way, which is of particular importance in Portuguese gastronomy. The fish is caught in the waters of the Norwegian Sea, then butchered, salted and dried. The main suppliers to Portugal are Norway and Iceland. Portugal is the #1 consumer in the world.
Bakalau was a real revolution in the field of nutrition. By drying and salting fish, people achieved an extremely long shelf life, which made it possible to transport it from fishing areas to Portugal (which took up to 3 months). After all, freezers appeared only in the 20th century.
There is evidence that bacalau was an important part of national cuisine Portugal in the 16th century. Before World War II, an average of 7 kg per year per person was consumed throughout the country. In the 50s there was a peak in consumption - in Lisbon, for example, they ate 16.5 kg per year! Previously, dried cod was an inexpensive and affordable product, which cannot be said in our time - prices per kg of quality dried cod range from €6 to €17.
Bacalhau has a unique status in Portuguese cuisine. There are a huge variety of dishes and recipes from dried cod. The Portuguese say that there are 365 recipes - a recipe for every day of the year. At the same time, even the same dish can be prepared in completely different ways. different regions country. The taste of bacalhau is not like fresh or frozen cod. Thus, if you replace bacalhau with frozen cod, then it will not be the same dish at all.
You can try bacalhau in Lisbon in almost any restaurant. Most popular dishes, which you will come across in the menu:
Bacalhau assado(assado) - baked in the oven or grilled (grelhado).
pastel de bacalhau(pashtel) - a snack in the form of a croquette.
Bacalhau a Bras(a Brush) - pieces of cod with julienned potatoes, thinly sliced onions, egg, olives and parsley.
Bacalhau com Natas(with cream) - considered a traditional Christmas dish in Portugal -.
More about fish dishes and seafood, read at.
Where could I buy?
Everywhere! It is such a popular product that you can even find entire stores that have been selling only this product for decades. In any large supermarket, huge salt-dried fish lie on the shelves. In smaller stores, there will definitely be bacalau already cut into pieces and packaged.
How to choose?
You do not need to buy a whole fish, you can ask to cut off the piece you need from it or take it all away, after asking to cut it. Many shops have display cases with pre-packaged bacalau pieces. The Portuguese have a long relationship with this fish, so any resident will tell you which piece is more suitable for what. Sellers are also well versed in this and will be happy to advise you. In stores you can find complex schemes cutting fish, but in short, we can distinguish two main parts:
Lombush(lombos) - pieces from the ridge of fish that are prepared "as is" (grilled, pan-fried or boiled);
Postal(postas) - the remaining parts of the fish, such as the sides and tail, which are used mainly for cooking dishes such as bacalhau a brush (bacalhau à brás) or bacalhau com natas (bacalhau com natas).
How to soak bacalau?
If you bought traditional dried cod, then before preparing a dish from it, you need to soak it. This is done simply, but the soaking process takes from one to three days, depending on the thickness of the pieces (1-2 days for poshtash and 2-3 for lombos).
All you have to do is rinse the pieces under cold water to wash off the excess salt and put the bakalau in a container deep enough, filling it with water, completely covering the fish. Pieces should be placed skin side up. The container with fish can be put in the refrigerator and left for 2-3 days, changing the water once a day.
After soaking, bacalhau gains about 35% in weight. Stores also sell frozen fish already soaked - bacalhau demolhado (demolition).
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These excursions are carried out by creative locals Lisbon, who can show you the city, tell you what it is worth saving on and where it is better to spend your time. Tours are conducted in Russian.Any predator can get food. But to save it in such a way that even after a week you can eat calmly - only a person. And yes, no matter what all sorts of strange personalities say, man is an omnivore with an emphasis on meat. That's just to save this meat is really difficult. Fortunately, at the disposal of the ancient man there was a huge space for experiments, a lot of time and excellent motivation: “If you don’t come up with it, you will die of hunger.” And it is not surprising that there were ways to store food for a long time.
Today we will talk about an old Norwegian recipe that has long been practiced by anglers. About salty and dried cod. Why about her? And because, due to its special composition, it was cod that best tolerated intensive salting and drying. The fact is that this fish stores fat mainly in the liver, and not in muscle tissue. Therefore, almost pure protein is obtained there, which perfectly tolerates denaturation. But the ancient Norwegians compound words they didn’t know yet, but they were well aware that it was cod that was best suited for salting.
And not only Norwegians. Almost all inhabitants of the coast atlantic ocean appreciated the features dried cod. And, of course, they called the treated food product by their own names. The Portuguese and Spaniards bacalau, Scandinavians and Danes - cliffisk, the residents West Africa — makayabu, among the population of the northern part of Russia - labardan. But the essence remains the same everywhere. Gutted cod, heavily salted and carefully dried in the sun. It can be stored for more than a year, it is not necessary to protect it from moisture.
The recipe turned out to be so universal that even now, when most of the fishing ships are equipped with industrial refrigerators, they still continue to salt and salt in many places. dry cod right on board. True, sometimes accidents happen. For example, the legendary masterpiece of "punitive cooking" lutefisk appeared precisely as a result of the fact that salty and dried cod accidentally covered with ashes from a burned-out warehouse, and then poured abundantly with rain. As a result chemical reaction the fish interacted with the alkali and, in fact, deteriorated. But not to the end. And now Norwegians sometimes eat it. But about "punitive cooking" some other time.
“But why do we need all this?” - you ask. “If you have to survive in the Russian outback, where the hell am I going to catch cod. And I don’t have many chances on the ocean either.” But the fact is that you can salt and dry not only fresh, but also frozen fish. And even now you can find it without problems, as well as prepare it for future use. So we keep listening.
Yes, ideal option will work with freshly caught fish. Gut, decapitate, partially cut in half, open to a flat state and salt in this form. it classic recipe. However, variations are allowed. You can, as already mentioned, use pre-frozen and chopped fish. The taste will not be the same, but it can be stored really much longer. You can pre-remove the spine, or you can leave it. You can use not dry crystalline salt, but a saline solution, in which fish carcasses are immersed for several days. You can even salt several times if one procedure was not enough. You can use oppression in combination with saline. You can even dry it not in the sun, but in an electric dryer, as is done in the industrial preparation of salt and dried cod. In short, there are many options.
In short, the very preparation of salty and dried cod- not too much difficult task. In fact, there is no single recipe regarding how much salt is needed, how long to salt and how much to dry. Usually a kilo of salt is used per kilo of fish, salted for 20 days and dried in the sun for a week. At the same time, the temperature environment should not be too high - 23-27 degrees, and good ventilation is desirable. In any case, you should end up with a damn hard and very salty fish carcass that you can already work with further. And before work, be sure to soak the cod, and in several waters - otherwise it will be too salty.
So, dear preppers Take this recipe for yourself. You never know what can happen - salty and dried cod certainly will not be superfluous in your secret caches.
Every winter in Lofoten takes place magical ritual. Cod leave the cold waters by the millions Barents Sea and comes to spawn on the warmer shores of the Lofoten Islands. It is believed that it is due to the abundance of fish on the islands in old times and there were people.
The sagas testify that since time immemorial, fishermen from all over Norway came here in December - April to catch cod and built huts covered with peat, and then small houses, nicknamed "Ryorbu", in which they could live during the Putin period. They stand on stilts right above the water and are painted red - in the old days, this paint was the cheapest, and then it became a tradition. And until now, the most characteristic picture in Lofoten is the red “rörbu” above the water and wooden structures on which cod is hung to dry. These structures stand in the sunniest and windiest places. Although it seems that the wind is walking everywhere in Lofoten. Thanks to special climatic conditions here a unique method of harvesting cod arose, which has remained completely unchanged since ancient times. At first glance, it is extremely simple, but the technique for making high-quality dried cod is in many ways comparable to the art of producing cognac, Parma ham or expensive cheeses.
The caught fish is gutted, its head is cut off, it is tied by the tail with another fish of a suitable size and hung out to dry. At the same time, it is not salted and not subjected to any additional processing. Hanging fish usually starts in early spring. It takes two to three months for the cod to reach the desired condition. During this time, the fish dries completely: after drying, it weighs five times less than freshly caught. When dry, cod goes like a snack. But mostly hot dishes are prepared from it, after soaking it. Lutefisk is prepared from cod soaked in lye - a must-have Christmas dish for Norwegians. And before drying, tongues are cut out from the cod; cooked in a light batter, they are considered a Lofoten delicacy. It is noteworthy that the lion's share of the best dried fish goes ... to Italy! This is the largest market for Lofoten products. Why?
It turns out that when the Venetian sailors, led by Pietro Quirini, left home, they took with them the dried cod that they loved on the archipelago. From their light hand and opened to local fishermen for many centuries the Italian market. Indeed, for Catholics, fish that can be stored for a long time has become an excellent help during fasting. Well, then dried cod from the Norwegian Arctic simply entered the culinary tradition in Italy. And they also say that on the island of Röst, after Italian sailors spent several months there, dark-skinned brunettes are often found among the inhabitants ... In ancient times, in every house in Lofoten, a dried fish hung from the ceiling, it served as ... a barometer. It was hung on a woolen cord, and when the pressure dropped and humidity increased, the cord, and with it the cod, spun in one direction. By good weather, when the thread dried up, the fish turned into another ...
One of the local jokers in the village of O hung a sign: In Cod We Trust - "We believe in cod." This slogan, which plays on the motto from dollar bills - In God We Trust (“We believe in God”), is quite appropriate in the Lofoten Islands, where cod is both king and god.
DRY, th, th. Cooked by curing. Jerky. Dried melon.
All meanings of the word "dried"The meaning of the word "crack"
CRACK, -a, m. 1. A sharp dry sound made by a breaking, bursting, torn, etc. object. The crack of branches. Crack of ice. □ The girl took out an individual package from her pocket and tore the paper with a crack. Berezko, Night of the commander. || Strong staccato sounds, from short sharp blows, knocking, etc. Cracking of drums. The crack of thunder. □ The whole room is illuminated with amber brilliance. Cheerful crackling The flooded stove cracks. Pushkin, Winter morning. Machine-gun and rifle crackles intensified from the palace. Lavrenev Shot from the Neva. || Short and frequent sounds made by some birds, insects, chirps. [I] listened to the crackling of grasshoppers coming from the shore. I. Goncharov, Frigate "Pallada". The tits quarreled, crackled, and this crackling, reminiscent of quick strokes with a fingernail on a glass, merged into a cheerful melody. Paustovsky, Residents of the old house.
Any predator can get food. But to save it in such a way that even after a week you can eat calmly - only a person. And yes, no matter what all sorts of strange personalities say, man is an omnivore with an emphasis on meat. That's just to save this meat is really difficult. Fortunately, at the disposal of the ancient man there was a huge space for experiments, a lot of time and excellent motivation: “If you don’t come up with it, you will die of hunger.” And it is not surprising that there were ways to store food for a long time.
Today we will talk about an old Norwegian recipe that has long been practiced by anglers. About salty and dried cod. Why about her? And because, due to its special composition, it was cod that best tolerated intensive salting and drying. The fact is that this fish stores fat mainly in the liver, and not in muscle tissue. Therefore, almost pure protein is obtained there, which perfectly tolerates denaturation. But the ancient Norwegians did not yet know such complex words, but they were well aware that it was cod that was best suited for salting.
And not only Norwegians. Almost all the inhabitants of the Atlantic coast appreciated the features dried cod. And, of course, they called the treated food product by their own names. The Portuguese and Spaniards bacalau, Scandinavians and Danes - cliffisk, among the inhabitants of West Africa - makayabu, among the population of the northern part of Russia - labardan. But the essence remains the same everywhere. Gutted cod, heavily salted and carefully dried in the sun. It can be stored for more than a year, it is not necessary to protect it from moisture.
The recipe turned out to be so universal that even now, when most of the fishing ships are equipped with industrial refrigerators, they still continue to salt and salt in many places. dry cod right on board. True, sometimes accidents happen. For example, the legendary masterpiece of "punitive cooking" lutefisk appeared precisely as a result of the fact that salty and dried cod accidentally covered with ashes from a burned-out warehouse, and then poured abundantly with rain. As a result of a chemical reaction, the fish interacted with the alkali and, in fact, deteriorated. But not to the end. And now Norwegians sometimes eat it. But about "punitive cooking" some other time.
“But why do we need all this?” - you ask. “If you have to survive in the Russian outback, where the hell am I going to catch cod. And I don’t have many chances on the ocean either.” But the fact is that you can salt and dry not only fresh, but also frozen fish. And even now you can find it without problems, as well as prepare it for future use. So we keep listening.
Yes, the ideal option would be to work with freshly caught fish. Gut, decapitate, partially cut in half, open to a flat state and salt in this form. This is a classic recipe. However, variations are allowed. You can, as already mentioned, use pre-frozen and chopped fish. The taste will not be the same, but it can be stored really much longer. You can pre-remove the spine, or you can leave it. You can use not dry crystalline salt, but a saline solution, in which fish carcasses are immersed for several days. You can even salt several times if one procedure was not enough. You can use oppression in combination with saline. You can even dry it not in the sun, but in an electric dryer, as is done in the industrial preparation of salt and dried cod. In short, there are many options.
In short, the very preparation of salty and dried cod is not a very difficult task. In fact, there is no single recipe regarding how much salt is needed, how long to salt and how much to dry. Usually a kilo of salt is used per kilo of fish, salted for 20 days and dried in the sun for a week. At the same time, the ambient temperature should not be too high - 23-27 degrees, and good ventilation is desirable. In any case, you should end up with a damn hard and very salty fish carcass that you can already work with further. And before work, be sure to soak the cod, and in several waters - otherwise it will be too salty.
So, dear preppers Take this recipe for yourself. You never know what can happen - salty and dried cod certainly will not be superfluous in your secret caches.
