into a paste, and with a variety of enrichments
and flavorings: in the north, often butter and
mustard; in the Mediterranean, olive oil and
garlic.
Salted Fish
Preservation by natural drying works well in
cold and hot climates. Temperate Europe,
where fish generally spoil before they can dry
sufficiently, developed the habit of salting
fish first, or instead. A day’s salting would
preserve many fish for several days more,
long enough to be carried inland, while
saturating the fish with around 25% salt keeps
it stable for a year. Lean cod and relatives
were salted and then air-dried, while fatty
herring and their ilk were guarded from air-
induced rancidity by immersing them in
barrels of brine, or by subsequent smoking.
The best of these are the piscatory equivalent
of salt-cured hams. In both, salt buys time for