covering up — a scent trail. When rail
transport reduced the time from production to
market in the 19th century, both salt and
smoke cures became much milder. Today salt
contents are kept around or under 3%, the
salinity of seawater, and smoking is limited to
a few hours, contributing flavor and extending
the shelf life of refrigerated fish for a matter
of days or weeks. Much modern smoked fish
and shellfish is preserved in cans!
Garum: The Original Anchovy Paste
One of the defining flavors of the ancient
world was a fermented fish sauce variously
calledgaros (Greece), garum, and liquamen
(Rome). According to the Roman natural
historian Pliny, “garum consists of the guts
of fish and other parts that would otherwise
be considered refuse, so that garum is
really the liquor from putrefaction.”
Despite its origins and no doubt powerful
aroma, Pliny noted that “scarcely any other