between 60 and 86ºF/15–30ºC. The fish can
then be sold as is, or the fillets repacked in
cans or bottles, or ground and mixed with oil
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
disintegrates in a dish, has led cooks from the
16th century on to use anchovies as a general
flavor enhancer in sauces and other dishes.
Gravlax and Lox Gravlax originated in
medieval Scandinavia as a lightly salted,
pressed form of salmon that was preserved by